Upstart Demons barely miss upset of Colonels, 73-70

NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State basketball coach Mike McConathy didn’t like his team’s pregame approach Wednesday as the Demons, the nation’s fifth-youngest squad, readied for its last home game, against league-leading Nicholls, a team that pasted NSU by 41 points on Dec. 28.

McConathy ripped into the players pregame. It ignited a fiery effort that nearly carried the Demons to the upset of the season in the Southland Conference, but a turnover with eight seconds left and a missed 3-pointer at the buzzer helped the Colonels escape Prather Coliseum with a 73-70 victory.

The outcome settled a battle with 12 ties and 13 lead changes, the last coming when 32-point scorer Roddy Peters hit a layup for a 70-68 edge with 22 seconds left. The Demons suffered a turnover in the front court with 8.1 seconds remaining, leading to another of Peters’ 14 made free throws and a 72-68 advantage with seven seconds left.

Czar Perry hit a driving layup with 2.7 ticks left tightening the score to 72-70, but out of timeouts, the Demons had to foul on the inbounds pass. Peters missed the first free throw but dropped in the second for a three-point edge.

NSU’s inbounds pass sailed across midcourt but was deflected out of bounds with one second left, in front of the Demons’ bench. That left the door open for Perry, a freshman who scored 14 of his 16 points after halftime, to get a great look at a 3-pointer from the right wing that was on line, but just a bit too long as it skipped off the back side at the buzzer.

The final handed Nicholls (21-9 overall, 15-2 in the conference) at least a share of its first Southland championship in 20 seasons. It denied an epic upset by the Demons (4-24, 1-16), whose pregame demeanor lit McConathy’s fuse a half-hour before tipoff.

“Coach Mike called the team out, challenged us to do what we’re coached to do. He just wanted us to compete, and we did. Everybody put it all on the line, and if you had to get on the floor, you got on the floor,” said junior center Ishmael Lane, who scored 16.

“We had a little weak moment before the game, where guys wanted to go do things a different way, but I told them we will do things the way we do them at Northwestern,” said McConathy. “They came out and competed as well as we have since the end of last season. They grew up some tonight.”

NSU’s effort was personified by a player who scored his first collegiate points in the first half. Four-year football letterman Cameron Lazare, who led the team in receiving last fall, walked on to the basketball team in December. His first bucket in 15 games paled in comparison to the 5-foot-9 guard’s exceptional effort, producing four steals in 25 minutes and an inordinate amount of hustle and gritty defense.

“Cameron Lazare had one of the biggest impacts on a team as anybody I’ve ever seen,” said McConathy. “He brought energy, toughness and fight. He had four steals, he was on the floor, he was not backing down.”

The Demons were hampered by 17 turnovers, 12 after halftime, but stayed in range by coming up with 11 steals, shooting 46 percent overall and battling the Colonels nearly even (32-31, Nicholls) on rebounding. Another freshman, Larry Owens, scored 10 points and shared the team lead with junior college transfer DeAndre Love at five rebounds.

“Nothing we did was very pretty, but we locked down and competed, and it took a very talented team with eight seniors to survive our effort,” said McConathy.

The Demons played without their only scholarship senior, their second-leading scorer (11.2), Iziahiah Sweeney, who hurt an ankle in a Monday practice. But that did not deter NSU’s upset bid.

Said Lane: “It shows this team has fight and it’s a good sign for the future.”

NSU wraps up the season Saturday, visiting Central Arkansas.