By Zach Freihof, Northwestern State Sports Information Graduate Assistant; featured photo by Hunter Overholt, SFA Athletics
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Northwestern State Demons kept their fans on the edge of their seats in an overtime thriller against rival Stephen F. Austin to start a three-game Texas road trip.
The Demons had another first-half deficit to overcome to produce the thrilling win, this time away from home. An SFA put the Lumberjacks ahead as much as 12, but the Demons stormed their way back in an overtime thriller ending in a 57-54 win.
“It was an ugly win, but a great win despite that,” second-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. “Our guys competed, we found a way to win despite shooting 28 percent from the field. I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of a game like that. But it was a great win for our guys.”
Northwestern State (9-10, 6-3) started the game going toe-for-toe against the Lumberjacks (8-12, 1-8) aggressive defense, both suffocating and making baskets tough to come by.
The first basket for the Demons came from an Addison Patterson jumper at the 17:13 mark in the game. Both teams struggled to put up points out of the gate, with the Jacks holding an 8-7 lead through the first 10 minutes of the game.
“That is the best defensive team in the league, so our defense was a huge part of our gameplan coming into this one,” Cabrera said. “[Lumberjacks] shot the best they’ve shot, making 11 threes, but our guys came through.”
The Demons lead at the half 22-20 with both teams shooting under 30 percent from the field. Against the number one rebounding team in the Southland Conference, the Demons controlled the glass in the first half, outrebounding the Jacks 25-20 in the first and 53-43 in the game, limiting SFA to just six total second-chance points.
“That was a huge key, we got some very good rebounders,” Cabrera said. “You’ve got to be tougher than a tough team. Our bigs did a phenomenal job not letting theirs get their rebounds.”
The Lumberjacks came out of the locker room with their best five minutes of basketball on the night. A 15-1 run at the 15:12 mark gave them their largest lead of the game at 35-23, shooting 5-for-8 from the field and holding the Demons without a field goal during the stretch.
“Our guys are programmed to not let runs affect us,” Cabrera said. “I’m very positive when speaking to them, making sure they stay together. Credit to our players for overcoming that deficit. They figured out a way to score baskets and grab rebounds.”
After a Patterson tough layup and three-pointer, the Demons started the game-changing run that put themselves back in the game. A 22-9 stretch over the ensuing eight minutes cut the lead to three after a Love Bettis free throw at the 7:15-minute mark.
Landyn Jumawan’s quick-release three from the corner off a JT Warren pass underneath gave the Demons the lead for the first time in the second half at 45-44 with just under seven minutes remaining.
“Love and Landyn are everyday guys, they figure it out,” Cabrera said. “I give Landyn a lot of confidence in the game. It’s about whose cards are hot, and both did a great job defending and hitting huge shots.”
Both teams fought back-and-forth to retain the lead, the Demons eventually going up three on a Patterson layup with under two minutes in the game.
The Demons missed a chance to extend their lead after a defensive stop setting up the Lumberjacks Matt Hayman to hit a deep three with under a minute left to tie the game at 49 a piece.
A missed free throw forced a great defensive stand by the Demons to keep the game tied, but Micah Thomas’ layup at the buzzer was blocked sending the battle into overtime.
Tied at 51 after Thomas and SFA’s Juhlawnei Stone traded field goals, JT Warren converted an and-one bucket to put the Demons back on top 54-51 with just over two minutes remaining.
The Demons locked in defensively through the bulk of the five-minure overtime, allowing just two made field goals, on nine attempts. Their from the charity stripe proved the difference maker with a duo of free throws from Patterson and Bettis put the Lumberjacks away.
The Demons went 4-for-5 from the stripe in the period while the Lumberjacks missed the front end of two different one-and-ones within the 90 seconds of the period and did not take another shot from the line the rest of the period.
“I calmed them down, this is what being road tough is all about,” says Cabrera. “I know that is going through a tough time, but we’ve been here before. Our guys stayed resilient and we figured it out.”
Patterson led the way for the Demons putting up a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, with Thomas adding 10 more. Willie Williams led all players with 11 rebounds, matching a season best, and his third double-digit rebounding effort in the past five games.
The Demons continue their Texas shuffle and head to Beaumont, Texas to face Lamar on Monday at 7 p.m.