NATCHITOCHES – At various junctures through the first half of the 2024-25 men's basketball season, Northwestern State has put together 20 minutes of solid to above average basketball and given itself a chance to win.
 
As the Demons return home to face Southeastern at 3:30 p.m. in Northwestern's annual Fork Cancer game, they do so looking to put 40 minutes together against one of the hottest teams in the Southland Conference. Northwestern, in partnership with Natchitoches Regional Medical Center, will give away 50 special edition Fork Cancer T-shirts ahead of the men's game, which follows the women's game between the two schools.
 
"It's always great playing at home," second-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. "In league play, you have to win your home games, but that's easier said than done. When you're in your comfort zone, you automatically should have an advantage. Our guys are prepared. My assistants have done a great job of preparing them. We're ready to face a really good team that has a chance to be in the top two or four in the league or possibly win the league."
 
Saturday marks the Demons' fourth home Southland Conference game in its past five games. Northwestern (7-9, 4-2) is 2-1 in its first three home conference games.
 
The Lions (9-8, 3-3), meanwhile, come in on a three-game win streak that has leveled their league record after an 0-3 conference start.
 
Sam Hines Jr., the reigning Southland Conference Player of the Week, has driven the Lions' win streak. In road wins against UTRGV and New Orleans, Hines averaged 22 points per game and grabbed 7.5 rebounds per game.
 
Hines and fellow guard Jakevion Buckley (4.2 assists, 2.0 steals per game) highlight a strong rotation for the Lions.
 
"Their first seven guys are really good," Cabrera said. "They play hard. (Coach David) Kiefer does a great job coaching those guys. They have good point guard play and good balance at the two through five spots. They're a good team. It will be a good test for us. I compliment a lot of teams, but I reiterate to our guys that there are people who are saying the same things about us. We're a good team as well."
 
The Demons were a good team for the final 20 minutes at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi but were unable to overcome a 16-point halftime deficit to the Islanders.
 
Northwestern flashed its ability to string together 40 strong minutes of basketball in its Jan. 4 win against Nicholls in Prather Coliseum, nipping the Colonels by two points. It will take a similar effort against the Lions for the Demons to add to their 108 all-time wins in the series.
 
"I tell our guys, 'To beat the top teams in the league, you have to bring your A game,'" Cabrera said. "We can't be satisfied with some of the wins we have, and the losses we have are to two teams who can win the league. They kicked our butt. I'm proud of our guys and the fight we had in the second half (at Corpus Christi). I'm not happy with that loss. When you put two halves together, you give yourself a chance to win, and you can live with that."