Little Rock Escapes With 84-83 Overtime Win Over Northwestern State

Kai Simpson’s would-be, game-winning 3-pointer was ruled to have been released after the clock struck zeroes on Saturday night, allowing Little Rock to escape with an 84-83 victory over Northwestern State at the Jack Stephens Center.

The Demons worked overtime in Arkansas before coming up a fraction of a second short of a road win. The defeat drops Northwestern State to 1-4 on the season, while the Trojans move to 1-3.

“It’s a tough one to swallow,” fourth-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. “I’m proud of our guys for putting themselves in position to win. It just didn’t happen. We were down eight with under a minute to go, and they never quit. Our guys never quit. They competed. They followed the game plan.”

The Demons looked in control during an opening half where they shot 50 percent from the field and built a 12-point advantage. Northwestern State did not commit a turnover for nearly 15 minutes, carrying a 40-35 lead into the locker room.

Little Rock Trojans MBB vs Northwestern St. 11/14/26 — Little Rock Athletics

Offensive struggles plagued the visitors after the break, as Little Rock limited the Demons to a 9-for-25 performance from the field over the first 19-plus minutes of the second half. The Trojans capitalized, stretching their lead to eight points with 2:38 remaining in regulation.

Trailing 70-62 with 43 seconds left, Northwestern State sparked an 8-0 run built at the free throw line alongside a layup from Simpson. Simpson finished with a Demon career-high 29 points, sinking two foul shots with 1.1 seconds on the clock to knot the score at 70 and force the extra session.

Freshman Antoine Almuttar played a pivotal role down the stretch. Izzy Miles was forced to exit the floor due to an injury with 11 seconds remaining, leaving the opposing team to select the replacement shooter.

“I don’t look at Antoine as a freshman when it comes to basketball,” Cabrera said. “He doesn’t play like a freshman. Izzy had cramps, and the other team gets to pick. The other team picked him. He goes in, and I don’t think the ball touched the rim. I’m not surprised. He’s our everyday dude.”

Almuttar calmly sank both free throws to keep the comeback alive. In the overtime period, Dionjahe “DT” Thomas injected life into the frontcourt with five of his season-high 14 points. Thomas twice gave the Demons the lead in the extra session, first on a three-point play to make it 73-72 and later on a dunk off a Simpson assist that put Northwestern State ahead 82-80.

“That’s the DT we’ve been waiting to see,” Cabrera said. “Kordrick Turner didn’t have a good game tonight, but DT stepped up and played the way we hoped he would. He did a really good job, and hopefully he can gain some confidence from that.”

Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on Mike McConathy Court at Prather Coliseum as the Demons return to action Friday to host UT Arlington in the start of a three-game homestand.

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