ARLINGTON, Texas – Faced with a stiff challenge a week ago, the Northwestern State basketball team produced one of its most impressive outings in recent seasons, a 100-86 Sears BracketBusters win over a Campbell team that owned a 16-point win at Iowa.

Wednesday night, the Demons went to the other extreme with possibly the worst offensive performance in school history, shooting 20 percent including an NCAA record 0-for-26 outing on 3-pointers in a shocking 50-37 home loss to Sam Houston State.

Saturday night, Northwestern lines up against what could be one of the more remarkable squads in Southland history, a Texas-Arlington team that has already clinched the conference championship with three games to go in the regular season.

Tipoff is 7 at the brand-new College Park Center on the UTA campus between the Demons (15-13 overall, 7-6 in the Southland) and the Mavericks (21-6, 13-0).

With his first blocked shot Saturday night, NSU senior center William Mosley will tie for fifth all-time in NCAA history in career blocks, equaling the 453 by Georgetown and NBA great Alonzo Mourning from 1987-92. Mosley's second block will move him all alone in fifth, 27 behind Wake Forest and NBA star Tim Duncan.

UTA is attempting to become the first team in Southland history to go through unbeaten in more than an eight-game conference season. Louisiana Tech was 8-0 in winning the 1972 Southland title. The Mavericks are hoping to eclipse the 2006 Demons' 15-1 league record as the best in SLC action this century.

“They're having a wonderful season and playing great team basketball,” said 13^th-year Demons' coach Mike McConathy. “We're excited to play them. We didn't waste time crying over spilled milk and dwelling on Wednesday night. We turned the page Thursday morning, had a good practice, and started getting ready to play like we're capable.

“It's not like we weren't playing at a very high level just a few days earlier against a very good Campbell team. We played pretty well defensively that day and gave up 86. We played pretty well defensively last time out and gave up only 50. We just had the toughest night offensively I've ever been around. It was like having a tire blow out on your car. You don't sell the car. You put on a new tire and keep driving.”

At the end of Thursday morning's practice, the Demons had a spirited game of “basketbowl,” with teams of players competing to knock down the most bowling pins. Sophomore guard Tyler Washington was perhaps the most successful while Mosley's team won the competition.

“We had no fun out there the previous night. We had a very positive practice the next morning, and we wanted to end it on a high note and have fun on the court. It's a game we play at our summer camps. We're playing a game, period. It ought to be fun,” said McConathy.

The Demons can officially clinch one of the eight spots in the upcoming Southland Conference Tournament with one more league win, or a loss Saturday by Texas State at Texas-San Antonio. Although the conference office will not confirm it, NSU appears to have a spot in the tournament locked up regardless if it wins again.

The game will be broadcast on the Demon Sports Network, flagshipped by 100.7 KZBL FM in Natchitoches and including 99.9 KTEZ FM in Many and 92.1 KSYR FM in Shreveport. The audio will be streamed on nsudemons.com with Twitter updates provided at the @NSUDemonsMBB account.