LAKE CHARLES — The Northwestern State men's basketball team begins postseason play Sunday night as the No. 7 seed Demons face No. 6 seed Nicholls in the opening round of the Southland Conference Tournament inside the Legacy Center at McNeese's Townsley Law Arena.
 
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game can be streamed live on ESPN+. Radio coverage is available on the Demon Sports Network, flagshipped by 100.7 FM in Natchitoches.
 
The Demons (10-21, 8-14) enter tournament play after closing the regular season with a road matchup at UTRGV on Monday night. Northwestern battled throughout the contest behind a strong performance from Willie Williams, who recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Izzy Miles added 12 points while Micah Thomas finished with 10, continuing to serve as one of the Demons' primary offensive catalysts down the stretch of conference play.
 
Now the focus shifts to a Nicholls team that edged Northwestern in both regular-season meetings.
 
"As the saying goes, this is March," head coach Rick Cabrera said. "Nicholls is a very good opponent. Obviously, they clipped us twice by a possession each game, but we're excited that we got in and we're looking forward to battling them Sunday night."
 
The season series against the Colonels (13-18, 12-10) told a similar story in both matchups — slow starts followed by strong second-half pushes from the Demons.
 
Defense has been a defining trait for the Colonels this season. Nicholls ranks 17th nationally in steals per game (8.9) and 28th in turnovers forced per game (14.5), both good for second in the Southland Conference.
 
In the first meeting on Jan. 9 in Thibodaux, NSU trailed by nine at halftime before responding with a strong second-half effort, outscoring Nicholls by seven after the break. Despite the rally, the Demons fell short.
 
The rematch in Natchitoches on Feb. 2 followed a nearly identical script. Nicholls built a 14-point halftime advantage, but Northwestern stormed back again in the second half, outscoring the Colonels by 11. Once again, the comeback bid came up just short.
 
For Cabrera, those narrow defeats still linger.
 
"As a coach, those games crush me because I always look back at plays and situations I could have handled better," Cabrera said. "I'm a lot harder on myself than I am our players. But that's sports — when two teams play, somebody is going home upset that night. Now we have a chance to redeem ourselves."
 
Across both games, Northwestern showed the ability to adjust defensively and generate second-half offense, cutting into large deficits and putting pressure on the Colonels late.
 
Sunday's contest marks the third meeting between the two programs this season and comes with far greater stakes. Unlike the regular season, the Southland Conference Tournament offers no second chances.
 
"It's hard to beat a team three times," Cabrera said. "Nicholls has a winning pedigree. (Tevon Saddler) has done a great job with that program. But we know we belong. We know we can beat any team in front of us. The margin of error is small — for everybody — because it's one and done."
 
For Northwestern, that means putting together the full 40-minute performance that eluded them in the previous meetings.
 
The Demons will also lean on tournament experience from players such as Thomas, Williams and Chris Mubiru, who have previously played in the Southland Conference postseason.
 
"For us, this is like the start of our NCAA Tournament," Cabrera said. "Walking into the arena, seeing how the Southland sets everything up — it's a great feeling. The goal is to win the tournament, and at least our guys have the opportunity to do that."
 
The winner will move on to face No. 3 seed UTRGV as teams continue their pursuit of the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
"Turnovers, rebound, defend," Cabrera said. "If we do those things, our offense will take care of itself. When we're good, we defend — and then we just play basketball."