CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Northwestern State coach Mike McConathy found plenty of things to like about Thursday's 88-64 win against UIW.

The Demons shot 58 percent from the field, committed just 10 turnovers, built a +12 rebound margin and had six players score at least seven points en route to NSU's largest Southland Conference win in more than two years (106-79 over Houston Baptist on Jan. 5, 2020).

But McConathy's favorite stat is that no Demon played more than 26 minutes in the victory.

That could bode well when NSU (8-19, 4-6 SLC) turns around and heads to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (16-10, 3-6 SLC) on Saturday for a 5 p.m. tip.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with audio options on FM 95.9, nsudemons.com and the NSU app.

"After losing to McNeese (this past Saturday), we talked about not having a tremendous drop off from Thursday to Saturday," McConathy said. "We used our depth effectively at UIW, and that's how you win games on Saturdays.

"Our second wave came in when we were down in the first half and stabilized us. And that second half was a big step in the right direction. We talked about being committed, whether it's to your faith, your team or being committed to staying in front of somebody every time you get down and guard."

Cedric Garrett (26 minutes), Kendal Coleman (25 minutes) and Brian White (24 minutes) led the way in minutes played.

Coleman has played 30 or more minutes against six conference opponents, and the game in which it affected him the most was the previous meeting with the Islanders when he collected just seven points and five rebounds.

But the Demons' depth overwhelmed the Islanders on Jan. 29 in the 90-76 win in which NSU ended the game on a 20-8 run. That matchup differed greatly from the Islanders' 89-67 win on Jan. 6 to kick off the SLC Tip-Off event in which Coleman and Jalen King weren't in action.

Coleman produced 20 points and 10 rebounds in those 25 minutes, his sixth 20-point game this season and his 13^th double double overall, the 12^th in the past 17 games.

NSU has swung wildly in its ability to finish games or not finish games.

On Thursday, the Demons made sure the game wouldn't come down to the finish as NSU started the second half on a 27-6 run in the first 11 minutes of the second half.

That run hearkens back to NSU's three-game winning streak in which the Demons pieced together late runs of 27-9 to beat UIW and 18-3 to top Houston Baptist.

Transition to NSU's three-game losing streak, which Thursday's win snapped, and the Demons surrendered late runs of 16-0 and 18-8 in losses to McNeese and 13-0 in a loss to HBU.

The Islanders are on a streak of their own – a five-game losing streak after starting 3-1 in league play and 16-5 overall.

That skid started with the NSU loss and has included four losses against the top three teams – two to leader UNO each by nine points, a three-point overtime loss to Nicholls and a nine-point loss to Southeastern on Thursday.

Shooting is the one common thread in the Islanders' losses as they haven't shot better than 42 percent in any of the five games and were below 36 percent in three of those contests.

Isaac Mushila and Coleman are the top two rebounders in the league, respectively, at 9.9 and 9.4 rebounds per game. The pair are also in the top 10 in scoring with Coleman averaging 15.3 and Mushila 14.7 points per game.

Coleman missed the first meeting and collected seven points and five rebounds in the second.

Mushila has two of his 10 double doubles against NSU, going for 27 points and 13 rebounds in the Tip-Off event and 13 points and 16 rebounds in the second contest.

With just four league games remaining, the loser is basically eliminated for one of the four byes in the SLC Tournament.

NSU sits in sixth place and is one-half game back of HBU (4-5 SLC) for the final first-round bye. McNeese, which swept the Demons, is also 4-6.

Teams have struggled in the Nicholls, UNO and SLU stretch, which is how NSU will finish the season after Saturday's matchup at TAMU-CC.

McNeese plays UNO on Saturday, HBU has two games left against the top and TAMU-CC has one game against Nicholls remaining.

But the Demons play their final games at home.