It wasn’t exactly a repeat of last season in Corpus Christi, Texas, Monday night, but it was close enough for the Cowboys.

McNeese State outfought Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for the second straight year at American Bank Center, taking home another one-point victory.

This time, a shot not made off a missed free throw was the difference in the Cowboys’ 74-73 victory.

Jordan Roberts missed a 3-pointer from the corner that would have tied the game after he was forced to misfire on a free throw with the Islanders down 74-71 with three seconds remaining.

Roberts had to miss the second shot after his first free throw bounced off the rim. He chased down a long rebound and fired while falling out of bounds but missed.

“We were trying to make the first and miss the second,” said Islander head coach Jim Shaw. “Once we missed the first, we had to miss the second and hope. We got that last shot, but it just didn’t go in.”

Owen Deese tipped in Roberts’ final miss at the buzzer to make it a one-point difference.

Last year, Christian Shumate scored off a missed free throw with just .5 seconds left to give the Cowboys the victory in Corpus Christi.

This victory raised McNeese’s record to 16-5 overall and 10-0 in the Southland Conference, giving them a three-game lead in the race to repeat as regular season champs at the league’s midway point.

It is also the first time in program history that McNeese has started the league with 10 straight victories.

“We knew it would be tough,” said McNeese senior Javohn Garcia. “We want to take what is ours. We want to claim what is ours, the No. 1 spot.”

Garcia led a balanced McNeese attack with 14 points, one of four Cowboys in double figures. All nine players scored for McNeese.

That was enough to withstand a 22-point, 14-rebound performance from forward Gerry Clark. Roberts also finished with 22 for the Islanders (14-8, 7-3).

Corpus Christi is now tied with Houston Christian for second place in the conference. The top two teams get double-byes in the SLC postseason tournament.

With the victory, the Cowboys kept several streaks alive. It was their 11th straight overall and 21st in a row in Southland games. That breaks a tie with Lamar of the early ‘70s and puts McNeese alone for the second-longest such streak, 12 away from the record. 

The Pokes are also 29-1 since Will Wade took over the program last year and have beaten the Islanders three straight times after dropping the previous 16.

“We have come a long way,” said Wade. “I’m proud of this team and where this program is at.”

The Cowboys didn’t take the lead for good until Shumate took a pass from Quadir Copeland and scored on a layup with 2:42 remaining. That gave them a 71-69 lead.  

After the teams exchanged a free throw, Brandon Murray made it 74-70 with a tough layup inside 56 seconds left. Another Islander free throw and a missed shot by McNeese set up the final wild 15 seconds. 

Wade said the Cowboys were not looking to foul Roberts with three seconds left, doubling him to make him pass late. But a late foul was called, again setting the stage for the dramatic ending between the two clubs.

“We didn’t play our best, but Corpus had a lot to do with that,” said Wade. “We made some plays down the stretch to come out with the win.”

Murray and Richards each finished with 11 points, while Sincere Parker added 10.