NSU’s late comeback attempt falls short in SLC Tournament Championship

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KALB) - Northwestern State came up just short of dethroning the reigning Southland Conference Tournament champs as they fell to #1 Texas A&M Corpus Christi 75-71.

The Islanders will represent the conference as the automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament.

The Demons began the conference championship game the same way they started their semifinal matchup against UNO with a fast start. NSU jumped out to a 16-point lead midway through the first half before the Southland Conference Player of the Year Demarcus Sharp ran into foul trouble with two fouls.

TAMUCC took advantage of the all-conference defensive player not being on the floor by going on a run of their own, eventually tieing the game at 31 at the half.

The second half became a back-and-forth slugfest between the two best regular-season teams in the Southland Conference. The Islanders seemed to have the game wrapped up when they took an eight-point lead in the final minutes. However, NSU gave one final push on a 7-0 run to get the game down to just a one-point contest in the final minute. TAMUCC from there would get a big offensive rebound and sink their free throws to secure their second straight tournament championship.

Northwestern State closed out its first season under Head Coach Corey Gipson with a 22-11 record.

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