NATCHITOCHES, LOUISIANA – In a Southland Conference men's basketball slugfest on Saturday afternoon, Northwestern State's Devonte Hall delivered a game-winning shot to knock off visiting University of the Incarnate Word, 103-101 at Prather Coliseum.

The two highest scoring teams in the conference gave the fans a show as both hit triple digits.  The game featured 18 ties and 17 lead changes in a game that could have major implications on the final conference standings.  The Cardinals (8-4, 0-2) battled back from a 6-point halftime deficit and appeared in control of the game in the waning moments.  They led 95-89 with 2:09 remaining after a Shawn Johnson (Gretna, LA/Alief Hastings HS) three-pointer.

The Cardinals still led by three points with under a minute to go.  An offensive foul call against Kyle Hittle (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS) gave the ball back to the Demons (7-7, 2-1) with 38 seconds left.  Mitchell Badillo (Houston/Cy-Falls HS) picked up a steal and UIW was fouled, but they missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw to give NSU life.

The teams would trade free throws on the next two possessions to keep it a 3-point game.  NSU pulled to within a point on two free throws by Jalan West with 14 seconds left and then Matt Killian came up with a steal for the home team by knocking a ball off a UIW player before it went out of bounds.  West was fouled again with six seconds to play and made both free throws to give the lead back to NSU.  On the ensuing in-bounds play, Denzel Livingston (Houston/Waltrip HS) was fouled for UIW and he tied the game at 101 by making 1-of-2 free throws.

On the final possession of the game the ball ended up in the hands of Hall who drove the length of the floor and hit a 4-foot leaner in the lane just before the buzzer sounded.  He had been just 2-of-8 from the field prior to the final shot.

The Cardinals shot 53.1 percent from the field, including a scintillating 64.5 percent in the second half.  They were 12-of-27 from three-point range and 21-of-31 at the foul line.  Livingston finished with a career high 37 points, including four assists and three steals.  Johnson added 18 points and six rebounds off the bench while draining 4-of-6 from three-point range.  Hittle finished with 16 points and seven rebounds while Jontrell Walker (Aurora, IL/West Aurora HS) and Traylin Farris (Houston/Manvel HS) each scored in double figures.  Badillo led the team with six assists.

The Demons shot 46.4 percent from the field, made 10-of-23 from three-point range and were 29-of-34 at the foul line.  They made their final 11 free throws of the game.  West finished with 33 points, six rebounds and five assists while draining 5-of-6 three-point attempts and 10-of-11 from the foul line.  Zeek Woodley, the #2 scorer in the nation, poured in 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting and grabbed six rebounds.  Tra'von Joseph added 10 points and five rebounds off the bench.

The Cardinals return to the court on Monday night at home against New Orleans at 7 p.m.  It will be the team's first home game since December 4 and fans are encouraged to wear white for "White Out Night."
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