THIBODAUX – Sometimes heartbreak can be a good thing.
 
That's the approach that Northwestern State is taking as it moves into a new week and a new test following a gut-wrenching loss this past Saturday.
 
The Demons (8-11, 4-4) held one of the best teams in the Southland in Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to well below their averages in both scoring and rebounding and without a made field goal for the final six minutes of the game. Unfortunately, the countless open looks NSU got on offense continued to find ways not to go through the hoop leading to the slim 50-45 loss.
 
With all the things that Demons did right in that game, head coach Anna Nimz wants her team to continue building on the notion that they are one of the top teams in the conference this season.
 
"The biggest thing that I hope they learn and take from that game is that they are there," she said. "They are really close to knocking off one of those top tier teams and it's not a fluke. It's got to be a mindset of we're NSU, we're the Demons. Be confident going into every single game expecting to win. Our effort has shown that, we just haven't pulled it off, yet."
 
The first opportunity to show that confidence and belief for the Demons comes when they take on Nicholls (8-11, 2-5) on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
The Demons bring the third ranked scoring defense in conference play, allowing just 55.4 points per game at the mid-point of the league schedule, into a game against the third best 3-point shooting team in the conference and a new-look Colonel team.
 
Under first-year head coach Justin Payne, the Colonels are one win shy of matching their win total from the past two years combined. And although they have lost four of their past five games, all of those losses have come by six points or less.
 
"They're going to be ready to go," Nimz said. "They've got the outside game. They've got the inside game with last year's freshman of the year. They're moving and grooving and we're going to have to be incredibly locked in and back up Saturday's defensive performance with the exact same intensity and determination."
 
NSU has not allowed an opponent to score more than 55 points in a game in two weeks. And only once since the start of conference has anyone score more than 65 points in a game. The defensive effort over the past three games specifically has been some of the best of the season with a 45.6 opponent scoring average and .312 field goal percentage during that time.
 
It will be the perimeter defense that will be tested most in both games this week as Nicholls and Commerce are ranked in the top three in the conference in 3-point shooting. The Demons are the third team in that top three ranking.
 
"Both Nicholls and Commerce shoot a lot of 3s and are at the top of the conference when it comes to that," Nimz said. "There's not going to be any opportunity to sag and guard off. Everybody can hit the open shot."
 
The Colonels have made five or more triples in each of the past five games with more than 20 attempts in four of them. They are shooting a tick below .300 overall on the season from beyond the arc and .326 from deep in conference play.
 
The Demons are converting 31 percent of their deep shots on the season and 33 percent against conference opponents.