Stephen F. Austin
McNeese
Title Hunt: Jacks, Cowboys Clash with SLC Supremacy, NCAA Tournament Berth on the Line
3/11/2026 11:04:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Top two seeds meet inside Townsley Law Arena for second time in '26
LAKE CHARLES, La. - No. 1 vs. No. 2 for Southland Conference supremacy and the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament takes center stage in Lake Charles on Wednesday afternoon. Top-seeded Stephen F. Austin and league runner-up McNeese battle for the third time this season and for the second time inside Townsley Law Arena where the Cowboys escaped with a 66-64 victory in early January. Tip-off in the title game is set for 4 p.m. with live coverage links, including the ESPN2 broadcast of the action, available at www.SFAjacks.com.
• LAST TIME OUT:
--- Southland Conference Player of the Year Keon Thompson jumped in front of a Texas A&M-Corpus Christi pass and raced three quarters of the court inside Townsley Law Arena and finished off glass for a go-ahead bucket with 12.3 seconds remaining and moments later a last-second, second-chance top-of-the-key look at the win for the Islanders was off the mark as the Jacks survived 60-58 to advance to Wednesday's Southland Conference title game.
• THE CHAMPS ARE HERE:
--- SFA's regular season title is the first for the program since a three-way finish at the top of the 2021-22 Western Athletic Conference standings.
--- It is the first regular season SLC title for the Jacks since a 19-1 finish in the 2019-20 season.
--- It is the sixth SLC regular season title for the Jacks after SFA won the season championship in 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2020.
• SOUTHLAND HISTORY:
--- The Jacks became the first league school to win 20 conference games in a single season which is also a program record for conference victories in a single campaign.
--- SFA and McNeese both finished the regular season with 25+ victories marking the first time in league history that two teams reached that wins mark in the same season.
• AN SFA WIN ON WEDNESDAY:
--- would give the Jacks a sixth SLC tournament title and advance the Jacks into the NCAA Tournament
--- would be win No. 29 this season; tied for the third-most wins in a single season
--- would give SFA a second-straight win over McNeese and a 49th in the all-time series
--- would give the Jacks the program's 18th SLC tournament win all-time
• INSIDE THE STREAK:
--- The Jacks' 13-game winning streak was the longest by the program since 2019-20 and it was tied for the 11th longest in Southland Conference history.
--- It was also the program's longest SLC winning streak since the aforementioned season and the eighth-longest league streak in SLC history.
--- SFA won its first 15 games of its home schedule for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
• ABOUT THE COWBOYS:
--- McNeese enters as the two-time defending tournament champion and winners of their last nine games including a late night, 3OT thriller against (3) UTRGV to advance to the title game.
--- The Cowboys are led by SLC freshman of the year Larry Johnson, fellow first-team honoree Tyshawn Archie and all-defensive team selection Garwey Dual.
--- McNeese has defended the floor at a league-best 40.8%.
--- The Cowboys boast the league's best scoring offense (80.2 ppg) and scoring margin (+13.5).
--- Defensively, the Cowboys lead the SLC in steals per game (10.6), turnover margin (7.6) and turnovers forced per game (17.09).
--- Johnson holds a top three scoring average at 17.5 ppg
• THE BEST IN THE 'LAND:
--- A trio of Stephen F. Austin standouts and the architect of the Jacks' impressive run to Lake Charles earned superlative recognition from the league.
--- Senior point guard Keon Thompson was named the league's Player of the Year
--- Senior center Jerald Colonel earned Defensive Player of the Year honors
--- First-year Jack and SLC newcomer Lateef Patrick received Newcomer of the Year plaudits
--- First-year head coach Matt Braeuer was named the SLC Coach of the Year.
--- Thompson and Patrick were named first-team all-league performers, while Colonel headlined the all-defensive selections.
Read more about the Jacks' superlative award winners here.
