Chattanooga Basketball Postgame Quotes
The Citadel at Chattanooga
McKenzie Arena – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Saturday – Jan. 19, 2019

Head Coach Lamont Paris
On the team's offensive performance today:
"I thought we were good offensively early in the game.  We had a rough start in the second half.  Halfway through the second half, we had only scored nine points.  I thought at one point we got a little bit tentative with our shots, which is what I did not want to do. 

"We talk a lot about shot selection with a team like this.  They are going to try to bait you into taking some quick ones.  We did that in the first half.  Even though we still scored 41, we yanked a couple quick that were probably shots that they did not mind us taking.  We wanted to try to get out of some of that.  I think early on, we went the other way and were a little tentative.   

"We got the ball inside early.  We did a good job of catching and finishing.  Second half, we didn't get as much of that and we didn't make strong finishes at the basket like we normally do and get to the free throw line. 

"Overall, I thought we did a pretty good job.  It can be a strange type of game when you play against them.  It is not strange to them, it is normal.  For us, it is not typical.  I thought we did a pretty good job overall offensively."

What was the message to the team during the latter half of the second half when the game was back-and-forth?
"There were two basic messages that I wanted to convey.  One was to continue to be aggressive on the offensive end.  I did not want us to be passive and turn down shots that are our shots.  The shots that led our guys to being the players that they are. 

"The other one was, I thought there were a lot of loose balls in the second half, scrappy rebounds and long rebounds.  They shoot some long shots which lead to long rebounds.  Those are harder to rebound than your typical one.  I thought they out-quicked us to some of those and pounced on them.  Those were the two main messages, and just try to dig and claw in there and get as many stops as we could."

Thoughts on the crowd:
"The crowd has been really good.  Hopefully, it is a double-edged sword.  Hopefully, because we played well in that stretch, the crowd gets even better.  There is a concept.  I thought the crowd was good.  I know that the guys felt it.  It is a huge advantage.  It is a tremendous home crowd advantage if we can continue to show up in high numbers, be active and really enjoy the game. 

"We have tried to do our part to make the games just as close as we possibly can, and pull it out at the end.  We have that down to a science."

On what was working defensively:
"On Frierson and Najdawi, I thought we did a good job of not letting them get the ball in their typical situations and shoot with comfort.  I thought that was the biggest part.  There were some other guys that got some open looks.  They missed some.  They had some open looks I am sure they would like to have had back.  Those mainly were not from Frierson and Najdawi.  They were from some other guys who are typically not counted on to perform that same way.  I thought that is where it started.  I thought we did a really good job with them.

"I thought we defended around the rim without fouling.  We have been getting increasingly better at that.  We still need to continue to improve with that as guys are committed to attacking the rim. 

"I thought the biggest thing was we were really locked in and focused on what situations are good for Frierson and what situations are good for Najdawi, and those were the two we really tried to take away."
 
Kevin Easley – 34 – Fr. – F
On his overall performance with 22 points and 12 rebounds:
"Coach knew they were going to throw a lot of defense at us, so he said to just be patient and the shots will come.  Get your team involved first and just play hard.  Really focus on defense and rebounding in this game."

On his play late in the second half:
"I lost a little confidence because I wasn't playing very well.  I just got self-motivated and kept playing.  Shots will come...go make shots and play hard.  Just try to get the win for the team." 

On the dry spell in the second half:
"We were too quick.  Coach wanted us to slow it down.  We weren't running an offense, just one pass and a shot.  That is the style they wanted us to play."

On the defensive play tonight:
"Just making them shoot tough shots.  You know they shoot a bunch of quick shots.  We knew that was going to happen and just rebound too.  We did not want to give them second-chance points.  I guess it worked."

Ramon Vila – 15 – So. – F
What was the key defensively?
"We were talking with coach all this week to be in the gaps on defense, help each other.  It is something that we didn't really do against Mercer.  We just did it, and I think it worked out well.  They had 71 and they are a team that is used to scoring a lot more."

On maintaining the lead late in the game:
"Help defense.  We missed some free throws at the end. We have to get better at that.  We have been missing free throws lately.  A little bit of luck.  They had a layup that could have easily went down. It just didn't happen.  A little bit of luck and defense."

On how tough it is to play The Citadel:
"They are a tough team to play.  You know what is going to happen.  Everybody can shoot.  Everybody can dribble.  They play small, and they are just a tough team to play."