Southland tournament final: Scuffle breaks out amid chaotic end of McNeese vs. Lamar
There are certainly some strong feelings between Lamar and McNeese State in the Southland Conference. And those heated emotions once again bubbled to the surface on Wednesday evening, as the two teams clashed in the Southland Tournament Championship. Towards the end of the game, a scuffle broke out, and players got pushed on the baseline.
Tempers eventually cooled. And both teams were separated. But dead ball technical fouls were issued for both teams by officials, after they reviewed the fight. McNeese State ended up prevailing victorious, pulling out the 63-54 win on Wednesday evening. The Cowboys ended up with three players in double figures, DJ Richards, Jr., Javohn Garcia, and Qadir Copeland.
In doing so, the punched their tickets to the 2025 NCAA Tournament. It’s yet another impressive coaching job by Cowboys head coach Will Wade.
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He’s been one of the best coaches in college basketball, performing an incredible turnaround with McNeese State. Since Will Wade was hired in 2023, McNeese has an overall combined record of 57-10. After he took the job in 2023, Wade made sure to promise the team would go from 23 losses to 23 wins in the following season. In the 2023-2024 season, the Cowboys went 30-4 overall, winning the Southland Conference Championship. And punching their tickets to the NCAA Tournament. And this year, they finished 27-6 overall, once again bringing home the Southland crown. And punching their tickets to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.
Not only has McNeese gone 57-10 the past two seasons under Wade, but in the Southland, they’ve posted a ridiculous record of 40-2. The year before he arrived, McNeese finished 11-23, finishing second-to-last in the Southland. It’s been one of the most impressive turnarounds in all of college basketball, demonstrating that Will Wade is one of the nation’s best.