By Zach Freihofer, Northwestern State Graduate Assistant; featured photo by Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services
NATCHITOCHES — Northwestern State nearly flipped the script Monday night on Mike McConathy Court at Prather Coliseum, storming out of halftime with its best stretch of the night and turning a sluggish first half into a one-possession game before falling 61–58 to Nicholls in Southland Conference men’s basketball play.
The Demons (6-16, 4-9) opened the second half on a sustained run that erased a double-digit deficit and shifted the momentum inside Prather Coliseum.
The Colonels (10-13, 9-5) had pushed their lead to the night’s largest early in the half, going up 39-22 after Zee Hamoda hit a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws.
Everyone had counted the Demons out—everyone except the Demons themselves.
Northwestern head coach Rick Cabrera said the close loss was just part of the story of the Demons’ season.
“This has just been the story of our season,” Cabrera said. “I’m always going to take some blame as the coach. I’ve got to help my guys finish and get off to better starts, because in each of those games they come out sleepwalking. But we’re not out of it. We’re going to keep fighting, keep chopping wood and keep getting better.”
The Demons’ second-half surge was fueled by stops on defense and contributions from multiple players.
Izzy Miles jump-started the comeback at the free-throw line, going a perfect 8-for-8 from the stripe, while Chris Mubiru asserted himself in the paint, scoring, rebounding and protecting the rim.
Kordrick Turner and Willie Williams added key buckets, trimming the deficit possession by possession.
Cabrera praised his team’s effort during the comeback.
“The momentum was all in our favor,” Cabrera said. “Our guys deserved it. I thought Izzy played really well. He didn’t shoot well from the floor, but he made his free throws. Micah (Thomas) didn’t have one of his games, but that’s what happens when they defend the other team’s best players—the other guys have to step up. Chris was big in the comeback, both offensively and defensively.”
Northwestern took its first lead of the night at 49-48 on a Mubiru 3-pointer with just over eight minutes remaining, but Nicholls reclaimed control with five minutes left and held on for the win.
“Basketball is so fast,” Cabrera said. “Both teams make mistakes, but our margin of error is so small. When we make mistakes, other teams capitalize. We’ve got to be better, and we’re going to keep fighting until the good man upstairs tells us we can’t play anymore this season.”
Despite the loss, Cabrera said he saw positive signs from his team and emphasized the need to focus on the next game.
“We have a quick turnaround, so we’ll watch film and hopefully get better,” Cabrera said. “Our guys kept fighting. When we were down 17 in the first half, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this can get ugly.’ But I had to go in at halftime with a different approach. We didn’t start the second half great either, but we kept getting stops and eventually took the lead.”
Mubiru led the Demons with 16 points and seven rebounds on 6-of-10 shooting, while Miles and Thomas added 11 points apiece.
Northwestern shot 80 percent from the free-throw line and improved its interior scoring, outscoring Nicholls 18–8 in the paint in the second half after being outscored in the first.
Northwestern stays in Natchitoches to host East Texas A&M in a rescheduled game on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Cabrera said the team will focus on correcting mistakes and continuing to fight in close games.
“I like our group,” he said. “We can’t go four-for-20 from 3-point range. That’s not the kind of team we are. But close games are always coaching. I’ve got to help these guys win these close games.”