DENTON, Texas – Monday’s first look at the 2026-27 Northwestern State men’s basketball team gave the Demons a perfect opportunity to work on end-of-game scenarios.
And Northwestern squeaked it out in the end.
Kai Simpson’s buzzer-beating jump shot lifted the visiting Demons to a 62-60 exhibition victory against North Texas at The Super Pit.
“Kai’s been very consistent with us,” fourth-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. “He’s a high-level guard who has all-conference talent. He played with so much poise today. I liked seeing him have success in an atmosphere with fans that was a little hostile. He handled it like the seasoned veteran he is.”
Simpson’s bucket capped a 23-point outing for the senior transfer from Thomas More University, and it halted an 11-0 run by the Mean Green, which wiped out a double-figure deficit across the final 3:41 of the game.
Prior to the Mean Green’s frenetic push at the end, Simpson had helped the Demons build their largest lead of the game – an 11-point advantage at 60-49 – by igniting a 10-2 run with five points and an assist.
Before the run that spanned 2:55 of the second half, neither team had led by more than eight.
In the first half, neither side was able to build more than a five-point edge.
The Demons’ defense played a large part in that as Northwestern held the Mean Green to 33.3-percent shooting in the game.
Northwestern continued that strong defense through the first 17 minutes of the second half, holding North Texas to 6-for-18 shooting before the Mean Green heated up down the stretch and hit four of its final five shots – including a trio of 3-pointers.
Two of those 3-pointers, including the game-tying bucket, came from JeShawn Stevenson, the preseason American Conference Player of the Year. Before his late heater, the Demons had held Stevenson to 2-for-12 shooting, including six misses from 3-point range.
“We knew he’s capable of scoring on all three levels,” Cabrera said. “We did a good job on him in the first half and all the way up until the end. He got them back in the game himself.”
Despite the Mean Green’s late-game surge, Cabrera said he wasn’t worried about his squad – one that is folding in 11 newcomers among its 14-player roster.
“Our guys didn’t look nervous or worried at all when we took a timeout,” Cabrera said. “I liked our chances at that moment.”
With the game tied at 60, Simpson missed a layup, allowing Kordrick Turner to collect the last of his team-leading seven rebounds and set up Simpson’s game winner.
“Kordrick has blossomed from last year to this year,” Cabrera said. “He needed to be on the floor. He’s such a great passer and a sneaky offensive rebounder. He did really well on the defensive end. He’s defending the other team’s best guards on switches, and he doesn’t get beat.”
Simpson and fellow transfer Isaiah Vick were the only two Demons to reach double figures with Vick scoring 14 points.
Twelve of those came in the first half when Vick shot an efficient 5 for 7, including a pair of 3-pointers.
“In the preseason before his ankle injury, he was one of our better forwards,” Cabrera said of Vick. “He hit some really clutch 3s in the first half from the corner. Him and Kai, being the D-II guys, they looked like they were there and shouldn’t have been (at that level). They are really good players. Zay stepped right in and belonged on that court.”
The Demons open their regular season in one week, facing Baylor at 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 2.