Box Score MONROE – The pattern the Northwestern State men's basketball team fell into at the First Coast Classic ahead of the Thanksgiving break reappeared Tuesday night.

The Demons played an efficient offensive first half to build a double-figure lead before watching the offense scuffle in the second half.
 
That trend, coupled with a reinvigorated ULM offensive rebounding attack, led to Northwestern State seeing a double-figure halftime lead dissipate before a last-minute rally fell short in a 74-70 loss to the Warhawks inside Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
 
"I don't know what (ULM) coach (Keith) Richard said to them at halftime, but they killed us on the offensive glass," first-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. "They had six in the first half and finished with 20, so do the math. When you hold the home team to 38-percent shooting on the road, I think you should win that game. We had our opportunities. I'm proud of those dudes, but they've got to learn to win, and I've got to learn to coach them to win. We're going to get there."
 
The Demons (1-6) saw an 11-point halftime lead dissipate under an avalanche of ULM offensive rebounds and second-chance points.
 
The Warhawks (3-3) entered the game as the No. 14 offensive rebounding team in the nation at 15.4 per game. ULM surpassed that number, grabbing 20 and converting them into 28 second-chance points.
 
Ahead of the Warhawks' offensive-rebounding surge, the Demons played arguably their most efficient offensive half since a season-opening win against Dallas Christian.
 
Point guard Braelon Bush jump-started the free-flowing offense, connecting on his first four 3-point attempts while the Demons made 5 of their first 11 3-pointers to start the game.
 
A 50-percent shooting mark – 15 for 30 – from the field helped NSU build as much as an 18-point lead in the opening half before ULM closed the opening stanza on a 9-2 run.
 
"We're not a high-scoring team, and I'm fine with that, but one thing we did today that we haven't been doing is move the basketball," Cabrera said. "In the past, we played a little selfishly. We had 14 assists – that's a high for us. On the road, you've got to be almost perfect. You have to play mistake-free basketball against a team that's bigger in size and are very well coached. "
 
ULM began its comeback with an 8-0 run before a Cliff Davis 3-pointer quelled the surge.
 
Northwestern State was able to keep a two-possession lead for much of the first 10 minutes of the second half and was up 51-45 following a Jamison Epps layup with 10:22 to play.
 
That's when the cold water hit the NSU offense. The Demons did not make another field goal until a Davis 3-pointer with 1:12 to play.
 
Davis again provided a last-minute surge, sinking a trio of 3-pointers in the final 1:12 – including a four-point play with 54 seconds to play. Jimel Lane followed that with a two-handed dunk off a turnover, pulling NSU within two with 29 seconds to play.
 
Despite shooting 23-for-35 from the free-throw line, ULM sank its final four free throws of the game to hang on for the win.
 
Bush led three Demons in double figures with 17 points while Davis added 16 and Chase Forte finished with a career-high 12 – 11 of which came in the first half.
 
Nika Metskhvarishvili led ULM with 19 points and had six of the Warhawks' 20 rebounds. Tyreke Locure added 17 while Jalen Bolden chipped in a 12-point, 14-rebound double-double.
 
The Demons return to action Saturday when they face Baylor. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. inside the Ferrell Center.