NATCHITOCHES – "Larry, Larry" chants can be heard from the Northwestern State pep band every time senior Larry Owens steps on the floor in a game at Prather Coliseum

Owens, who has donned an NSU uniform a record 147 times, and fellow senior LaTerrance Reed will play in their final home game Saturday as the Demons will fight and claw for a No. 4 seed against a potential Southland Conference champion Southeastern (17-13, 9-4 SLC).

NSU (9-21, 5-8 SLC) wraps up its regular season in a 3 p.m. contest after the Lady Demons begin the day at 1 p.m.

Both Owens and Reed have had abnormal tenures at NSU.

The big fellow from Monroe has played a full five seasons because of the extra season of eligibility, and he's put himself among NSU's most prolific rebounders at No. 24 with 527 career boards. A dominant scorer in stretches, Owens has 852 career points after his career-best 7.2 points per game this season.

That extra time has allowed him to complete his undergraduate degree, becoming the first member of his family to graduate college.

"Being here taught me to never give up," said Owens, who didn't play during last year's Senior Day because of the death of his father. "I've told people all the time that I wanted to quit and go home, but they always tell me to stick with it.

"I can't be a quitter, I have to look out for my young ones. But that's the biggest thing – never give up. I've always had people in my corner, whether it's teammates uplifting me and getting through tough times or the band always chanting my name when I step on the floor."

Owens said the bond established among NSU teammates is a strong one, like with senior Reed.

The New York native who was scheduled just for two seasons in Natchitoches has spent four in Demon purple because of a knee injury and an extra COVID-19 season.

Reed is just seven points shy of 700 in his NSU career and established himself as a reliable long-range threat, making 123 career 3-pointers at a 35 percent clip.

"I've had a good time, and the (extra time) has been a blessing in disguise," said Reed, who played two seasons at Niagara County Community College. "I have great friendships here, and basketball at some point will end for me … but relationships with guys like Owens, Brian White and (former players C.J. Jones and John Norvel) will be for life."

NSU coach Mike McConathy said he hopes players staying for four and five years hasn't been lost with the advent of the transfer portal because the experience of these players helps programs build and grow.

"It makes a lot of difference having those guys in the program," McConathy said. "I say that when we sign young men, it isn't for this year or next, it's for the rest of their life.

"I've seen a young man like Larry do some truly amazing things, and he's maximized on everything here. Whether he's leading the band or working on campus, he's got out and met people, and that will help him so much in a school or business setting.

LaTerrance has been a good shooter during his time, and he's made some clutch shots for us this season."

Both Reed and Owens are coming off one of their best games this season when the Demons knocked off league-leader New Orleans, 87-77, on Saturday,

Reed scored 15 points, including 8-10 from the free-throw line, while Owens chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds.

Owens shined in the first meeting with Southeastern, scoring a season-high 21 points on 9-12 shooting.

But NSU's early-season free-throw troubles surfaced in the SLC opener at SLU as the Demons shot just 6-17 in the second half and coughed up a 10-point lead in a 79-74 loss.

NSU is much improved at the stripe, shooting 79 percent in the last eight games and increasing its attempts in a major way as well.

"The free-throw improvement goes back to that SLU game when a lot of people including myself missed big free throws," Reed said. "It's fueled us and let us know that we have to make free throws if we want to win games.

"We've worked hard in practice, and guys aren't leaving the gym until they make five or 10 in a row. It's paid off in the back part of this season."

NSU and SLU are the two best passing teams in the league as the Lions (15.4 assists per game) and Demons (15.1) lead the conference and rank in the top 35 nationally.

SLU also leads the league with 36 percent shooting from 3-point range with NSU coming in second at 34.5 percent.

"It's a pretty good matchup for us, and both teams have certain advantages," McConathy said. "They shoot the ball extremely well with guys like Ryan Burkhardt making (42 percent from 3-point range), and that poses problems for us.

"But we've got guys that can do damage on the inside, and the great thing about our interior is that if there's nothing there, they can throw it out to a guy that steps into a shot and makes it. That's a real plus, and it'll be an interesting matchup."

The No. 4 seed and a first-round bye is still in play for the Demons, who are chasing Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (6-8) and Houston Baptist (5-9) for that spot.

The Islanders head to last-place UIW (3-11 SLC) to finish the season while HBU hosts McNeese (4-9 SLC).

NSU could finish anywhere from the No. 4 seed to the No. 7 seed depending on Saturday's results.

With UNO erasing an 18-point second-half deficit to HBU on Wednesday and Nicholls handling TAMU-CC, SLU is out of the title hunt but could still finish as the No. 2 seed with a Nicholls win.

Whatever may happen, building momentum for the SLC Tournament (March 9-12) is essential, and the process has already started with the win against UNO.

"There's no doubt that you want to play your best basketball in March," McConathy said. "The UNO is huge, and we want to take that momentum into this game.

"If you're playing best ball, you're putting yourself in the best position to where you can get on a run in the tournament."