NATCHITOCHES, La. --- Houston Christian University dropped the penultimate regular season road contest of the campaign, falling 71-53 to Northwestern State University in Prather Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. The Huskies trailed by two with just under six minutes to go in the first half, but a big closing run by the hosts heading into the intermission proved to be decisive.
 
Northwestern State looked to get away early, as a layup by Chip Brunt and a three-ball by Izzy Miles produced a 17-9 advantage just under the 11-minute mark. The Huskies fought back as five straight points from Kylin Green on a stepback three and tough drive and finish got the visitors back to within five with 8:10 to go before the break.
 
Moments later, another hit from deep by Green was chased by an offensive putback by Demarco Bethea, closing the gap to just two, 25-23 with 5:40 on the scoreboard. That is where the Demons began to assert themselves, limiting the Huskies to two points over the final stretch. A three-ball by Landon Jumawon pushed the lead to nine, and Miles scored five over the final run to push NSU to a 12-point halftime margin, 37-25.
 
The lead would grow to 14 on a Willie Williams jumper right out of the chute and Northwestern's second-half opening run reached 14-5 on another long ball by Jumawan as the Demons took a 49-30 lead with 13:10 to play.
 
HCU cut the lead down to 11 as consecutive three-pointers from D'Aundre Samuels and Demari Williams two minutes later capped a quick 8-0 spurt. Northwestern State answered however, and back-to-back lay-ins from Chris Mubiru and Williams pushed the lead back to 18 at the 6:05 mark and the Demons coasted down the stretch.
 
HCU shot 38% on the day, including 28% from the arc. Northwestern was 48% from the floor and 79% from the charity stripe, while using a 26-15 edge off the bench and a 34-22 margin. The Demons also scored 19 points off 14 turnovers by the Huskies.
 
Three Huskies recorded double-figure outings, led by Kylin Green with 15. Demarco Bethea had 10 points and seven boards while Ryan Bartley added 10 points as well.
 
Northwestern State (9-19 | 7-12 SLC) was paced by Micah Thomas, who posted his third straight 20-point outing with 23 points to lead all scorers. Izzy Miles had 17 points and five rebounds while Willie Williams registered a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards.
 
HCU, now 10-18 overall and 6-13 in Southland play, dropping one game behind Northwestern State in the race for a postseason berth. The Huskies will now travel to Commerce for a Monday night matchup with East Texas A&M in the final road game of the regular season.  
 
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