Brandon Murray came off the bench to score a team-high 21 points Thursday, and 12th-seeded McNeese pulled off the first major upset of the NCAA Tournament, eliminating 5th-seeded Clemson, 69-67, in a first-round Midwest Region matchup in Providence, R.I.Quadir Copeland added 16 points for the Cowboys (28-6), who advance to a second-round contest on Saturday against 4th-seeded Purdue, which knocked out High Point, 75-63. Christian Shumate added 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Sincere Parker contributed 12 points in a reserve role.Jaeden Zackery scored a game-high 24 points and Chase Hunter added 21 — all in the final 10:02 — to pace the Tigers (27-7). But second-leading scorer Ian Schieffelin missed all four shots he tried from the field and finished with just one point, 11.9 below his average.McNeese led by as many as 24 points with 16:14 left in the game, using a 15-0 advantage in points off turnovers during the first half and a 44-24 margin in points in the paint on the day to build the enormous lead.Clemson rallied down the stretch, led by a spate of 3-pointers, but the Cowboys’ Jovohn Garcia hit a crucial free throw to gain a four-point edge with 10.9 seconds left. Hunter’s putback at the buzzer wasn’t enough for the Tigers.If McNeese was distracted by the rumors that coach Will Wade is leaving to take over the N.C. State program, as reported earlier this week, it certainly didn’t show in the first half as the Cowboys dominated with defense.