KATY, Texas â Northwestern State menâs basketball coach Mike McConathy has preached âwe not meâ throughout the 2020-21 season.
His fourth-seeded Demons paid back his belief in that philosophy Thursday evening in the Southland Conference Tournament quarterfinals, using a plethora of key contributions to hang for an 82-79 win against fifth-seeded New Orleans at the Leonard E. Merrell Center.
âWe played against an extremely difficult team to play,â said McConathy, who improved to 19-9 in SLC Tournament games. âThey are extremely athletic. They do a great job in so many areas offensively and defensively. I was proud of the guys because, at the end, when things got a little hairy and we didnât make some shots we needed to, we were able to have enough in us to hold onto the win. Iâm really pleased with the effort of all the guys on the floor, on the bench, everywhere.â
Massner carries Northwestern St. past New Orleans 82-79
March 12, 2021 GMT
KATY Texas (AP) Trenton Massner had 20 points, including two free throws with 43 seconds left, as Northwestern State edged New Orleans 82-79 in the quarterfinals of the Southland Conference Tourney on Thursday.
The Demons meet top-seeded Nicholls State in Friday’s semifinal round.
Larry Owens had 13 points for Northwestern State (11-17). Jamaure Gregg added 11 points and seven rebounds. Brian White had 10 points and C.J. Jones scored five and dished seven assists.
New Orleans came as close as 81-79 on a Kmani Doughty 3-pointer with 12 seconds left. Northwestern State added a free throw one second later and New Orleans turned the ball over twice as the clock ticked down.
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Southland Conference The Favorite
Abilene Christian (13-2, 21-4): Joe Golding has steadily been molding the ACU Wildcats into one of the conference’s best teams over his 10 years, but this may just be his best work.
The Wildcats have built an impressive resume at 13-2 in conference, and their two non-conference losses were competitive ones to now-ranked Texas Tech and Arkansas. Most of his wins this season have been convincing, and save for a loss to Central Arkansas, the Wildcats were potentially a decent win away from having a real case at an at large bid.
Currently at 97 in KenPom, they are nearly 80 spots higher than the next-highest Southland member (Sam Houston State). Their success starts on the defensive end; the Wildcats are ranked 37th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency. Golding preaches an aggressive defensive strategy and it shows in the statistics. They force the most turnovers in the conference (and 11th highest in the nation) at 20.6 per game, and rank