By Jason Pugh, Northwestern State Associate Athletic Director for External Relations; featured photo by Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services
NATCHITOCHES – This time, a second-half surge was enough for the Northwestern State men’s basketball team to produce a victory.
For the second time in three days, the Demons overcame a double-figure deficit to take a second-half lead. On Monday afternoon inside Prather Coliseum, the Demons did not stop with just taking the lead.
Instead, they pulled away for a 73-61 Southland Conference win against visiting New Orleans.
“Obviously, it was a tale of two halves,” second-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. “In the first half, I don’t know which team that was, and I don’t know which coach that was on the sideline. In the second half, I know what team that was. That team, I know, can win a Southland Conference championship. It was so collective by everybody. We played eight or nine guys double-digit minutes, and they all played well. We have to build on this.”
Northwestern (8-10, 5-3) appeared to let Saturday’s last-second loss to Southeastern linger for much of the first half as the Privateers (4-15, 2-6) rode a remarkable shooting performance by Jamond Vincent to a nine-point halftime lead.
Vincent connected on all four of his 3-point tries in the first half as New Orleans turned a 17-16 deficit into a 36-27 halftime advantage thanks in large part to an 11-0 run that came after Micah Thomas’ go-ahead 3-pointer at the 10:06 mark of the first half.
Vincent had 20 of his game-high 24 points in the first half, hitting six of eight shots from the field while adding a pair of steals.
“Losing stinks, and Saturday’s game was so deflating because we didn’t play well that first half either,” Cabrera said. “You never get over losses until the next game comes. I don’t want to give our guys an excuse and say that’s why they played bad. I want to give New Orleans their flowers. They played well and have been playing well. We’re still growing as team and still understanding conference basketball and how important it is.”
The second half showcased a much more aggressive and efficient Demon team.
After being held to 32.3-percent shooting in the first half, Northwestern went 17-for-30 from the field in the second half despite missing all six of its 3-point attempts.
Addison Patterson led the charge, hitting six of his seven second-half shots to notch his third double-double of the season. Patterson finished with 17 points and grabbed a career-high-tying 11 rebounds.
Patterson led the Demons in rebounding, but it was a collective effort that helped Northwestern build a plus-17 advantage on the boards. Junior forwards Willie Williams and JT Warren combined for 13 rebounds with Warren delivering five of his six boards on the offensive end.
The Demons were able to convert their 17 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points.
“It was a bit of a challenge for me,” said Warren, who added five points off the bench. “I’ve been trying to get find my rhythm all season long. Just keeping trying to play hard and do the right things, and it’s falling in line. Playing against Willie every day, he’s a tough dude. He challenges me, and it makes me better.”
Northwestern’s defense arrived in the second half as well, holding New Orleans to 32.3-percent shooting, while the offense put together myriad runs in the second half.
The largest was a 9-0 surge that gave the Demons their biggest lead of the game at 16 points with 2:39 to play, but the most pivotal was a 14-1 burst that began with just under 10 minutes to play on Love Bettis’ tie-breaking three-point play.
Bettis’ drive and free throw gave the Demons the lead for good after eight lead changes and five ties in the first 30 minutes of the game.
“We just stayed patient,” said Bettis, who had 10 of the Demons’ 31 points off the bench. “They were trapping a lot in the first half. We started moving a little fast, but we took our time in the second half and picked the defense apart. We definitely have talent, but we have to come together and play together from the jump. That’s what we’re struggling with – just finding that out of the gate. It’s coming along.”
Micah Thomas gave the Demons a third double-figure scorer at 10 points while James White had 19 for the Privateers.
The Demons return to action Saturday when they travel to Stephen F. Austin. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. in Nacogdoches, Texas.