NATCHITOCHES – Multi-team events have become commonplace for the Northwestern State men's basketball team.
 
What makes this weekend's City of Lights Classic MTE different, however, is the location. Beginning with Friday's 6:30 p.m. ESPN+ matchup against ULM, the Demons will host the Warhawks and North Alabama in the three-team event that runs through Sunday afternoon at Prather Coliseum.
 
"You get to play on your court, sleep in your bed, go through your routine," said second-year coach Rick Cabrera, whose Demons played three games in three days at the 2023 First Coast Classic at North Florida.
 
"We'll have a day off between games. We have two good teams coming in. ULM is here because it's a return game in our series. I did a bad job of scheduling North Alabama, because they're really good, but we're excited. We want to give our fans something to enjoy this weekend and watch some good basketball, watch their home team perform. We want to get two wins, but we'll take it one game at a time."
 
Cabrera and his staff could not have found two more distinct ends of the familiarity spectrum for the MTE.
 
Northwestern and ULM have met 130 times in their histories and shared Southland Conference membership. Sunday's meeting with North Alabama, meanwhile, will be the first time the Demons and Lions square off.
 
There is more than just the long, shared history this year's Demons and Warhawks have in common.
 
"ULM and us are both looking for our first Division I win of the season," Cabrera said. "They have talent, great size at every position. It's going to be a really good in-state battle."
 
Northwestern rolled past John Melvin in an exhibition Tuesday evening that allowed the Demons to build some confidence in their first game at home since the Nov. 4 season opener against Dallas Christian.
 
While the Demons are four games into Cabrera's second season, they are familiar with the Warhawks.
 
A season ago in Monroe, the Demons built a big lead before the Warhawks turned things around to edge Northwestern 74-70.
 
"Coach (Keith) Richard's teams are always offensively and defensively gifted," Cabrera said. "They have great size, really big wings who look like our wings. We have to do a good job stopping them. We were up 18 at their place last year and gave it away in the second half. Hopefully, we have some motivation going in. It's an in-state schools, and we want to give our fans an opportunity to see us against state schools."
 
Motivation aside, the Demons should carry some confidence into Friday's MTE opener. Against John Melvin, Northwestern was at its best offensively in the second half.
 
The Demons shot a remarkable 70.6 percent from the field, including 64.7 percent from 3-point range, in the second half against the Millers, collecting 20 assists on 24 made field goals. Northwestern also took some steps forward defensively.
 
"I'm not overly impressed with us when we play man-to-man, because we don't talk as much," Cabrera said. "We'll get that out of them. It's still early in the season. When we play our zone, we're a little bit more locked in. We've been practicing that since the summer. Our guys are a little more locked in, but we'll get it right because these games matter, and it's important for us to be locked in defensively."