NATCHITOCHES – For the first time in the Rick Cabrera era, the Northwestern State men's basketball team can complete a two-game season sweep.
 
When New Orleans visits the Demons inside Prather Coliseum at 6:30 p.m. Monday, there is an understanding finishing the job is much tougher than simply showing up – regardless of the result of the teams' first meeting. The Southland Conference matchup will air on ESPN+.
 
"I would love to have a second game like that against them in our favor," Cabrera said of the Demons' 92-67 win in New Orleans on Jan. 20. "I expect them to come in here and play better. All it takes is one win to get a team going. They played at Commerce, but their last game (against HCU on Feb. 5), they won, and that can get them going. They have a very dangerous player in Jordan Johnson and complementary guys around him. Tyson Jackson is good on the block. I expect them to play better, to play angry. We have to play angrier and not be complacent based off what happened last time."
 
The Demons (6-18, 4-7) turned in one of their most complete efforts of the season in the first matchup between the teams.
 
Northwestern State built a 44-16 halftime lead on the Privateers (8-13, 3-8) while holding Johnson, then the nation's No. 4 scorer, scoreless in the first half. Junior guard Chase Forte led the Demons' defensive effort against Johnson, who still averages 21.7 points per game – seventh in the nation.
 
"I've said it before – Chase is the best on-ball defender in the league," Cabrera said. "He did a phenomenal job, but it was a team effort. There were a couple of traps, some run and jumps to get the ball out of (Johnson's) hands. You have to treat him like a younger Steph Curry in this league, because he can make tough shots.
 
"Good players don't often get good shots, because they're guarded heavily. He's a great tough-shot maker. I tell our guys in every game, 'If you allow a player to make a tough shot, you won't hear a word out of me.' That's just basketball. You're never going to hold a team to zero points, but it has to be tough. They have to earn it."
 
The Demons have a solid shot maker of their own in junior guard Cliff Davis, who leads the Southland Conference in 3-pointers made (79), 3-point field goal percentage (41.1 percent) and 3-point attempts (192). Davis' 79 made 3-pointers are the fifth most in school single-season history, one shy of moving Davis into a three-way tie for third with Jay Scherer (1991-92) and Jairus Roberson (2019-20).
 
Davis did not hit a 3-pointer against New Orleans in the first meeting, but he went 10-for-10 from the free-throw line and had plenty of help in the scoring column.
 
In that first matchup, senior forward Justin Wilson tallied his first career double-double (18 points, 11 rebounds) while fellow frontcourt member J.C. Riley Jr. tied a career high with eight points.
 
Wilson echoed his coach's thoughts regarding Northwestern State's necessary mind-set entering the second matchup of the season with the Privateers, who fell to Texas A&M-Commerce, 89-83, on Saturday.
 
"We knew the scout going into New Orleans," Wilson said. "We paid attention. We were aggressive. Now, back at home, we're going to be smart aggressive."
 
The Demons as whole will attempt to bounce back from Saturday's 69-59 loss to Southeastern, which dropped NSU to 3-3 in its six home Southland Conference games.
 
"When you lose home games, you have to steal road games," Cabrera said. "It's hard to steal road games, so we can't lose these. I never go into a road game thinking we're going to lose, but I understand those are harder than home games. We just have to take care of business."