Head coach Matt McCall
Thoughts on the game.
"I felt like from the beginning of the game, we got so consumed with ourselves.  The first play of the game, we get a layup.  Tuoyo didn't make it.  It went off his hands and I thought that set the tone for the game.  Especially for him.  I thought he was rattled throughout the rest of the game. 

"I have been a part of a lot of basketball games.  I have never been a part of a game where in the first half, you have 18 turnovers in the first 18 minutes of the game.  We basically, turned the ball over every single minute for the first 18 of the half. 

"We were just not ourselves.  We were making the wrong plays and we weren't trying to make the right plays.  Then we got completely consumed with trying to get it back with one play.  That is why the game got away from us in the first half." 
 
On trying to make a comeback.
"Obviously, I am proud of our guys taking the fight and trying to get back in the game.  But, again, it seemed like we could never get over the hump.  We would get it to six or five and then someone would get the ball slapped out of their hands.  We would get it to six or five and we would foul.  It just seemed like it was one of those nights."

On the play of Western Carolina.
"You have to give them credit.  They played inspired.  They fought adversity.  We didn't have the focus.  I have talked about having a level of focus before the game.

"To win on the road you have to be able to do three things.  You have to take care of the basketball, you have to rebound the basketball and you have to guard the three.  Two out of those three, we did a really, really bad job of tonight.  Our focus was not there.

"Every single night, because of what these guys have been able to do, you are going to get the team's best shot and you can't just show up and think it is going to be easy. 

"We are getting every team's best shot every single night we play.  I don't care who it is in our league.  For the most part this year we have done a good job of handling those situations and coming with the right focus.  We didn't have that tonight.  They played harder.  At the end of the day, they played harder.  Give them credit for that."

Tre' McLean, forward, junior
Was the team mentally tired tonight?
"We had a lot of mental lapses tonight.  We weren't very tight.  You have to avoid a game like this.  But it's all part of the game.  We have to keep coming.  The scout team did a good job preparing us, but it just didn't translate to the game.  It was just tough."

On not being able to get momentum or runs.
"The whole second half we were waiting to make our run, and it just never came.  We just weren't very good tonight as a team."

On Western Carolina's performance.
"Devin Peterson made some big shots.  Justin Browning made some big three's in the first half.  They played the way they were supposed to play.  When the No. 1 team in the conference comes in the building, they're supposed to be ready to play.  We just have to understand every night we step on the court we're going to get everyone's best shot."

Eric Robertson, guard, senior
On Western Carolina having hands in the passing lane.
"We were getting in the lane and trying to make passes that weren't there.  We were just out of character tonight."

On thoughts during half time.
"The whole time we were thinking chip away, chip away at the lead, especially in the first five minutes.  Then hopefully we would come back and be able to get the win, but we didn't tonight."

On Western Carolina answering well tonight.
"They did for sure.  Whenever we would get down to 10 or under 10, they would somehow get a score and push it back up.  They were just aggressive the whole game.  That's how they beat us."

On shaking game off and getting back to work.
"We have another game on Saturday.  We really don't have much time to sit and talk about this one because tomorrow we'll have practice, and we'll have to prepare for ETSU."