HOUSTON – The Northwestern State men's basketball team and its Houston Christian counterpart could feel Saturday's matchup will be a lot like looking in a mirror.
 
When the Demons and Huskies meet inside Sharp Gym at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+, each team will do so coming off a Southland Conference-opening win on Thursday that was not decided until the closing minutes.
 
Northwestern (3-5, 1-0) is looking for its first 2-0 start in conference play since 2012-13 after holding off UIW, 72-70, in San Antonio. Coming off an 83-79 win at home against East Texas A&M, HCU (3-6, 1-0) looks for its first 2-0 league start since 2015-16.
 
"Craig Doty is a phenomenal coach," second-year coach Rick Cabrera said of his HCU counterpart. "They've been right there in every game they've played. Their team is improved. They play hard and share the ball. We have to strap it up and put that seatbelt on pretty tight and be ready to be road warriors again."
 
The Demons showed that road warrior mettle in Thursday's game at UIW.
 
After leading by as much as 18 in the first half, Northwestern found itself trailing by one with two minutes to play before Love Bettis' go-ahead jumper and a strong defensive effort down the stretch lifted the Demons to their first win in a one-possession game in the Cabrera era.
 
Prior to Thursday night, the last time Northwestern won a one-possession game came Dec. 4, 2022, when it defeated Southern Miss, 84-82, in Prather Coliseum.
 
"Being in those situations earlier in the season helped us (Thursday) night," said Cabrera, whose team dropped two-point games at Rice and at home against ULM in November.
 
Doty and the Huskies can commiserate with the Demons. Prior to Thursday's win against East Texas A&M, HCU dropped four straight games by an average of 3.5 points per game.
 
Included in the streak was a three-point loss at Rice, a one-point defeat to Eastern Michigan and a three-point defeat to Northern Arizona.
 
A season ago, Northwestern scored two of its three road Southland Conference wins at UIW and HCU. Because of Thursday's result, the Demons can match that this season even as both teams come in with much different rosters than a season ago.
 
The Demons returned four letterwinners from a season ago while the Huskies welcomed in 10 newcomers.
 
"I'm praising these other teams, which is what I see off the eye test, but we've improved as well" Cabrera said. "I don't want to downplay last year, because we got better, especially in conference play. We competed against everybody in conference play. We had the opportunity to player there, and it feels good, but it doesn't matter until the referee throws it up and we see what happens."