Box Score NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State kept visiting Southeastern Louisiana scoreless in the game's final 9:15 Saturday afternoon as the Demons held the Lions to the lowest score by an NSU opponent since 1971 in a 55-38 Southland Conference basketball victory Saturday at Prather Coliseum.
 
NSU ended the game on a 19-2 run pulling away from a brief 36-all score with 12:19 left. Southeastern's only score afterward came on a disputed goaltending call with 9:16 remaining. The Lions missed their last 11 shots from the floor, went 0-for-3 on free throws and suffered 4 turnovers while being blanked 17-0.
 
It was the lowest point total by an NSU foe since a 25-21 double overtime homecourt loss in 1971 to a nationally-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette team before both programs moved up to Division I. The Demons held the ball in that game, which came 14 years before the shot clock was instituted in 1985.
 
Northwestern (12-9 overall, 5-2 in the Southland) won its third straight game while snapping a six-game win streak in the series by Southeastern (8-11, 2-5).
 
The Lions shot only 28 percent (16-58) from the field and were 2-9 on free throws while making 21 turnovers. The Demons, 12^th nationally with a 9.1 steals average, had 13 swipes, and blocked 12 shots, nearly double their 6.7 average that is sixth in the country.
 
“The key to the game was getting up in the passing lanes, and for the first 10:43 of the second half we weren't doing that,” said 13^th-year Demons' coach Mike McConathy, a 33-year coaching veteran.  “We did a phenomenal job over the last 9:16. I've been in this game for a long time, and I've never seen something quite like that.
 
“The game plan was to get up on top and take them out of what they wanted to run offensively. We had a nice game plan by Coach (Jacob) Spielbauer and the kids bought in and competed at a high level,” he said.
 
NSU senior center William Mosley had 14 points, 12 rebounds, 6 blocks and 3 steals. He climbed two spots to 17^th on the all-time NCAA career blocked shots list, raising his total to 421. He was the only double-digit scorer for the Demons, who were substandard offensively themselves, making only 36 percent overall and only 11 of their 23 free throws, while going 2 of 14 on 3-pointers.
 
“If we play defense like we did today, we'll find ways to win the game. There's a huge difference in the way we're defending now and the way we defended in our last loss at UTSA (80-62 on Jan. 18), said McConathy.
 
SLU, which dropped to 0-10 on the road, got 12 oints and 8 rebounds from Elgin Bailey. The Demons moved to 10-0 when holding their opposition under 70 points.
 
Northwestern wraps up the first half of the Southland race on the road at Central Arkansas next Wednesday, then comes home next Saturday for their third home game in four outings, against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Demon Basketball Reunion Day.