Head coach Matt McCall
On Tre' McLean's performance.
"Like all these guys, I'm just really proud of him and the growth and development he's had this year as a player. I think he's another guy that's so happy that we won, and he's not wrapped up in his numbers. He's wrapped up into the team. I'll never forget the first night I met him when I had gotten the job. And he was just a little lost and confused on what was going on and me.

"He's a guy that hangs his emotions on his sleeve in a good way. Relationships are really, really important to him. We've really grown our relationship here as a player and a coach over these last several months. I couldn't be more proud of him.

"He works extremely hard on his craft. When he focuses on his 95 percent, his defense and his rebounding, his offense really opens up. He's a special player. You talk about a kid as a freshmen was playing Division II basketball. And now he's here on one of the biggest stages of the Southern Conference and does what he did tonight.

"Ge'Lawn Guyn had 21, but Tre' was on him a lot. That guy is a terrific player. Tre' did a good job on him. Tre's a guy that I think in years past has just been a defensive stopper. He's so much more than that. Sometimes in the game he tells me what we should do. I'm just really, really proud of him and the rest of our team."

What did you say at half time?
"The biggest thing was, the San Antonio Spurs have a saying talking about pounding the rock and you just have to stay with it. And you have to continue to hit that rock and eventually it will split. I felt like we were getting really hurt on the glass. I think they were outrebounding us by 10. I felt like some of our turnovers really led the baskets for them.

"T.J. Cromer double pumps and hits a three. Deuce Bello is not really know as a three point shooter. He cranks one in the corner. I just didn't want our guys to get deflated. We fought through that adversity. They went on a little run. I think they went up six, and we were able to respond. I just told them in the locker room, 'Keep playing. Don't play the score clock. Keep playing the game.' We want to enjoy this moment and enjoy playing."

"They came out with great energy. We've worked on that one-three-one zone in practice a bunch. We've thrown it out there here or there, haven't used it a lot. I felt like East Tennessee is a really rhythm team. And those guards Cromer and Guyn, those guys are so terrific at creating their own shots and off the bounce that I wanted to change the momentum a little bit and try to get them off balance."

"I thought our zone defense there was good, and it kind of maybe took them off balance a little bit. And we were able to go on a little bit of a run right there to start the second half, stayed with it the whole half, made the right plays when we needed to, took care of the ball and obviously made free throws."

On the team starting quickly, especially Eric Robertson.
"I ran an action the first play of the game to try and get them going, which we had put in yesterday. It was just a simple staggered screen to try to get him going. The guy guarding him kind of ran into the screen there, and he got an open look. He's again not wrapped up in anything other than winning. I knew that eventually that ball was going to start going through the net. I felt like the three he hit against Western Carolina kind of broke the snide a little bit, and I thought he was pressing a little bit in that game."

"I told him yesterday at practice that the three he made at the end of the game there that's going to get us going. And he kind of gave me the nod and said 'I agree.' We are going to put in a couple things here to try and get you some cleaner looks. We ran that the first play of the game, and he was able to knock that down, which I felt like got him into a rhythm with his shot."

How important was it to go up early against ETSU?
"I think it was huge, especially in your building. One thing you don't want to do is to get down, and I felt like that first possession was really good for Eric to knock down that three. When he's making three's, it kind of energizes the rest of the team. The guys are excited about it.

"In a game like this, a lot of emotions, both teams battling it out, two of the best teams in the Southern Conference, obviously first place on the line, I felt like we needed to get off to a good start. And we did that. It started with our defense. Obviously, 43 points in the first half and 41 in the second. You never want to give up 84, but luckily we scored in the 90s. And we were able to win the game."

On being a big rivalry game.
"ETSU has completely turned around what they're trying to do there with their new coach Steve Forbes, who I have the utmost respect for as a coach. I've known him for a long time. Steve and I actually worked a camp together back in 2006, where we first met. He was on the other sidelines, running all of Tennessee's stuff, and I was on one sideline running all the Florida stuff.

"He's just a really good coach who gets his guys playing well. He's had to do it a totally different way than me. I came into a situation with a lot of good players and a lot of good players coming back. And he went out and signed a lot of good players. To see what they're doing and meshing that team together with all of those talented guys, it's impressive.

"I could feel it. It's never about a coach vs. a coach. It's a team vs. a team. Our fans are passionate about that rivalry, amongst other rivalries. And it will be a big challenge in a couple weeks when we go up there because they'll be ready to play."

Justin Tuoyo, forward, junior
When you and Tre' McLean were redshirting together were you dreaming of playing in these types of games?
"Yes, I mean when we were redshirting, every day was stressful for us, because we had to go through hard residuals and watch the team on the court and them get better. To finally see me and him together on the court, every game makes me happy because we know where we were at. We were going through that struggle for a while. Tonight in particular to see both of us do well with the team, also to see how that win feels, it's so great right now. "

Was your mentality the same at the start of the first and the start of the second?
"You don't want to play from behind, so you have to throw the first punch. It's a battle the whole game. When you throw the first punch you knock them off their feet for a little bit. You know they're going to hit you back, but you have that first blow so you can defend yourself a little bit."

Do you feel like you sent a message to ETSU?
"Every game is a regular game. I know it's a big rivalry, but we know we have to go back to their place. They're one of the best teams in the SoCon. They're going to have the same crowd, the same atmosphere when we go there, so we're going to be ready to battle. It's a win for us in our column, but we know we're going to see them again."

Tre' McLean, forward, junior
How did it feel out there?
"It felt great. It always feels good to see the ball go in. I'm blessed."

On the win.
"It's always about the team. That's what we preached since day one. Take joy of seeing your teammate success. Tuoyo's been here since I got here. We have a really good relationship. I always look to him. He always looks to me. We always look in on each other."

What do you remember from two years ago?
"Like Tuoyo said, that every day was a grind. Getting better day by day, it was tough knowing that I would have to go to the gym. I have to go to practice, but when it's game time, I have to put my sweats on and sit there. As an athlete and as a competitor, it's tough to do that and not be able to go out there and see the results of what you've been working on. Tonight now we see the results. It took two years to see it, but it's good to see it."
 
ETSU Head coach Steve Forbes
Opening Statement.
"All the credit goes to UTC tonight. They played an outstanding game. They shot the ball very well. Their numbers were outstanding. When you shoot 55 percent from three, 54 percent from the two and 80 percent from the line, you're going to win a lot of games. You have to give them a lot of credit. They came out and shot the ball well. In the start of the second half, they went one-three-one. They went one-three-one one time in the first half, and we laid it up."

"They came out and ran it in the second half, and we got on our heels. We didn't attack it right. We took some forced shots. They went down and scored. We didn't get stops, and I thought that was the game in the first five minutes. From there we tried to fight back, and we did fight back. Our kids played hard. They battled. We had a couple of chances there maybe to cut it to six to maybe get them a little nervous. We couldn't quite convert. They did a great job at finishing the game at the free throw line."

On the stats.
"I think we outscored them bench wise, too. We had 11 turnovers, but the three line and the free throw line win the game. We had a game like that where I think recently if you look at the same stats, I think maybe it was against UNCG, they had pretty much won those stats. But we made 15 three's so that was the difference. So I think when you really look at those things you have to look at the free throw line. You have to look at the three balls, and that was the difference in the game."

On taking a punch early in the game.
"We're good at that. We like to take punches early. I don't know why. We're like Rocky. We like to take one in the mouth, and then we come back. I like that about our guys though because they're resilient. So I feel good."

"I don't think we finished the half real well because we kind of had the lead going our way, got a little sloppy. But then we stole the ball and went down there and laid it up. I thought Desonta Bradford gives a great spark off the bench. He's been playing well. So I felt good going into half time, especially on the road, but not the first five minutes of the second half. It just didn't go our way."

What are your thoughts on this environment?
"I love it. I've played here before actually when it was packed. We brought Tennessee here when John was coaching and almost got beat. So I would hope that people would continue to come out and fill this place up for Matt. Matt's doing a great job. He's a good coach. He's got a really nice team. I think they're the second best team we've played."

"Villanova, no offense, they're pretty good. But after that we played a tough schedule. Looking at the film, we played Georgia Tech, Tennessee, not any disrespect to anybody else on our schedule, but I thought they were the second best team we played. I would hope people in this community would come out and support these guys like they're doing in our community. I hope it will stay a really big rivalry."