LAKE CHARLES – The start was not the problem for the Northwestern State men's basketball team Monday night. Maintaining that momentum was much more of a challenge.
 
The Demons broke from the gates quickly against Southland Conference-leading McNeese at the Legacy Center, scoring the first eight points of the game. However, the Cowboys embarked on a pair of double-figure scoring runs – one in each half – and pulled away from Northwestern State, 89-65, to extend their national-best win streak to 14.
 
"Turnovers lost us the game," first-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. "I'm proud of how hard our guys played, but we didn't play smart. They had 36 points off turnovers. I put a lot of heat on Chase (Forte), because he's our only ball-handler out there. He played well. We just had a lot of turnovers. They're a good team. I'll give credit where it's due, but I don't know if they're 26 (forced) turnovers good. A lot of that's on us. We have to find a way to get better."
 
The fast start allowed Northwestern State (5-16, 3-5) to weather the Cowboys' 15-0 first-half run and used a quick 5-0 spurt in the final 95 seconds of the half to slice the lead back to single digits on J.C. Riley Jr.'s volleyball-style tip at the halftime buzzer.
 
The Demons were unable to find the answer for McNeese's momentum-securing, 10-0 run that came after Northwestern State had cut the Cowboys' lead to eight on a pair of Cliff Davis free throws with 13:54 to play.
 
Across those two scoring surges, the Demons committed six of their season-high 26 turnovers – miscues that allowed the Cowboys to own a 36-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
Northwestern State saw both ends of the offensive spectrum in the second meeting of the season with the Cowboys (19-2, 8-0).
 
Despite the turnovers, the Demons shot 55.9 percent against a McNeese team that entered the game with the fourth-best field goal percentage defense in the nation, surrendering 37.6 percent to opposing offenses. No team has shot better against the Cowboys this season than the Demons did Monday.
 
Northwestern State shot well from the 3-point line as well, connecting on 10 of 19 long-range buckets as a pair of Demons – Chase Forte (4) and Chris Mubiru (3) – established career highs from beyond the arc.
 
Mubiru finished with a career-high 17 points, marking the first time he has led Northwestern State in scoring this season. He added four of NSU's 16 assists, which is the Demons' second-highest total in SLC play behind the 17 they recorded in a Jan. 13 win against UIW.
 
"Chris is a talented young man, whose future is as bright as they come," Cabrera said. "I tell everybody, they better get us now. We've got 10 games left, and this team is not going to give up."
 
Like the Demons, McNeese found a different gear offensively in the second half. Both teams shot 66.7 percent from the floor in the second half, but the Cowboys turned the Demons' 14 second-half turnovers into 24 points to withstand a remarkable 7-for-9 performance from 3-point range from the Demons.
 
In addition to Mubiru's career-best scoring night, Forte finished with 16 points – two shy of matching his career high – while Cliff Davis had all 15 of his points in the second half. Davis' second 3-pointer of the game moved him into a tie with Devon Baker for 10^th on NSU's single-season 3-point list with 67.
 
"We talked to him and told him, 'Hey, you're getting scouted against,'" Cabrera said. "That's what conference basketball is all about. When we've been good, multiple guys have scored, including him. He's understanding that. His shot selection has become a lot better."
 
Christian Shumate led McNeese with 15 points while the Cowboys also got double-figure production from DJ Richards (14), Shahada Wells (13) and Antavion Collum (12).
 
The Demons continue their six-game rotation of away and home games Saturday when they host Texas A&M-Commerce. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. inside Prather Coliseum, following the women's game between the two schools.