CONWAY, Ark. – Northwestern State collides with another Southland Conference team trying for a quick turnaround Thursday night when the Demons, with a double overtime defeat and a last-second loss among their recent stumbles, visit Central Arkansas.

The Demons (5-11 overall, 1-4 in the Southland) and Bears (4-12, 1-4) meet at 7:30 following a 5:30 women's matchup between the schools. The contest matches two of the league's top-scoring teams and the clubs at the bottom of the league in scoring defense, and the two worst rebounding squads. NSU and UCA are two of the best in the nation in steals, with the Demons seventh in the country at 9.6 per game and the Bears ninth with a 9.4 average.

Northwestern hasn't played in a week, since falling to league-leading Stephen F. Austin 74-58 last Thursday. UCA lost a pair on the road to new Southland members Incarnate Word (87-72) and Abilene Christian (73-72 on a last-second layup) last week. The Bears won in their last homecourt appearance, 86-69 over a Houston Baptist team that a week later stunned the Demons 98-97 on a buzzer-beating follow shot.

NSU has spent most of the last 10 days since being upset at HBU working on shoring up its defense, and the Demons spent most of the SFA game using a zone, contrary to the man-to-man philosophy that 15th-year coach Mike McConathy prefers.

"We did some good things defensively with the zone, and hopefully we can be more effective against a UCA team that lights it up on 3-pointers (hitting 38.5 percent)," said McConathy. "They have some very talented players and one of the toughest matchups around in LaQuinten Miles. He's a 6-5 guard who can pour in shots from outside and go inside against anybody."

Miles is the second-leading scorer in the Southland at 22.5 per game, the country's seventh-best rate, and the league's fifth-best rebounder at 7.0 per contest.

The Demons have the league's third-best scorer in sophomore Jalan West (18.5 average), who is 17th in the country with 6.1 assists per game and eighth nationally with a 2.7 steals average.

Freshman Zeek Woodley is third in the country in shooting aim (64.5 percent) and is averaging 15.8 points overall, and 20.8 in conference games. Senior forward DeQuan Hicks ranks among Southland leaders in scoring (16.1, fifth), rebounding (7.1, fifth) and steals (1.8, sixth).

NSU junior center Marvin Frazier tops the Southland in blocked shots (2.2 average) after swatting five against SFA.

Thursday's game will be broadcast on the Demon Sports Network, flagshipped by 100.7 FM KZBL in Natchitoches, and including 99.9 KTEZ FM in Many and 92.1 KSYR FM in Shreveport. A free live video stream is available through NSUDemons.com and UCASports.com, courtesy of UCA, and audio of the NSU broadcast is available at NSUDemons.com at no charge.

The Demons will stay on the road to play Saturday afternoon at Oral Roberts, and begin a four-game homestand next Thursday night against Incarnate Word.