McNeese Survives Clemson For First Tournament Win in Program History

Providence, RI - Nothing sweeter than the first. 4th time proved to be the charm for Cinderella this March Madness as McNeese State picked up its first-ever NCAA Tournament win in program history with a 69-67 win over Clemson on Thursday in Providence.

It was a slim 6-4 lead early inside of Amica Mutual Pavillion for Clemson and then utter domination from there on out for McNeese.

McNeese raced out to an 18-point Halftime lead which was the largest deficit Clemson had faced all season long. The 13 halftime points for Clemson was also the lowest halftime deficit of the season and the 2nd lowest of Brownell's tenure at Clemson.

"We got some of our main guys going. We were physical, we outscored them in the paint which is what we need to do," said Head Coach Will Wade postgame with the Field of 68.

The Tigers cut the McNeese lead to as little as 8 with 2:04 to play, but that is as close as it would get to end the game. Chase Hunter was a big portion of that for the Tigers scoring all 16 of his points in the 2nd Half.

“Luckily we gave ourselves enough margin in the 1st Half to withstand their run in the 2nd Half. To outscore them by 20 in the paint and to outrebound them, just phenomenal.”

Brandon Murray was the star of the show for McNeese as he paced McNeese with 21 points. Christian Shumate picked up his 40th career double-double as he finished with 13 points and 11 boards.

"Wanted to have an aggressive mindset, and we have that confidence. It is really because of the team," said Brandon Murray. Murray also added that he felt McNeese threw the first punch and Clemson didn't know how to react.

"I think we got our athleticism into the game a little bit. Brandon Murray was a monster." said Will Wade during an interview with Field of 68.

"This isn't about me. This place took a chance on me when not many would. I have been to the tournament and won games, this isn't about me. This is the most satisfying win I have ever had in the NCAA Tournament since we went to the Final Four when I was at VCU," said Wade

This is a big win for the Southland Conference which hadn't seen a team win in the NCAA Tournament since 2016 when Stephen F Austin upset #3 West Virginia in the 1st Round of the Tournament.

"We have 12 institutions and all have made major commitments to mid-major

basketball, this is the fruit of our labor of a full-on conference commitment. This has all been led by Heath Schroyer," said Southland Conference Commissioner Chris Grant who was in attendance in Providence on Saturday.

McNeese will take on the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday inside of the Amica Mutual Pavillion. The time has yet to be announced by the NCAA.