CONWAY, Arkansas – Hitting the halfway point in the 18-game Southland Conference basketball season Saturday, the Northwestern State Demons aren't in a good position in the league standings but still have time to do something about it.
 
The goal is to finish in the top eight of the 13-team race, earning a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament. NSU is among five teams with at least five league losses, with three others owning four defeats and another trio having dropped three. There are three teams that have played only seven conference contests.
 
Nearly one of three conference games -- 26 of 90 -- have been settled by six points or less. Only 15 were decided by at least a 10-point margin.
 
Five of the Demons' eight contests came down to the final minute, including Wednesday's 72-64 defeat at third-place New Orleans, which pushed away from a 64-62 lead in the final 50 seconds.
 
Hoping to end a four-game string of losses, Northwestern (7-14 overall, 2-6 in the Southland) goes to Central Arkansas (10-12, 5-4) for a 4 p.m. contest at UCA's Ferris Center, following a 2 p.m. women's contest between the schools.
 
"Only one time in our eight conference games have I been disappointed with our effort. These guys play hard, and they were pretty torn up in the locker room after the game Wednesday night," said 20^th-year coach Mike McConathy. "We've won a couple close ones and we've lost three of them now. We've got to be tougher mentally and physically to get the winning edge."
 
The Demons have gotten impressive production in league play from senior forward/center Ishmael Lane, who has a string of four straight double-doubles after a 17-point, 15-rebound performance at UNO.
 
Lane is averaging 13.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots in Southland games, hitting half of his shots. He leads the league in rebounding.
 
Three other Demons – junior guard LaTerrance Reed (8.0 points per game), freshman point guard Brian White and senior guard DeAndre Love (both with 7.9 scoring averages) have combined for seven of the nine double-digit outputs by NSU players other than Lane in conference games.
 
UCA, a 105-99 overtime loser Wednesday night at Stephen F. Austin, has dropped its last two on the heels of a four-game win streak. The Bears have a balanced lineup with four double-digit scorers, led by a 13.2 scoring average by 5-11 sophomore guard Deandre Jones, including a 29-point game at SFA.
 
In the last five games, sophomore 7-footer Hayden Koval has averaged 15.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.6 blocks while making 53 percent overall, including 39 percent of his 18 3-point tries, and draining 18 of 22 at the free throw line. He and Lane are 1-2 in the conference in blocks in league games.
 
Saturday's action at UCA can be heard on 100.7 FM KZBL and on the Demon Sports Network. Streaming audio is available at www.NSUDemons.com/watch and through the new Northwestern State Athletics mobile app, which can be downloaded from the Apple Store or on Google Play.
 
NSU is home for the only time in a five-game stretch next Wednesday for a rematch with UNO at 6:30 in Prather Coliseum.