Record night for Cowboys, Kuxhausen
Raymond Partsch III, Special to the American Press
Dru Kuxhausen needed 7 minutes to make history.
The McNeese State senior guard drained seven consecutive 3-pointers in the first half of Wednesday’s home opener against Dallas Christian. Kuxhausen’s seven first-half threes set a program record as the Cowboys set eight records in a 140-37 victory over the Crusaders at Burton Coliseum.
McNeese (1-1) jumped out to a 6-0 lead as A.J. Lawson found Carlos Rosario and KeyShawn Feazell for a pair of easy layups, and then Lawson hit a jumper to make it 6-0.
A layup by Dallas Christian’s Moses Compton cut the lead to 6-2, but that proved to be the closest the Crusaders would get the rest of the way as the Cowboys responded with a 23-2 run.
Kuxhausen took over as he drained four 3-pointers and a free throw to make it 21-2. Kuxhausen hit two more 3-pointers and a layup to make it 29-4.
Kuxhausen made his seventh and final 3-pointer of the first half with 9:31 left to play in the opening half, as McNeese held a commanding 42-9 lead.
While McNeese was catching fire from the floor, Dallas Christian — a Division II program out of the NCCAA — struggled to find its rhythm. With 6:30 left in the first half, the Crusaders had scored nine points and were 4 of 26 from the field and 1 of 14 from 3-point range.
Dallas Christian didn’t reach double figures until Ja’Kyrie Robinson hit a corner 3 with a little more than 6 minutes left in the half.
The final score of the first half ended up being a record-setting bucket.
Rosario’s layup with 13 seconds before half made it 67-15 which set a Cowboys record for most points scored in a half, surpassing the previous record of 66.
McNeese kept its foot on the gas in the second half outscoring Dallas Christian 73-22, which of course broke the record set in the first half for most points scored in a half.
The Cowboys shot 59.5 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from 3-point range, and outrebounded the Crusaders 61-31.
Kuxhausen led all scorers with 28 points and ended the night 8 of 13 from beyond the arc. Rosario and Feazell each posted double-doubles while the Cowboys had four players come off the bench to score in double figures, including Braelon Bush who had a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists.
McNeese also set program records for total points scored (140), most 3-pointers made in agame (21), most 3-pointers attempted (39), most assists (37), and widest margin of victory (103).
Rick Hickman