NATCHITOCHES — The Northwestern State men's basketball team showed up late.

Like the pizza that finally arrived for the student-athletes at halftime, the Demons didn't bring their best until after the break — but when they did, it was just enough.

Micah Thomas knocked down two critical free throws with 19 seconds remaining to push the lead to three, Chip Brunt forced a clutch turnover on an attempted pass to Davion Bailey moments earlier, and Kordrick Turner iced the game at the line with three seconds left as Northwestern escaped UIW 54–49 Monday night inside Prather Coliseum.

The win capped the regular-season home slate and flipped a script that felt dangerously familiar in the final minutes.

"Wow, what a fun game," head coach Rick Cabrera said. "I'm so proud of these guys. With how the first half went and then how the start of the second half went, they didn't get rattled. They answered the bell and took care of business."

After Izzy Miles' layup at the 3:38 mark gave the Demons a 50–44 edge, Northwestern didn't score for more than three minutes. UIW chipped away, and a Harold Woods 3-pointer with 1:17 left trimmed the margin to 50-49.

But this time, the Demons (10-19, 8-12) made the winning plays.

Brunt stepped into the passing lane with just over 20 seconds left, disrupting UIW's attempt to get the ball to Bailey. Thomas calmly converted both free throws with 19 seconds remaining to extend the lead to 52-49.

 After Tahj Staveskie missed a contested 3-pointer, Turner secured the rebound and knocked down two free throws with three seconds left to seal it.

Cabrera credited the atmosphere as well.

"I want to thank the fans and all the sports teams that came out," Cabrera said. "They were rowdy. I think they had a huge factor in us winning, just being loud and being obnoxious. That's how a student section is supposed to be."

For much of the night, offense was optional.

Northwestern scored just 18 points in the first half — its lowest halftime output of the Cabrera era outside of a 14-point half against No. 9 Baylor in December 2023. The Demons shot 6-of-27 before the break and watched Thomas, the reigning Southland Conference Player of the Week, go 0-for-7 in the opening 20 minutes.

Both teams combined to shoot 15-of-51 in the first half and 4-of-18 from 3-point range. It was 23–18 UIW at the break, a defensive grind that felt more like December than late February.

"No yelling at halftime," Cabrera said. "I told the guys we were getting open shots. They just weren't going in. The basketball gods will let you know when they're ready to go in because we work on those shots."

The second half told a different story.

After Bailey scored six quick points to open the period and push the Cardinals' lead to 29–18, the Demons answered. Thomas drilled back-to-back 3-pointers — his first points of the night — igniting a 10–0 run that flipped the momentum.

"To be honest, my teammates and coaches just kept telling me to shoot with confidence," Thomas said. "Continue to believe in who I am and just keep shooting."

Thomas finished with 18 points, all in the second half, including the two decisive free throws in the closing seconds.

Defensively, Northwestern delivered its most disciplined effort of the month.

Staveskie, who scored 33 points in UIW's previous outing, was held to just three points on 1-of-10 shooting and 1-of-7 from beyond the arc.

"Big credit to the freshman CJ Larry," Chris Mubiru said. "That was his matchup. He held him to one-for-10. We've just been building momentum defensively, and it's carrying over game by game."

UIW shot just 8-of-27 in the second half and 2-of-10 from 3-point range after halftime, including a five-minute stretch without a field goal.

Mubiru provided a lift on the glass, finishing with nine rebounds — six on the defensive end — and a key backside block that energized the building.

It wasn't pretty. It wasn't smooth. And for long stretches, it wasn't particularly efficient.

But in the final minute, the Demons had something they lacked in several earlier coin-flip losses: composure.

Northwestern closes out the regular season with a two-game road swing, beginning Saturday at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff before wrapping up the 2025–26 regular season Monday at UTRGV.