NATCHITOCHES, La. (Interstat) — Northwestern State used a strong first half and capitalized on Houston Christian’s mistakes to secure a 71-53 men’s basketball victory Saturday at Prather Coliseum.

The Demons built a 37-25 halftime lead and never looked back, improving to 9-19 overall. The Huskies fell to 10-18. Micah Thomas led all scorers with 23 points for Northwestern State, while Izzy Miles added 17. Kylin Green paced Houston Christian with 15 points.

Northwestern State scored 19 points off turnovers and held a 34-22 advantage in points in the paint, key factors in avenging a two-point loss to the Huskies last month. An announced crowd of 450 watched the Southland Conference game.