LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas – The Northwestern State men's basketball team worked overtime Saturday night and for a moment appeared to have pulled off a buzzer-beating victory.
 
However, Kai Simpson's would-be, game-winning 3-pointer was ruled to have been released after the clock struck zeroes, allowing homestanding Little Rock to escape with an 84-83 victory at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
"It's a tough one to swallow," fourth-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. "I'm proud of our guys for putting themselves in position to win. It just didn't happen. We were down eight with under a minute to go, and they never quit. Our guys never quit. They competed. They followed the game plan.
 
"We battled back. One more tenth of a second and we're in a different mood."
 
That the Demons (1-4) were in position to pull off an overtime victory was a credit to Northwestern's perseverance and a defense that turned up the pressure down the stretch.
 
After a first half in which the Demons shot 50 percent from the field and built as much as a 12-point lead, Northwestern saw its offense struggle to find that same effectiveness in the first 19-plus minutes of the second half as the Trojans (1-3) held the Demons to a 9-for-25 performance from the field.
 
Trailing 70-62 with 43 seconds to play, the Demons fought their way back, using the free throw line to great effect.
 
Kai Simpson, who finished with a Demon career-high 29 points, and freshman Antoine Almuttar combined to go 6-for-6 from the line in that stretch with a Simpson layup accounting for the other points in an 8-0 run that forced overtime.
 
Almuttar's free throws with 11 seconds left came after Izzy Miles was fouled and had to come off the court because of an injury. The Demons hit their final nine free throws in regulation after beginning the second half by hitting one of five from the line.
 
"I don't look at Antoine as a freshman when it comes to basketball," Cabrera said. "He doesn't play like a freshman. Izzy had cramps, and the other team gets to pick (the free throw shooter). The other team picked him. He goes in, and I don't think the ball touched the rim. I'm not surprised. He's our everyday dude."
 
The final two came from Simpson with 1.1 seconds remaining to tie the game at 70.
 
The rollercoaster nature of Saturday's game was evident throughout.
 
Northwestern built a 12-point lead less than 14 minutes into the game on a Simpson layup. The lead remained in double figures until a Cameron Brown 3-pointer with 4:42 to play in the first half.
 
The Demons did not commit a turnover for nearly 15 minutes and shot 50 percent from the field in the opening half, taking a 40-35 lead into the locker room.
 
"We were sharing the ball," Cabrera said. "We were getting stops and getting in transition. That was the game plan, get stops and go score in transition. That's what we were doing."
 
The tough second half offensively allowed the Trojans to take a pair of eight-point leads – the first coming with 2:38 to play.
 
After Papa Amadou Kante's dunk with 43 seconds left, Little Rock re-established a three-possession lead that wilted under a Demon defense that forced two turnovers and took advantage of a pair of misses on the front end of 1-and-1 free throws.
 
Dionjahe "DT" Thomas had five of his season-high 14 points in overtime, twice giving the Demons a lead – once on a three-point play (73-72) and again on a dunk off a Simpson assist (82-80).
 
"That's the DT we've been waiting to see," Cabrera said. "Kordrick (Turner) didn't have a good game tonight, but DT stepped up and played the way we hoped he would. He did a really good job, and hopefully he can gain some confidence from that."
 
The Demons return to action Friday when they start a three-game homestand by hosting UT Arlington. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on Mike McConathy Court at Prather Coliseum.