Know Your Foe: Northwestern State Demons

The question that Mizzou fans frequently ask during the early stages of the basketball season is, “who are these guys?”

Tonight, the Northwestern State Demons pay a visit to Mizzou Arena, as the Tigers hope to improve to 7-0 on the young season. But rather than focusing on Frank Haith’s impact on his new team, or how senior forward Kim English will play in his first game since scoring a career high 29 points, I’ll be focusing on the Demons and where they are coming from.

Northwestern State University is located in Natchitoches, LA, which has a population of 18,323, according to the 2010 census. It was established as a French colony in 1714 and claims to be Louisiana’s oldest town, and is also the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase territory when it was established in 1819. It was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe.

The town stays in touch with its historic roots with its downtown area, which is a National Landmark Historical District. It features many historic landmarks, including the Fort St. Jean Baptiste site, which served as a military outpost and commercial trade center from 1716-1762. The Historic District of Natchitoches features more than fifty other buildings and landmarks that are centuries old.

This historic looking town has doubled as a movie set for several films, including “Steel Magnolias”, starring Sally Field and Dolly Parton, among others. The author of the play the movie is based off of, Robert Harling, was a native of Natchitoches and based the play in his hometown.

“The charming qualities of our 275 year old community and its friendly, caring people were a perfect blend for the filming,” according to the town’s website natchitoches.net. Other movies filmed in Natchitoches include “The Man in the Moon” and “The Horse Soldiers”.

Another one of the town’s claims to fame is the Natchitoches Meat Pie, one of Louisiana’s state foods. The pie’s ingredients include ground beef and pork, onions, and peppers, and is wrapped in crust and fried until golden brown. The pie is so popular, Natchitoches holds a Meat Pie Festival every year, which takes place at the downtown riverbank. The festival, which was celebrated for the ninth time this September, includes live music, a river run, and, of course, plenty of meat pie.

As enticed as I am by meat pie, I would never have heard of Natchitoches if it weren’t for Northwestern State University. NSU was established in 1884 and has a current enrollment of 8,078. Its mission states that it is “a responsive, student-orientated institution that is committed to the creation, dissemination, and acquisition of knowledge through teaching, research, and service”. The university’s most popular majors are biology, business administration, and criminal justice. Students are able to choose from over 100 student organizations and take part in an active Greek Life program.

As far as athletics go, the Demons and Lady Demons compete in the Southland Conference, competing in 12 Division I sports, although the football team competes at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision. The football program has produced dozens of NFL players, including Pro Football Hall of Famer Jackie Smith, and went 5-6 this past year, finishing fifth in the conference.

The Demons’ most famous sporting moment, however, belongs to the basketball team. In the 2006 NCAA Tournament, the 14th seeded Demons shocked the 3rd seeded Iowa Hawkeyes on a last second desperation three pointer from Jermaine Wallace. Trailing by two with 14.6 seconds to go, the Demons took the rebound from a missed free throw down the court and took but missed the first potential go ahead three. Wallace took the rebound into the corner and, while falling out of bounds, drained the dagger and the Demons pulled out a 64-63 shocker. Northwestern State’s athletic site calls the game “the biggest single accomplishment in NSU athletic history”.

This year’s edition of the Demons’ basketball team come to Mizzou Arena riding a two game winning streak and have an overall record of 4-3. They are led by senior center William Mosley, who is averaging 8.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game. He is currently fifth in the country in shots blocked per game. Junior guard Shamir Davis leads the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game.

Mosley may have gaudy rebounding and shot blocking numbers, but he is only listed at 6’7”, so Missouri’s big men such as Ricardo Ratliffe and Steve Moore may be able to control him on the glass. On the offensive end, Mizzou is averaging 18.6 more points per game than the Demons, and given the level the Tigers have been playing in recent weeks, I don’t foresee another Iowa-esque upset tonight in Columbia.