Chattanooga (16-15/12-6 SoCon) at Samford (12-18, 4-14 SoCon)
Hanna Center - Birmingham, Ala.
Saturday - Feb. 26, 2011
Head Coach John Shulman
Opening statement:
"It's been a long road this season. We talked about it before we started, there are a lot of highs and lows in a season. The journey is a lot of times more fun than the destination. Tonight was about gutting it out and we did just that. I'm thankful that these kids get to leave a banner behind."
When you found out Western Carolina won:
"I wouldn't tell them regardless of a Western win or loss in the game. With four minutes to play, I knew we needed to win, but I didn't let them know."
On the upcoming SoCon Tournament:
"You can talk about matchups all day and all night, but whoever you get, is who you get. We'll do everything we've always done tournament week in Chattanooga. We'll get as energized as we can. Playing at 7 p.m., on Saturday, we're one of six teams with a chance to go to the NCAA Tournament."
On tonight's game:
"Keegan is going to get a lot of credit because he made big shots. I thought Big D (Jefferson) was factor. If he plays like that in the tournament we're dangerous. Early was a factor. Those two guys were big for us down low."
Senior DeAntre Jefferson
Taking the difficult road to the title:
"It's been a theme of ours all season. We grind games out and find a way to win. I knew at some point in the year it would help us and tonight was one those nights."
Celebration & Effort:
"Today was a big celebration. Winning a championship is emotional and hopefully we can take this into the SoCon Tournament. We came out with good energy, we got everybody involved, we showed we wanted to win the North Division Championship."
Advantage on the boards:
"We asserted ourselves inside. Chris (Early) played a great game, he got us going in the post."
Junior Keegan Bell
On his career-best evening:
"So many family and friends here today made it special. It's like home here. A lot of fans came down from Chattanooga...it makes it even more special."
On the energy tonight:
"Our energy has been off. We tried a lot of different things pre-game to get it going."
On winning the championship:
"It feels good when you set out to accomplish something, and do just that even if we are sharing it. It's a great feeling, but we have to get in gear and ready to roll for the tournament in our house."
