The Northwestern State University of Louisiana men’s basketball team defeated John Melvin University 121-49 on Tuesday, Nov. 20, but this win will not count towards their non-conference record.
Rick Cabrera, men’s head basketball coach, found out that John Melvin was not an accredited university just nine minutes before the game.
“I’ll be honest. I thought about canceling it nine minutes before the game, but I didn’t want to do that to our fans; we had a pretty nice crowd. We just played it. It counted as a scrimmage,” Cabrera said. “I was very disappointed in hearing that news, but it is what it is, and you focus on the days ahead.”
Going into the game, the athletes were unaware that the game would not count towards their record.
“They did not know; I chose not to. In my mind, it’s a win, and I’m not letting any mistake take that win away because we have to play a lot of big schools, so it kind of offsets it,” Cabrera said. “I did not tell them, but, if they ask me, I will be honest with them.”
Cabrera explained his decision not to tell the players before the game.
“We have guys that love to play basketball, so, if I were to guess, if they had known, they would’ve still played hard and still would’ve tried to get better,” said Cabrera. “And it was a game that we needed. I think they would’ve been disappointed, rightfully so, but you know I just chose not to — to avoid any distractions.”
Although the Millers are not an accredited university, the Demons made the most of this win.
“Any win can be something to get you motivated: just seeing the ball go through the hole, seeing guys have fun and being back on the court again,” Cabrera said. “We needed guys like Dontae Walker and Landon Jumawan to see the ball go through the net against other competition rather than each other during practice. This game and coaching is all about building self-confidence in players, and we did that.”
After the Millers’ defeat, NSU lost 63-65 to the University of Louisiana at Monroe on Nov. 22 and won 71-58 against the University of North Alabama on Nov. 24 in the City of Lights Classic Multi-Team Event at Prather Coliseum. The team lost 53-77 against Louisiana State University on Nov. 29 in Baton Rouge. In their first Southland Conference game of the season, NSU defeated the University of the Incarnate Word 72-70 on Dec. 5 in San Antonio. The Demons defeated Houston Christian University 64-57 on Dec. 7 in Houston.
Currently holding a record of 4-5, the Demons look to pick up another win against the University of California, Berkeley on Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. as they travel to Berkeley, California.
