NATCHITOCHES -- Northwestern State Athletics will host a Basketball Tip-off and Select-a-Seat on Monday, Oct. 15, at 5 p.m., with fans invited to Prather Coliseum to get a preview of both the men's and women's basketball teams and select their seats for the upcoming season.
 
Doors will open at 5 for the Select-a-Seat portion of the evening.  Fans will be able to enjoy free appetizers while viewing seats available for renewal or purchase.  For the young Demon fans in attendance, a bounce house and face painting will be available on the north end of the Prather Coliseum arena.
 
Starting at 6, fans will be treated to a preview of the upcoming season with scrimmages from both the men's and women's basketball teams.  Prior to the scrimmages, new head women's basketball coach Brooke Stoehr and men's coach Mike McConathy will talk about their teams.
 
Northwestern State basketball season tickets are on sale now with general admission seats starting as low as $75 and reserved seating available for $90.  VIP seats, which include VIP parking and membership in the Demon Victory Fund, are available for $300.  
 
The 2012-13 season will feature a much-anticipated return to doubleheader play on Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons for Southland Conference contests in January, February and March.
 
“We're very excited about getting back to a doubleheader format for our conference games, and moving from Wednesday night to Thursday,” said McConathy, about to begin his 14^th season as the Demons' head coach. “This gives our fans the chance to support both teams, cuts in half the number of nights and days that one of our teams were playing at home, and avoids conflicts with church events on Wednesday nights. It's going to be a lot more fun for everyone.”
 
Weeknight doubleheaders will tip at 5:30 for the women with the men's game following a half-hour after the Lady Demons conclude. On Saturday, tip times have moved up an hour, with the women's game starting at 1 and the men following at 3 or later after the finish of the first game.
 
The Demons will commemorate their rich basketball history during the centennial season of men's hoops at NSU while McConathy hopes the 2012-13 Demons will make some lasting memories with a blend of vibrant newcomers and proven letterwinners. An unbeaten August tour of British Columbia showed flashes of what can unfold, even without three newcomers on the trip.
 
Anchoring the nine lettermen returning is leading scorer Shamir Davis, a senior guard who averaged 13.3 points per game in a breakout junior season. Senior frontcourters James Hulbin and O.J. Evans, and sophomore Marvin Frazier, will team with Hicks trying to offset the graduation of center William Mosley, fifth all-time on the NCAA shot-blocking list.
 
Highly-regarded 2011 recruit Jalan West, explosive Neosho County (Kan.) Community College scorer Brison White and 6-7 New Mexico JC power forward DeQuan Hicks, a contender for SLC Newcomer honors, lead a talented group of newcomers.
 
The Lady Demons return seven letterwinners including seniors Trudy Armstead, Jasmine Upchurch and Meredith Graf. Armstead started all 29 games last season and finished with 411 points, 246 rebounds and averaged 14.2 points per game.
 
Junior Tiandra Williams and sophomores Tashana Triplett, Arianne Ausmer and Jasmine Bradley are also back. Bradley returns after a stellar freshman year followed by a redshirt season last year due to a knee injury.