You can’t say the Cowboys didn’t have their chances.

During the closing minutes of the title game at the Paradise Jam Invitation, McNeese State couldn’t finish off Liberty, falling 62-58 Monday night on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

Looking for their first such tournament title in program history, the Cowboys (4-3) rallied from nine points down (54-45) with 6:54 remaining to have not one, not two but three chances to tie or take the lead in the final 15 seconds.

First Javhon Garcia missed a tough fadeaway in the lane with the score 59-58, then Brandon Murray missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 11 seconds remaining. After a free throw by Isaiah Ihnen put Liberty up 60-58, Garcia had one last chance to tie it.

However, Ihnen blocked his running layup with four seconds remaining and Jayvon Manghmer hit two free throws to seal the victory for the Flames (5-1).

“I thought about taking a timeout right there, but I wanted to try and score during the chaos of the play,” said McNeese head coach Will Wade. “They made a good defensive play that’s all.”

The Cowboys got back in the game despite being outscored 33-3 on 3-point shots. McNeese made just 1 of 12 from long range while the Flames hit 11 of 31. 

Colin Porter led the way for Liberty with a game-high 16 points, hitting 4 of 8.

“We lost the 3-point battle by 30 points and that is hard to make up the difference,” said Wade. “We also missed five free throws, two on the front end of the bonus, in the last three minutes and you can’t do that and win close games.

“We also missed a lot of layups, I think four in the second half alone, so we have to finish better.”

The game was a struggle from start to finish for both teams as they were playing their third game in four days and on back-to-back nights.

“That was hard fought,” Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay said. “McNeese has a really good team. They fought us hard all night.”

Forward Christian Shumate led McNeese with 13 points as five Cowboys reached double figures. Sincere Parker, coming off a 31-point performance in the semifinals Sunday, finished with 12 while Quadir Copeland added 11, all in the second half.

Garcia and Murray both scored 10 for McNeese, which last led 33-31 with 18:48 remaining. After a Garcia free throw Liberty went on a 15-2 run to grab a 46-35 lead with 12:07 to play.

That’s when Copeland led a McNeese charge with 10 points that cut the deficit to 54-51 with 3:22 left, getting the Cowboys back in the game.

“Overall, to go 2-1 in a tournament like this is good,” said Wade. “I thought we got better while we were here and we have to keep doing that when we get back home.

“We played some three really good teams down here and that should make us better as we get deeper into the season. This is why we wanted to come to a tournament like this, to see some strong competition and play different types of teams.

“This will get us ready for the rest of our schedule.”

Shumate scored the final five points of the half to even things up 29-29 at the break.

He scored on a dunk and then a traditional 3-point play. The last points came with just four seconds remaining as Liberty missed a desperation heave at the buzzer from half-court.

The Cowboys committed nine turnovers in the opening half as they struggled early to get their offense going against the methodical Flames. 

Parker had 10 at the break while Shumate added nine.

McNeese turned up the defense in the closing minutes, holding Liberty without a point over the last 3:03 of the half.

Parker and Shumate were named to the all-tournament team. Parker averaged 18.7 points over the three games. 

McNeese will return home against another mid-major when they host Santa Clara next Tuesday night inside the Legacy Center.

That game will be McNeese’s fifth straight against mid-major programs like themselves from all different parts of the country. 

“We have to get back at it when we get home and get ready for a very good Santa Clara team,” said Wade. “It doesn’t get any easier.”