NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State shoots for a 3-0 start to the 16-game Southland Conference basketball season when it hosts Central Arkansas Saturday at 1 in Prather Coliseum, with 13^th-year Demons coach Mike McConathy about to coach his state-record 900^th college game in a 29-year career while senior center William Mosley tries to climb higher among the NCAA's career top 25 shot blockers.

The Demons (9-7 overall, 2-0 in the Southland Conference) won 80-79 Wednesday night at Nicholls, overcoming a 19-point deficit with 17:38 remaining in the game. Northwestern has won five of its last seven games, with the only losses to 20^th-ranked Mississippi State and Oklahoma on the road. The Demons are 19-3 since the start of last season in Prather Coliseum including a perfect 6-0 mark this year.
 
UCA, coached by former Arkansas Razorbacks and NBA star Corliss Williamson, is 5-9 overall and 0-2 in the SLC following a 67-56 home loss Wednesday night to Stephen F. Austin. The Bears have dropped their last six games since a Dec. 7 overtime win over Henderson State, but every opponent topping the Bears has a winning Division I record.
 
The contest should be full-throttle. The Demons are scoring 81.5 in league play while UCA is putting up 73.5 points overall.

The game will be broadcast on 97.5 KDBH FM in Natchitoches, webcast and streamed at nsudemons.com, and Twitter users can get frequent in-game notes and news by following the @NSUDemonsMBB account.
 
Mosley, a 6-7 Shreveport-Huntington product, cracked the NCAA's career top 25 with the fourth of his six blocks at Nicholls. He has 394, ranking 24^th all-time, and could move up to 21^st (399) with a productive day Saturday.
 
He's also been an offensive force in league play, topping the Demons with a 16.5 scoring average, hitting 71 percent (12-17) of his shots. Four others are scoring in double figures in Southland games for NSU:  Shamir Davis (13.0), Louis Ellis (12.5), James Hulbin (10.5) and Demetrice Jacobs (10.0) as the Demons have made half of their shots in two wins.
 
Mosley ranks fourth this year in blocks nationally (4.0 average) and 34^th in rebounding (9.8). The Demons are fifth in steals (9.9 per game) and eight in blocks (6.5) in Friday's NCAA stats.
 
Overall, Davis leads NSU with a 13.3 scoring average while Ellis and Hulbin are each at 10.3 and Mosley is at 10.1.
 
UCA is getting 16.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists from sophomore guard LaQuentin Miles.
 
McConathy will coach his 389^th game with the Demons in 13 seasons after 511 in 16 years at Bossier Parish Community College in his hometown of Bossier City. He has won 61 percent of his 899 games, including a 115-50 (70 percent) mark in games at Prather Coliseum.
 
His career win total of 545 victories is second in state history, trailing only the 572-288 mark by Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame member Fred Hobdy at Grambling until his retirement in 1986. Hobdy's 860 games coached is second in the state's post-secondary level and is tops at state four-year institutions.

Saturday afternoon home basketball games at Northwestern regularly begin at 2 o'clock.  Moving Saturday's home game up an hour was done to provide fans the chance to support the Demons before kickoff of the Saints-San Francisco 49ers playoff game.