ESPN Men's Basketball

KATY, Texas -- Dequan Hicks and Marvin Frazier scored 11 points each Friday night to lead Northwestern State to a 55-52 victory over Sam Houston State in the semifinals of the Southland Conference tournament.

The second-seeded Demons (22-8), playing their first game in the tournament after a double bye, will face regular-season champion Stephen F. Austin in the title game on Saturday.

The game was tied at 51 when Hicks made two free throws with 39 seconds left. James Thomas of Sam Houston State was fouled with 19 seconds to go, made the first free throw but missed the second. Shamir Davis made two foul shots for the Demons with 13.2 seconds remaining and the Bearkats missed two tries at a tying 3-pointer.

Hicks also had a game-high seven rebounds.

Darius Gatson led all scorers with 14 points for Sam Houston State (17-17). Thomas scored 11 for the sixth-seeded Bearkats, who were playing their third tournament game in as many nights.