Any polynomial is a proper map, as they are continuous and because the preimage of a bounded set is again bounded by a simple calculation and compact = closed + bounded for $\Bbb R^n$
proper maps to a locally compact Hausdorff space are closed
so this works
But if you know that, then I'd prefer open mapping to finish the FTA proof rather than Liouville
I'm not sure if you weaken locally compact to compactly generated