NATCHITOCHES – It would not be a Senior Day for the Northwestern State men's basketball team without some question surrounding the Southland Conference Tournament.
 
While the Demons secured their berth in Katy, Texas, on Feb. 22, Saturday's 1 p.m. regular-season finale against Central Arkansas still holds plenty of importance for Northwestern State's tournament prospects.
 
A win in the game, which can be heard on 95.9 FM and the Demon Sports Network, will clinch the No. 4 seed and allow the Demons to wait until Thursday to play their first tournament game. In addition to the radio, free streaming audio and subscription video is available on www.NSUDemons.com and through the Northwestern State Athletics mobile app, which can be downloaded free for Apple and Android devices.
 
"It's a situation where destiny is in our hands as far as the seeding," 22^nd-year head coach Mike McConathy said. "My big thing is about getting a matchup. Last year, we won (on the final day) to get in the tournament, and we got a good matchup. We played (Texas A&M-) Corpus Christi, who we matched up really, really well against."
 
Like every college basketball team this season, the Demons (9-17, 8-7) host a Senior Day that may be a celebration in name only for some players. The NCAA announced prior to the season the 2020-21 season would not count against a student-athlete's eligibility.
 
The Demons have six players who could play their final game in Prather Coliseum against Central Arkansas (5-18, 4-11). Guards CJ Jones, LaTerrance Reed and Jairus Roberson as well as forwards Jamaure Gregg and Larry Owens are seniors while junior forward Dalin Williams will graduate in May.
 
"I would say it's in name-only, because you have guys who have decisions to make," McConathy said. "They have choices. Dalin graduated in three years and will move into the workforce because there isn't a master's program that fits his needs."
 
Reed, Gregg and Williams each turned in key moments in the Demons' 81-77 win at Central Arkansas on Jan. 30 in the first meeting between the teams this season.
 
Gregg had a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double, Reed had a season-high 16 points and Williams took a charge with 1.1 seconds to play and the Demons leading by two to seal the win in a game McConathy missed because of a non-COVID-19-related illness.
 
"When I was out at the UCA game, Jamaure had 16 and 12, and I asked him if I needed to take off more often because he had 12 rebounds," McConathy said. "He just smiled. He's a wonderful young man who is very talented and works really hard."
 
The Demons and Bears enter Saturday on different trajectories. NSU has dropped two straight games while Central Arkansas has won two of three after snapping a 10-game losing streak.
 
The late surge has pushed the Bears into the battle for one of the 10 spots in next week's conference tournament.
 
"They're a team we really have to lock in on," McConathy said. "They're very talented, very big. We're going to have to do a great job of blocking out and going to the boards. We talked about that during practice (Friday) morning. Rebounding, running, defending and staying in front of people – we've been deficient there. We need to get back to where we were during that six-game win streak. We were really defending in tough situations during that run."
 
During the six-game win streak from Jan. 23-Feb. 22, the Demons surrendered an average of 71.8 points per game, eight points less than its season average through 26 games.
 
Northwestern State turned to its defense in its most recent win, a 79-61 thumping of Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 27, and will look to do so again in its final tune-up before the conference tournament.
 
Should the Demons fall to Central Arkansas, they still could earn the No. 4 seed should Southeastern Louisiana defeat New Orleans on Saturday night in the regular-season finale for those teams. The Demons control their seeding path, and McConathy wants his team to attack that the same way he wants his defense to do the Bears.
 
"We have to be up and above them and be aggressive jumping to the ball," McConathy said. "We still have to improve and get better. We have to be the aggressor – don't wait for them to come to you, go to them."