By Jason Pugh, Northwestern State Associate Athletic Director of Communications; featured photo by Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services
NATCHITOCHES – Another Southland Conference men’s basketball game, another close shave for Northwestern State.
For the third time in as many league games, the Demons survived a taut finish, using a pair of Jon Sanders II free throws with 13.5 seconds remaining to edge Nicholls, 68-66, on Saturday afternoon in Prather Coliseum and remain unbeaten in the league.
“Great win from our guys,” second-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well in the second half. I think we shot 31 percent from the floor, but one thing I always tell them is you can win games defensively if you’re not shooting well. These guys rebounded the heck out of the ball in the second half. They’re continuing to learn how to win close games, especially in conference.”
Northwestern (6-7, 3-0) has won its first three Southland games for the first time since the 2012-13 season, which was the Demons’ most recent NCAA Tournament squad.
A close game did not seem likely as the Demons put together an emphatic start to the game, ripping off an 11-2 run in the first 3:14. Northwestern built its largest lead of the game – a 12-point advantage – at the 13:04 mark of the first half on a Lado Laku dunk.
Nicholls (8-6, 2-1), however, did not allow the Demons to control the momentum throughout the first half and used a 9-2 surge across the final 3:31 of the half to cut the Northwestern lead to three.
The Colonels continued to build that momentum early in the second half as back-to-back dunks from Mekhi Collins and Jamal West Jr. gave Nicholls its first lead of the game at the 19:24 mark of the second half. The lead crested at 42-37 before Micah Thomas delivered consecutive 3-pointers to regain the lead for the Demons and begin a white-knuckle final 16-plus minutes of the game.
“They came out like crazy in that second half,” Cabrera said of Nicholls. “A couple of dunks to take a four-point lead. Then we took a one-point lead. It’s a game of runs. The good team is going to stop the run at a certain point. These guys did it, and we took the lead.”
During that time, neither team built more than a four-point lead and seven of the game’s eight lead changes came in that stretch.
Thomas’ pair of 3s highlighted an 18-point game for the former Nicholls guard, who has tallied 37 points in his past two games.
“It definitely meant something for me,” Thomas said. “I don’t look at any game as revenge. I just got out and try to play my game, but it felt good to get some get back. It started with preparation in practice, just trying to prepare in the right way. I got in the gym and got some shots up and let the rest take care of itself.”
While Thomas led the way offensively, Addison Patterson produced his second straight double-double in a home game, scoring 11 points and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds as the Demons were plus-12 on the boards.
Patterson sank four free throws in the final 3:43, part of a 7-for-8 finish at the line for Northwestern, which sank 19 of 24 free throws in the game. Seven of Patterson’s points came in the first 4:21 of the game before he morphed into a rebounder and distributor, leading the Demons with four assists.
“I just try to play hard and do whatever it takes to win,” he said. “Early on, that meant putting the ball in the bucket. Ending the game meant playing great defense, crashing the boards and knocking down some clutch free throws. As long as we get the win, I’m happy with my performance, even though the double-double is straight.”
To build their first 3-0 conference start in more than a decade, it took every bit of the Demon roster.
Willie Williams (11 points, eight rebounds) nearly joined Patterson in the double-double category while JT Warren delivered an efficient season-high 12 points. Lado Laku swatted a career-high three shots, including a potential game-tying layup from Collins with 1:41 to play.
Sanders’ game-winning free throws were part of a 4-for-4 day at the line for the senior guard, who grabbed a career-high eight rebounds, including three of the Demons’ 17 offensive boards.
“I have a hard job,” Cabrera said. “We have 13 Division I players who can start in a Division I basketball game. I can’t play everyone. The guys who did play stepped up. Jon got off to a terrible start. He wound up helping us win the game late. Landyn (Jumawan) does his job. He’s Mr. Do Right. Willie is a high-IQ guy. He can pass the ball and handle it. He can get these guys the ball at the right time because of the gift of his passing.
“His hands are like Velcro. He goes and pursues the ball with two hands and is a phenomenal rebounder.”
Michael Gray Jr. led Nicholls with 18 points – 13 of which came in the second half, including a trio of 3-pointers – while Byron Ireland added 15.
The Demons cap the first home weekend of conference play by facing yet another unbeaten team in league play. Northwestern hosts McNeese at 6:30 p.m. Monday.