LAKE CHARLES, La. -- Jordan Howard scored 24 on 9-of-14 shooting, while Mathieu Kamba hit 9 of 11 shots and finished with 20 points and nine rebounds to help Central Arkansas beat McNeese State 88-82 Monday night.

Derreck Brooks added 23 points and Jake Zuilhof grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds for Central Arkansas.

McNeese State hit eight first-half 3-pointers to take a 46-39 lead at the break.

Craig McFerrin hit a jumper with 12:22 to play that gave the Cowboys an 11-point lead, but they went nearly five minutes before their next made field goal as Central Arkansas (7-17, 6-8 Southland) used a 13-4 run to pull within 70-68.

A 9-1 spurt by the Bears made it 77-73 with three minutes left and Howard converted a 3-point play with 2:17 to go that put Central Arkansas in front for good as McNeese State missed its final five field-goal attempts.

James Harvey led the Cowboys (6-19, 4-11) with 18 points.