NEW ORLEANS – Not one, but two banked-in, buzzer-beating 3-pointers, the first from 47 feet to end the first half, the last one from 27 feet away on the wing, falling away, to win the game.

"I've been in this game a lot of years. I've never seen anything like that. But I've never seen a player quite like Jalan, either," said Northwestern State coach Mike McConathy, whose 607^th career win came when Jalan West's game-winning 3-ball at the final buzzer completed a rally from 21 down with 18:22 remaining and gave the visiting Demons an 87-84 victory at New Orleans Saturday night.

West, the Demons' 5-10 junior point guard who is fifth nationally in assists (7.4 per game) and entered the night 42^nd in the country in scoring (18.3 average), poured in 36 points, matching his career high. His 21 after halftime keyed the comeback.

NSU (15-10 overall, 10-4 in the Southland) won its third straight and seventh in eight games, clinching a first-day bye in next month's Southland Tournament. The outcome gave the Demons sole possession of third in the 13-team league with four games remaining.

West and sophomore swingman Zeek Woodley are the nation's top-scoring tandem. They blew way past their combined 40.8 average as Woodley posted 25 points, a game after he scored 36 in a home win Monday night over Central Arkansas.

"Zeek told me in the locker room that I was just trying to be like him," said West. "I am."

West sank 6 of 10 behind the arc, including the two desperation treys. The first salvaged some positivity after a miserable first half performance, getting the Demons' deficit down to 48-34 at the break. It was the more stunning. NSU inbounded with 1.5 seconds left and West twisted around two defenders just shy of midcourt in the left corner to get the shot off with his body angled. It kissed the backboard and ripped through.

"You'd say it was lucky, and of course, it is," said McConathy. "But Jalan practices those crazy shots."

"You never know in a game when you might have to take a shot like that," said West. "It was lucky. So was the one at the end of the game."

It didn't exactly ignite the rally, however. UNO (7-15, 3-10) – which had a 21-0 run to take control in the first half -- surged up 57-36 not two minutes into the second half.

But unfazed, the Demons mixed defenses, followed the dynamic duo of West and Woodley, and got an explosive final half from sophomore Tra'von Joseph, who had his second straight and third career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds – 14 points and eight boards in the final 20 minutes.

An extended 32-11 run, capped by 11 unanswered points, brought NSU back even at 68 with 7:52 to go. But UNO counter-punched, outscoring the visitors 8-1 over 93 seconds to open an 81-74 advantage with 4:15 to go.

West took over, popping two free throws, a layup and a long 3-pointer on the top of the key with 2:58 left to forge the game's fourth tie at 81-all.

NSU finally grabbed the lead with 1:12 left on a scoop layup through traffic on the right side by West for an 84-82 edge.

The game-winner came after UNO tied it at 84 with 10.7 seconds left. After a timeout, West dribbled upcourt, was double-teamed outside the 3-point arc, drove across the free throw circle heavily guarded, and passed to Sabri Thompson in the far corner opposite the NSU bench with about four seconds left.

"I hollered at him to shoot, but he was guarded and so he flipped it back out to me on the wing. I saw the clock, and just turned around and got off the best shot I could," he said.

West had his shoulders turned sideways to the basket as he caught Thompson's pass, twisted to his right and launched an off-balance shot from the right wing that banked through cleanly at the final horn.

"Great players make great plays," said McConathy. "Jalan and Zeek are those kind of guys. But we had a bunch of players who made winning plays for us in that second half, even down to Deji Adekunle guarding an inbounds pass. One play makes the difference in games like this and it's not just the game-winning shot.

"We don't get to that point without a lot of plays made by a lot of people," he said.

The Demons shot 58 percent after halftime and drained 11 of 13 free throws after making just half of 16 in the first period.

NSU will visit Nicholls Monday night at 6:30. McConathy wasn't concerned about the quick turnaround.

"We only played 20 minutes (one half) tonight," he said. "And if you're any kind of competitor, this is the time when you can't wait to get back out there."