Coming off a solid performance at the Paradise Jam Invitation, the Cowboys welcome another national mid-major to town Tuesday night.

Santa Clara, a perennial player on the West Coast, will be in the Legacy Center for an interesting matchup with McNeese State. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

The game is part of McNeese’s continued attempt to upgrade its schedule and is the first in a home-and-home series. The Cowboys will make the return trip to Santa Clara next year.

“They are the best team we have ever had in our building,” said McNeese head coach Will Wade. “They are a very good team, a traditional program. This is a big test for us.”

The Broncos are off to a tough start at 3-5 after a 20-13 campaign last season. Four of those games have been against power conference teams where they have gone 1-3.

The Cowboys enter the game 4-3 after an early demanding schedule themselves. Last week, they finished 2-1 and second place on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

McNeese’s schedule is rated the 37th toughest in the nation.

“That is what we wanted,” said Wade. “I had hoped we were a little further along than where we are, but this will pay off for us later in the season. It’s what we planned for.”

Junior Elijah Mahi leads a balanced scoring attack for the Broncos, who have four players averaging double figures. The 6-foot-7 forward from Toronto averages 13.1 points a game.

Oddly, the top three Santa Clara scorers are all from other countries. Guard Adama-Alpha Bal, also 6-7, is from France and scores at a 12.6 clip. Seven-foot center Christoph Tilly averages 11.3 points and four rebounds an outing.

McNeese has had trouble with big post-players this season.

“We don’t shoot the ball well enough,” said Wade. “We try to take it inside, and big guys are tough to do that against.

“As bad as we are at that, we don’t take good shots, so it is hard to score then.”

The Cowboys will try to find their shooting touch after hitting just one of 12 3-point shots last time against Liberty. Getting sharpshooter DJ Richards going would help.

“We have got to get him cleaner looks at the basket,” Wad said. “That’s on us, not on DJ.”

The Cowboys are shooting just 28.7 percent from long-range as a team.

With leading scorer Alyn Breed and his 17.5 points a game still out with an injury, Sincere Parker has taken over a big part of the scoring for McNeese. Parker, the reigning Southland Conference Player of the Week, averages 16.9 points. 

Guard Javhon Garcia is the other Cowboy in double digits at 11.9.

The Cowboys have been good defensively. At 10.1 steals per game, they are hovering around the top 20 in the nation. 

McNeese will return home Saturday for a 3 p.m. game against LaTourneau, their second and final non-Division I foe. Last year, the Cowboys had three such games. 

After that, the Cowboys will travel to Tupelo, Miss., on Dec. 14 to play Mississippi State. It will be their second game against an SEC opponent.