LAKE CHARLES, La. -- — Jovohn Garcia had 24 points to propel McNeese to an 83-64 victory over Northwestern State on Tuesday night in a Southland Conference Tournament semifinal.

The top-seeded Cowboys (26-6) will take a nine-game win streak into the championship game on Wednesday with an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line. They'll play the winner of the second semifinal between No. 2 seed Lamar and No. 3 seed Nicholls.

Garcia shot 8 for 14 (3 for 4 from 3-point range) and 5 of 5 from the free-throw line for the Cowboys. DJ Richards shot 5 for 6, including 4 for 5 from beyond the arc to add 14 points. Brandon Murray finished 4 of 6 from the field and scored 11.

Micah Thomas led the way for the fourth-seeded Demons (17-16) with 19 points and three steals. Jerald Colonel added 12 points and six rebounds. Addison Patterson had 11 points and six assists.

McNeese took the lead with 18:44 left in the first half and did not give it up. Garcia had 10 points in the first half to help build a 42-25 advantage at the break.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.