COMMERCE, Texas — The Northwestern State men's basketball team returns to the road Saturday, looking to snap a six-game losing streak as the Demons take on East Texas A&M at the Field House in Southland Conference play.

Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. with the game airing live on ESPN+. Radio coverage is available on the Demon Sports Network and flagship station 100.7 FM KZBL in Natchitoches.

Northwestern State (6–17, 4–10) enters the matchup riding a six-game skid dating back to Jan. 17, with its most recent setback coming Wednesday night against East Texas A&M in Prather Coliseum. Despite the recent stretch, head coach Rick Cabrera believes his group is closer than the results indicate.

"You have to keep them believing," Cabrera said. "We're close, really close, but both the players and myself have to be better about finishing games."

In the previous meeting, the Demons built a 10-point lead early in the second half before surrendering the advantage during a four-minute span as Gianni Hunt and Vinny Sigona ignited a barrage of three-pointers. After Willie Williams' layup cut the deficit to two with under 1:30 remaining, Hunt answered by driving the lane and finishing through contact over Justin Redmond to push the Lions' lead to four and out of reach.

Despite shooting better than 50 percent from the field, Northwestern fell 74–68 in a tightly contested contest that featured 13 lead changes. Micah Thomas led the Demons with a game-high 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting while adding two assists and two steals.

Northwestern shot 55.6 percent in the second half but struggled from long range after the break, connecting on just 1-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc compared to East Texas A&M's 7-of-14 performance. Free throws also proved costly, as the Demons went 7-of-14 at the line after ranking inside the top 100 nationally in free-throw shooting just a week ago.

Limiting clean perimeter looks remains a point of emphasis heading into Saturday's rematch.

"We have to understand who the shooters are and not allow them to get clean looks from three," Cabrera said. "That was the plan going into the first game, but we didn't execute it well enough."

East Texas A&M (9–15, 4–10) returns home after earning a historic victory in Natchitoches, marking the Lions' first win inside Prather Coliseum. The Lions relied heavily on their starting lineup in that contest, receiving all of their scoring from the starting five while playing just six total players. Hunt fueled the second-half surge with all 16 of his points after halftime to go along with six assists and five rebounds, while Sigona added 16 points and knocked down five three-pointers.

As Northwestern looks to respond on the road, Cabrera emphasized the importance of urgency from the opening tip.

"We have to play with a pulse and impact the game defensively from the start," Cabrera said. "We can't keep putting ourselves in a position where we're playing catch-up every night."

That urgency, Cabrera added, must translate into a collective response from his team.

"We've got to play angry, play with toughness, and play together," he said. "That's what it's going to take."