BATON ROUGE – Rick Cabrera is New York through and through.
 
From his accent to his decision to implement the "Toughness Timbz" as a reward for his players doing the dirty work each game, the Empire State is indeed a state of mind for Northwestern State's first-year head men's basketball coach.
 
As the Demons (2-10) head to their final non-conference game of the season – Friday's 7 p.m. matchup at LSU on SEC Network+ – Cabrera's team will enter an arena that is near and dear to their head coach.
 
"(LSU Hall of Fame head coach) Dale Brown is a great friend and a friend of my late father," Cabrera said. "During my high school years, I attended LSU basketball camps. I talk to Dale Brown a couple times a month. I'm excited to get back (to Baton Rouge). (Current LSU coach) Matt McMahon is a really good friend. I've known him over 20 years along with his staff. I do have some LSU ties in that area, but this is a business trip for us."
 
The Demons enter off a 10-day break, which is tied for the longest in-season gap between games this season, but they do so with a higher level of confidence.
 
In their last game, the Demons saw Cliff Davis set a school single-game record with 10 3-pointers to spark a 99-75 win against Southern-New Orleans on Dec. 19, snapping a 10-game losing streak in the process.
 
"That win alone – it doesn't matter who it was against – we'd been searching for one," Cabrera said. "We played really good teams for about a seven-to-10-game stretch. That win helped our guys bring confidence into Christmas break. Now, we've got to stack the bricks again. We're prepared for a good LSU team, a huge LSU team. We're going to go out and compete for 40 minutes."
 
The Tigers (7-5) are well versed in Southland Conference opponents, having faced Nicholls, Southeastern and Lamar already this season. LSU is coming off an 87-66 win against Lamar in its pre-Christmas finale on Dec. 21.
 
As the Demons prepare for their final pre-conference tune-up, they do so after a needed break.
 
"Basketball is such a long season – the longest season of any college sport," Cabrera said. "We needed a break whether we were 10-2 or 2-10. We needed to decompress and start all over. Our guys are excited to get back at it and play on the big stage."
 
Included in that list is junior guard Anthony Thomas, who made his NSU debut Dec. 16 after his eligibility was reinstated following the NCAA's decision regarding second-time transfers.
 
Thomas, a transfer from Kansas State who also played for Cabrera at Tallahassee Community College in 2021-22, enjoyed the first double-figure-scoring game of his Demon career against Southern-New Orleans, tallying 12 points as part of a quintet of Demons who reached double figures in the win.
 
"We threw him to the fold in games," Cabrera said. "He needed a lot of practice time. He's older, and he understands what it takes. He's been great. He brings a lot of size and athleticism on the perimeter. He's still getting a lot of rust off. Hopefully , he can get going tomorrow night and into conference play."