NATCHITOCHES – Four nights ago, Rick Cabrera and his Northwestern State men's basketball team were sizeable fans of Houston Christian.
 
Thanks to the Huskies' win against Stephen F. Austin on Monday night, the Demons clinched their spot in next month's Southland Conference Tournament in Lake Charles.
 
As Northwestern prepares to welcome HCU to Mike McConathy Court at Prather Coliseum at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+, the Demons are back to treating the Huskies like a typical Southland opponent – one that is visiting on Military Appreciation Day.
 
Lott Oil is the game sponsor and will have giveaways for fans as long as supplies last.
 
"They had a very impressive win, which obviously helped us get in," Cabrera said. "They're playing good basketball. They were struggling a bit before that game, and they came out and handed Stephen F. Austin probably one of their worst losses of the season. We're getting ready for them. They have some really good talent at the guard spot and (HCU head coach) Craig (Doty) is doing a phenomenal with that ball club."
 
While HCU's win officially clinched Northwestern's spot in the tournament, the Demons (13-15, 10-8) did their part with a 72-69 win at Southeastern Louisiana, completing a two-game road sweep that included a win at New Orleans this past Saturday.
 
Typically, teams pack momentum with them when they leave home for a road trip. By virtue of its south Louisiana sweep, the Demons return home with momentum in tow.
 
"Especially after our last two home games, which were not impressive at all, I just have to continue to make my guys understand the importance of winning home games," Cabrera said. "You're in your comfort zone. You're on the court you practice on. You have to play with the same intensity defensively as you do on the road. We're getting there. We're trending that way. If we can be a consistent ball club, we can beat anybody in our league."
 
Included in the Demons' 3-0 start to conference play was a 64-57 victory at HCU (12-17, 9-9) on Dec. 7, which completed a two-game road sweep in Texas.
 
Nearly three months later, the teams will complete their two-game season series in a meeting that has SLC Tournament implications.
 
The Demons are still mathematically alive for one of the two single byes that go to the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds. Northwestern sits two games behind both Southeastern and Nicholls, who enter the final weekend at 12-6 in league play.
 
Northwestern split with the Lions while sweeping the Colonels, giving them the tiebreaker in case of a head-to-head finish. Southeastern finishes the season at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UTRGV while Nicholls travels to Stephen F. Austin and Lamar.
 
Meanwhile, the Demons again will face the league's leading scorer in conference games as Bryson Dawkins took over the league lead with a 41-point explosion against SFA to overtake Southeastern's Jakevion Buckley, who the Demons held to four points in Monday's win.
 
"We played them almost three months ago in the first semester," Cabrera said. "It will be interesting There's a lot at stake for both teams this weekend. It's going to feel like playing a new team to some extent. The personnel is the same, obviously, but the scheme can be a little different as well.
 
"When you play a team the second time, you look to see what worked and you look to see what you can tweak and what can help your ball club on both ends of the floor. That's the game of adjustments and where coaching really comes in. The Jimmies and Joes will handle it when the referee throws the ball in the air."