SAN ANTONIO – With six games remaining in the regular season, there is balance within the Northwestern State men's basketball schedule.
 
As the stretch run begins at 5 p.m. Saturday against UIW, the Demons sit alone in sixth place in the Southland Conference standings – equidistant from fifth and ninth place in a jumbled back end of the league.
 
Three of the Demons' remaining six games, including Saturday's ESPN+ matchup, are against teams below them in the standings while three are against teams NSU is chasing in the conference race.
 
"The one good feeling is going into each game we play, we feel we're capable of winning each game," first-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. "We don't feel we're outmatched. We're not out-talented. That's the feeling I have going in – no disrespect to anyone on the schedule.
 
"They're all hard. There is no team in this league you check the box and say, 'This is a W, and we're really going to have to screw it up to lose this game.' It's a very balanced league. McNeese has set the bar, but after that, it's a pretty balanced league and anybody can beat anybody."
 
Northwestern State (7-18, 5-7) got its first taste of a conference win this season against UIW (8-16, 3-8) in a 97-71 victory Jan. 13 in Natchitoches. That is one of two 25-plus point wins in conference for the Demons, which knocked off New Orleans, 92-67, on the road Jan. 20 to cap a season-long, three-game win streak.
 
The Demons completed the season sweep of the Privateers with a 70-59 victory in Prather Coliseum this past Monday. That tightly contested battle helped remind Northwestern State how tough it is to sweep a conference opponent.
 
Adding to that challenge is finishing the sweep on the road in a building where the Cardinals are coming off their largest margin of victory in a conference game this season, defeating Lamar, 76-67, this past Monday. That came after Lamar handed UIW a 16-point defeat in January in Beaumont, Texas.
 
"We did what we were supposed to do against them the first time, which is win your home games," Cabrera said. "Now, with that being said, their record doesn't reflect it just like our record doesn't reflect it. They're a pretty good ballclub. They're playing really well right now. They have a good balance between perimeter play with (Alex) Anderson and (Sky) Wicks. Their post players are playing well. They're a very dangerous team in that gym."
 
Even with going on the road, the Demons can draw confidence from that first matchup against UIW.
 
In that game, four Demons – led by sophomore forward Jimel Lane's 20 points – established career highs in scoring. In addition to Lane, Chase Forte added 18 points and Duane Posey had 16 while redshirt sophomore guard Karlin Hardy tallied the first four points of his Demon career.
 
They also have found another level late in the season as they battle for a spot in next month's Southland Conference Tournament. While the definition of "stretch run" is fuzzy, Northwestern State feels it is in the middle of it now.
 
"All our players are locked in," Lane said. "We're trying to get to that tournament and get a win. We're more aware of what can happen the second time around. Every team in this conference is good. Anything can happen and anything can change in any moment."