Chattanooga Basketball Postgame Quotes
Chattanooga at The Citadel
McAlister Field House – Charleston, S.C.
Thursday – Feb. 21, 2019

Lamont Paris, Head Coach
Overall thoughts on the effort after a 68-65 win.
"I thought we had some pretty good looks, and we didn't make a couple of those so we felt like we were due. On David's [Jean-Baptiste] shot, we felt like he was due. He made that shot and he also made a big free throw that ended up changing everything. I thought we had some good rebounds too. It's a fine line in this league, it's a fine line in general and it's certainly a fine line with a team as inexperienced as we are. We have had a lot of close games and won a fair share of those games. I think that's the difference between this year and last year. Last year, we were in a bunch of those close games and we fared poorly, including in this place."
 
On the defensive play, extra efforts from Maurice Commander & Keigan Kerby.
"I thought our effort, especially early in the first half, was really great. We let a couple of their guys get to the rim and had a couple missed assignments, but I thought our defensive energy and effort was overall pretty good tonight. Maurice Commander's two-point jump shot, and more importantly his ability to chase Matt Frierson, was so key tonight. It's so incredibly difficult to do and it's so difficult to challenge. The hardest part is to chase him (Frierson) so hard that he doesn't feel comfortable and Maurice was all over him, especially at the end of the game. I thought Keigan Kerby provided us with some good toughness plays tonight too. He had a couple rebounds in crowds that were critical. He snagged his fair share of those plays, and I thought that was really important."

David Jean-Baptiste, R-So.-G
On the good feeling of coming up with big defensive effort.
"It definitely does. We take pride on the defensive end. Coach always tells us in practice how the small things matter. Every rebound, every possession, smart shots at the end. It shows in a close game like this one."
 
On making crucial three late in the game.
"My heart was beating fast on that one. I have to thank my teammates for their courage to have me take that shot. In that situation, you have to be aggressive and just do what you know how to do. I felt the defender back off and then I had enough space to rise up and shoot."
 
On the differences between the two halves.
"The first half we were moving the ball around well and taking great shots. We did the same in the second half, but those shots just weren't falling. It was one of those halves. Citadel did a great job of fighting back and making it close. Thankfully, we came up with enough stops over the last three minutes. They didn't score over those minutes. We did what we needed to do at the end to get the win."

Ramon Vila, R-So.-C
On making crucial play down the stretch.
"We were down at the time and I knew we needed to score. I was very active and when you're active like that it, everything just comes around. I found myself in the right position and had enough energy to jump and block the shot."
 
On the play of fellow bigs Justin Brown & Keigan Kerby.
"Honestly, I'm really happy. Especially for Justin [Brown] and Keigs [Keigan Kerby]. We (the bigs) practice together every day. Keigs knew this was going to be an opportunity for him. He started out well, he guarded the ball, he passed and he scored. He had an amazing game tonight. Justin just does whatever Coach says and doesn't think twice about it. He's not scared of anything and he played well. He deserves it."