NATCHITOCHES – With back-to-back home games for the first time in nearly a month, the Northwestern State basketball team is seeking a certain level of comfort.
 
As the Demons host Southeastern in Southland Conference action at 3 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+, they do so looking to be more comfortable in their routine not with their place in the conference.
 
The matchup with the Lions (10-13, 5-5) is the first of two straight home games for the Demons (6-17, 4-6), who last played consecutive games within Prather Coliseum on Jan. 13-15 – a 2-0 stretch against UIW and HCU.
 
"Sleeping in your own bed and going through your routine as players and coaches is always a positive," first-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. "It doesn't mean you're going to win the game, but it puts you in good position to play in your arena and on your rims."
 
Saturday's game also is NSU's annual #ForkCancer game. Fans in attendance will be able to donate directly to the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center Cancer Center via cash or through smart phone donation technology.
 
Ahead of the Demons' most recent home game – a 70-57 win against Texas A&M-Commerce on Feb. 3 – Cabrera told his team, "The losing at home has to stop."
 
And stop it did, courtesy of the Demons solving what had been a season-long issue – handling adversity.

After breaking to a 20-point lead less than 13 minutes into the win against Commerce, the Demons saw the Lions rally to take a two-point lead in the second half. Instead of folding, Northwestern State answered, pulling away late and allowing the Lions to lead for a mere 26 seconds.
 
"We made progress in handling adversity," said senior forward Justin Wilson, who scored 17 points and grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds in the win. "At first, we were bad at it. Now, we're picking it up as a team, as a unity. It's not just one or two guys. We're handling it at the same time."
 
In the first meeting with Southeastern this season – a 71-62 SLU win Jan. 22 in Hammond – the Demons were unable to handle that adversity, and the result seemed to awaken that group of Lions.
 
SLU was the preseason favorite to win the league crown after returning a trio of preseason all-conference selections – first-teamer Roger McFarlane and second-teamers Nick Caldwell and Alec Woodard – but started league play 1-4 ahead of the Demons' visit.

Northwestern State built a 10-point, first-half lead against Southeastern in that initial meeting before the Lions stormed back to cut the lead to one at halftime. Southeastern maintained that energy in the second half, setting in motion of a stretch of four wins in five games.
 
Aiding the Southeastern comeback were nine second-half turnovers that directly led to 15 SLU points. In that game, SLU won the points off turnover battle, 21-10.
 
"We've got to take care of the ball," Wilson said. "That changed the game at their house. We turned the ball over too many times. We took too many quick shots. We have to take every possession seriously and be patient."


With eight games remaining in the regular season, the fifth-place Lions and sixth-place Demons are separated by one game in the conference standings in a league where the top eight teams reach the March 10-13 conference tournament in Lake Charles.
 
"They are the hottest team in the conference or close to it," Cabrera said. "They're playing really good basketball, which is what veteran teams do. Last time in Hammond, they beat us. We watched film, and there were a lot of self-inflicted mistakes. That has hurt us in several losses. We'll fix those, play hard and compete for 40 minutes, and we'll come out victorious."