MOCS MEN'S BASKETBALL QUOTES
Game No. 22 | Chattanooga vs. Mercer | Macon, Ga. | Jan. 29, 2015
Head Coach Will Wade
On tonight's game:
“It was a great game; fun game to coach in, and a fun environment to be in. I thought that the difference in the game was that they finished around the rim better than we did. I didn't think we finished particularly well around the rim. We have to get better at that. We missed some critical free throws that we normally make. Of course, they missed some free throws as well so it was a little give-and-take with that. Overall, I was proud of our guys. I told them after the game the reason we lost this game is basketball stuff and we can go correct that. We were a connected team. We had unbelievable spirit. We were into it and that's hard in this type of environment. To come back from 15 down is tough and our guys did that. We had a shot to win it at regulation, but we didn't execute great. I wish we had a little bit better pace with our execution but that's the way it goes. We need to learn some lessons from this and be ready to roll on Saturday against Citadel.”
On playing against Mercer's lead:
“We were able to get back in. I thought we rebounded the ball well, which was great. I thought we did some nice things, but we had some empty possessions at the beginning of overtime. I thought we took some quick shots but we are just a different team without Justin [Tuoyo] out there. We just don't have the threat out there without him.”
On Mercer's three-pointer before the half:
“That was tough but our guys responded. Mercer got the lead up there but we chipped that thing down and took the lead. We have to give our guys credit. It was a heavy weight fight between two really good teams. We came in here and gave ourselves a chance to win, we just didn't have plays and didn't execute as well as we needed to down the stretch.”
On the team's performance:
“Casey [Jones] and Greg [Pryor] were great. They were tremendous forces for us. I thought Chuck [Ester] gave us a big lift. Chuck's been more aggressive. He's playing better. He did a nice job for us. We just really needed one more scorer to step up outside of Pryor, Ronrico [White], and Casey. That one more double-digit scorer would have been enough but we couldn't find that tonight.”
Sophomore Guard Greg Pryor
On tonight's game:
“They are a very good team. They got off to a good start at the beginning of the game so it put us in a tough position. But we stuck together and we fought throughout the game. We were able to make it a close game at the end but they pulled off the win. We made a couple of bad turnovers, took a couple of quick shots and that put us in a bad position.”
On his back-to-back three- pointers:
“Those two shots in the game changed the momentum, so that allowed us to pick up our defense a little bit. But they came down and made a lot of tough shots towards the end of the stretch of the game and I have to give them credit for that.”
On Chattanooga's development as a team:
“We have developed into a pretty good team. We always talk about getting used to these types of environments because we want to keep going forward. We want to be able to play these types of games every night instead of going back to a team that other teams see no big deal in playing against. We just want to keep moving forward and play these types of game every night.”
On how the team adjusts to a slow start:
“You have to have faith in your game plan. We had faith in our game plan, so we just stuck to what we talked about in the locker room and it finally came through for us towards the middle and the end of the game. We knew if we stuck to it, it would come to us and that's what happened. But they're a pretty good team. They gave us a run for our money and I want to give them credit for that.”
On playing down to the wire:
“They had a big three right before the half so that gave them a lot of momentum going into half time. When they came out the momentum was shifted towards them but we stuck together as a team. We were prepared to fight the lead and we did. They made their run, we made ours and we made it a close game.”
Junior Guard Casey Jones
On league team's respect for Chattanooga:
“We've been doing a pretty good job this season. Mercer had the blackout game for us because they knew it was going to big a game and they set the environment. I hope it's this way for the rest of the season.”
On staying focus in tonight's game:
“When they come out that strong at home, with the crowd, momentum just shifts instantly when the crowd is as intense as this one. We stayed connected like coach Wade has been telling us and we just played.”
On maintaining energy for tonight's overtime period:
“You don't think about tired until after the game so we weren't fatigued out there. With [Justin] Tuoyo being out it was a big loss for us, but we stayed at it and played as hard as we could.”
On the team's support of one another:
“Everyone was definitely into the game tonight. When everybody is active on the bench as we were tonight, it gives us a way better shot of pulling out a win. Even though we didn't win tonight you have to commend the bench, this is the best I've seen it all year.”
On playing Mercer:
“They played really well. They came out here, got the win and we'll just have to see them again. It's a two game series and hopefully we pull out the second one.”
