Unable to finish what they started, the Cowboys fell for the first time at home in 21 games over the last two seasons Tuesday night.

Going scoreless over the final 3:01, McNeese State saw fellow mid-major Santa Clara score the final seven points to win 74-67 inside the Legacy Center.

The Cowboys also missed five of seven free throws, including one front-end of the one-and-one, in the last five minutes. Their only points over that span were two Javhon Garcia free throws. 

“You have to make free throws and be solid with the ball,” said McNeese head coach Will Wade. “That has been our biggest issue with this team. It’s a major weakness right now.”

The loss dropped McNeese to 4-4, while Santa Clara improved to 4-5.

“I thought it was a great game, and they are a very good team,” said Wade. “In the second half, they wore us down and imposed their will.”

Led by Christian Shumate, McNeese held a 31-28 lead at the half after getting off to a fast start. Sincere Parker’s two free throws with just over 11 minutes left gave the Cowboys a 16-6 lead as the Broncos missed their first eight long-range shots and were just 2 of 13 from the field.

But Santa Clara inched closer and cut the lead to three at the break.

“We needed an eight to 10-point cushion at the half with how well we played and how poorly they played,” said Wade. “We knew they would play better in the second half.”

The Broncos did just that, hitting five of their first eight threes out of the locker room; Shumate countered with a pair of dunks and a 3-pointer to tie the game at 42-42 with 15:25 remaining. Shumate and Joe Charles each had 17 points to lead McNeese. 

But Shumate’s 3-pointer would be his last points of the game.

“We did not do a good job getting him the ball in a good position,” said Wade.

Tyeree Bryan got hot, and the Broncos scored. With 10:26 left, his trey gave the visitors their biggest lead of the night, which was 57-48. Bryan also finished with 17 to lead Santa Clara.

Charles responded with eight quick points to get McNeese back in the game. The game was tied at 65 apiece when Parker hit a jumper with 4:25 remaining.

That’s when McNeese went cold from the foul line, and the Broncos raced off with the victory.

“Eventually, this gets fixed,” said Wade. “We are just not as far along as I had hoped we would be right now.”

DJ Richards hit three 3-pointers while scoring 11 points for the Cowboys. Carlos Stewart and Christoph Tilly added 13 for the Broncos.

The Cowboys will return home Saturday for a 3 p.m. game against LeTourneau.