Demons stand tall against No. 12 Baylor before falling

WACO, Texas – The Northwestern State men’s basketball team may have dropped Tuesday night’s matchup against nationally ranked Baylor but found itself in the process.

The Demons fell to the Bears, 58-48, inside the Ferrell Center, but they delivered a Top 25-style effort against their third nationally ranked Big 12 Conference opponent of the season – and they allowed their defense to drive it.

“We got away from who you are,” first-year head coach Corey Gipson said. “That can happen when you’re on a seven-game winning streak. We’re a program that likes to dictate and control the tempo of the game. We started to play a little helter-skelter style of play. When you get away from yourself, things can happen to you like happened at Rice. One thing about this group, we have such a mature group that – after engaging and talking through it – they understand who we are and they’re mature enough to flip the switch and get things back in order.”

Northwestern State (8-4) held the Bears to nearly 30 points below their average of 82.6 points per game and did not allow Baylor, ranked No. 12 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and No. 13 in the AP Top 25, to build a double-digit lead until the 15:13 mark of the second half.

The Demons answered nearly every Baylor run, especially in a first half that saw Baylor (9-2) try to open things up late in the period.

Following the second of back-to-back 3-pointers from Ja’Monta Black that gave NSU a 17-15 lead, the Bears went on a 9-0 run across the next 4:45, threatening to pull away and do what Rice did to the Demons in a 110-73 Owls win this past Saturday.

Instead, the Demons were the ones who defended down the stretch.

NSU held Baylor scoreless for the final 3:16 and got a 5-0 run thanks to Reggie Hill’s layup and Isaac Haney’s second 3 of the first half.

“These guys know how to respond,” Gipson said. “We’ve been in positions where we’ve been down before, and we didn’t take quick and early shots. One thing about this team, they know whether we’re up or down, they know how to play the right way.”

That right way helped Northwestern State weather a 14-0 run early in the second half that gave Baylor its first double-figure lead of the game at the 15:13 mark.

Still, the Demons chipped away, working methodically to find shots while tightening the screws on the Big 12’s top scoring offense.

Even after the Bears built a 16-point lead with 4:44 to play, the Demons were undeterred.

An 8-0 run fashioned by DeMarcus Sharp and Black’s second-set of back-to-back 3s of the game sliced the lead in half at the 2:53 mark.

Sharp and Black shared team-leading scoring honors with 17 points while Sharp completed his first career double-double, grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds.

Three days after being outrebounded by 33 at Rice, the Demons lost the battle of the boards by just seven against the Bears.

“We had to get back to our identity, which is defense,” Gipson said. “We played some games that were in the 80s. The scores were there because we didn’t stick to our identity. We weren’t assignment correct on defense, but when your offense is driving you, you can fall prey to that. We had some guys who had some outstanding offensive breakouts, but we were neglecting our defense and fell prey to the fool’s gold.

“One thing I can assure you, from here on out, defense will be the identity we start with, and it will be the identity we finish the season with. Defend no matter what.”

The Demons return to action in a week when they face Texas A&M on Dec. 27. Tipoff from Reed Arena is set for 6 p.m.