Chattanooga Head Coach Will Wade
Thoughts on defending Georgia
“When you play a team like that, there's some give and take involved. We didn't want to let them pound us in the post. We were going to give them some shots. To their credit, they knocked them down, and they haven't been shooting it well all year. We tried to play some zone to start with Gaines, but he hit the first three and that got him going. When you play a team of that caliber, there's some give and take. We were hoping they going to shoot their percentages. I felt pretty good at the half. We were down seven and they shot 60% in the first half. I thought their numbers would come back to where they normally fall, but they shot it even better in the second half.”
On Duke Ethridge's impact on the game
“He's a stronger body. He's been practicing well. He deserved to play. He picked up the aggressive foul going on the offensive rebound. He did some good things for us. We really need him to pick it up and be a good player for us. So it impacted us some but that wasn't the difference in the game obviously.”
Thoughts on fouls
“I think a lot of those were late in the game. We did a pretty good job defending in the first half. I think we only had five or six fouls in the first half. A lot of those were late in the game where we're out there trying to extend, pressure and make something happen. I think we got two in the back court. Some of those are just trying to make things happen and trying to force things a little bit more.”
On matching up against the Georgia defense
“We shot 58 shots. We shot more than they did. I think they shot 49. They were just more efficient on their shots and we didn't hit open shots. We didn't hit open looks. I said before the game we were going to have to drill shots to stay in there. We had some good looks but didn't make them. We shot 10 more shots than they did. That's pretty good. We did a good job on the offensive glass against a bigger more physical team. We did some good things. We didn't turn the ball over much.”
Casey Jones, guard, junior
On Georgia's impressive shooting percentage
“It was tough. They got a lot of easy buckets at the basket. They had 48 points in the paint. We need to keep them out and contest those when they do get into the paint. Hopefully they shots won't fall like in any of our other games.”
Thoughts on the second half
“They came out with a new game plan. They wanted to get into the paint and finish shots. They shot even better in the second half. We just drizzled away as the game went on. We need to play 40 minutes every game.”
Justin Tuoyo, forward, sophomore
On playing low against Marcus Thornton
“I've played against him since high school, so I am a little used to it now. He got big and was really tough on me. I told Casey earlier that was probably the hardest matchup I've had all year. It was a tough battle.”
On how the team regroups and prepares for the next game
“We look at how we played. We have some time to get back to ourselves and work a little individually and as a team. We don't have that much time, but it isn't as crazy as it has been up to this point with so many games squeezed in not many days.”
Georgia Head Coach Mark Fox
Thoughts on the game
“That was a really good win for our team. I think Chattanooga has a good basketball team. I think they'll have success when they get into league play. Our kids were geared up ready to play today, shot the ball well and defended for much of the game at a level that we like. We're fortunate to get a good win.”
Thoughts on Georgia's shooting percentage
“We're just very unselfish. We stayed within our style of play and helped each other out tonight. We have a pretty good offensive team. Best offensive team we've had in a couple of years. When we help each other, we are a good offensive team.”
On Georgia's success behind the arc
“Kenny Gaines shot over 40% from three last year in the SEC. He missed about a month of practice before the season started, and he practiced twice before our first game and all we've really done since then is play games. So he hasn't really quite been himself, but tonight he kind of let the game come to him. He made a few and kind of looked like the old Kenny Gaines again. We are selective on the threes we shoot. When we shoot the right ones, we're a good three point shooting team. We didn't shoot a lot of them tonight but we shot the right ones.”
