NATCHITOCHES – At the Southland Conference Basketball Tip-Off event in October, Northwestern State forward Justin Wilson introduced the conference's fans to "pop."
 
"Pop" in the Demon vernacular is simply energy – something the Northwestern State players fed off of in their most recent home game against McNeese this past Monday and something they hope to continue to do Saturday at 3 p.m. when they host Southland Conference foe UIW on ESPN+ inside Prather Coliseum.
 
"Pop is the energy you bring in games and in practice," said freshman center J.C. Riley Jr., who made his first career start against the Cowboys. "It all starts in practice. They say you practice how you play. If you don't bring pop to practice, you won't have pop in games."
 
Saturday's game is part of a Southland Conference doubleheader with the Lady Demons facing UIW at 1 p.m. Both games will be part of the Champions For Literacy program. Fans can learn more about the foundation at championsforlit.org and can donate to the cause at championsforlit.org/give.
 
The Demons (2-13, 0-2) felt the pop in the arena in just their fifth home game this season, which helped Northwestern State keep pace most of the night with the Southland's top team record-wise in McNeese.
 
"That was a big reason we were in the game," Riley said. "We don't have that kind of energy. We don't compete like we did. It helps a lot."
 
While the Demons have played just five of their first 15 games at home, NSU is able to settle in a bit early in the Southland Conference season.
 
Saturday's matchup with visiting UIW (5-10, 0-2) is the second of a season-long, three-game homestand that concludes Monday against HCU. It is one that pits a pair of first-year head coaches against one another as NSU's Rick Cabrera and UIW's Shane Heirman are in their inaugural seasons with their respective programs.
 
Both coaches inherited rosters that experienced a heavy amount of turnover in the offseason, including the loss of their top three scorers. The Demons and Cardinals each picked up an in-season addition in December when the NCAA restored eligibility for multi-time Division I transfers.
 
"I see a very balanced ballclub, similar to us," Cabrera said. "Shane has done a great job bringing new guys in and implementing a transfer like we did with Anthony Thomas. Again, they are very similar to us. Shane is a first-year coach in this generation of walking in and have a blank roster. It's never easy. It's my first experience with it, and I'm sure it is for him. He's stacking the bricks every day like we are."
 
Northwestern State has found at least one building block this season in junior guard Cliff Davis, one of the nation's top 3-point shooters. Through Thursday's games, Davis is second nationally in 3-pointers made per game (4.07) and third in total 3-pointers made (57) with both totals leading the Southland Conference.
 
Davis has had a hot hand to start Southland play, connecting on 12 of 21 3-point tries (57.1 percent) and averaging 22 points per game.
 
Davis has maintained a torrid pace from behind the arc for much of the season, but the biggest development in the Demons' Southland Conference home opener earlier this week came on the other end of the floor.
 
"Our offense wasn't very good, but we played hard," Cabrera said. "Our defense was good. That's a team that was shooting almost 50 percent from the field, and we held them to 40 percent. That's solely because of how hard we played on that end of the floor. Playing that way doesn't guarantee you will win, but it guarantees you a chance to be in the game."