Chattanooga Basketball Postgame Quotes
UNCG at Chattanooga
McKenzie Arena – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Saturday – Feb. 9, 2019

Head Coach Lamont Paris
On giving up 32 points off of turnovers:
"It is obviously too many, but I have to watch the tape.  The number that concerns me more is that we had 22 turnovers.  32 points off turnovers would be a really significant statistic if it was 16 live ball turnovers that led to a layup.  They were not going to get that … What is significant is how many times a turnover caused a high-quality shot and they scored.  That is a significant statistic."

"That is why second chance points never mislead you.  You stopped them, they got it back, they scored.  No matter how you slice it."

On the difference in handling the press between the first and second half:
"We had nine turnovers in the first half and most of those were not out of the press.  We did handle the press.  My guess is more of them were out of the press in the second half, but we still turned the ball over way too many times. 

"We were not getting to our spots the way should.  We had one specific timeout that we talked about that it is just boring and monotony and you have to do the same things as long as it is working.  Don't get tired of doing the same thing that is working. 

"We did and we had a couple of guys cutting to a different spot. We had someone not get to a specific spot, then we had other times where we threw it and just fumbled it.  That was disappointing that we turned it over that many times.  22 turnovers against anybody … you can't do that and have a chance to win. 

"But it is a testament to what we did right.  We had nine turnovers in the first half and I don't know how many in the first half of the second half, and you look up and it is a one-point game.  We had that many turnovers and we were winning the game.  We were doing something right to be in that position. 

"We have to look at everything to figure out … everyone as coaches and individual players … what we are doing to contribute to not having the staying power.  We had the same thing in the Wofford game where we were up significantly late in the game. 

"It is one thing to come out and hit your first seven out of eight threes and everything is going crazy and that is why you are up for a little bit, then you settle down and 10 minutes into the first half they take control and it is never a game after that.  It is not like that.  These are games where we have halftime leads. 

"We don't play great, but we push the lead to seven in the second half, and then they start making their run.  Then it gets cut down to one and then you play with them at that level for a little bit.  Then there is another surge later and that surge had been insurmountable for us on more than one occasion. 

"Some of it is youth. I am not going to be silly and say it is not, but I am not going to give the guys that out."

On what is causing the recent slide:
"Rebounding has been a thing for us in a lot of games, specifically our defensive rebounding.  This is another game they had 14 offensive rebounds.  We have to rebound.  Today was 22 turnovers.  One day it is something different.  We have to practice better.  Practice yesterday was not going down in the history books on how effect it was.  It was fine, but it didn't break any records.  It is to be expected since we got back at 4:45 a.m., but as a general rule they have to be better.  You have to practice the way you want to pay.  They have been fine, but we could do more."

Thomas Smallwood – 33 – Sr. – C
Overall thoughts on the game:
"I think we did a good job in the first half.  Offensively, we had a lot of momentum.  We kind of weathered the first storm in the second half, then had trouble keep that level of play.  It didn't last the last 10 minutes of the game. 

"Overall, I think it is encouraging, we just have to … we have been stringing up good first halves and then letting it go in the second half.  We held on to it a little longer tonight, so that is encouraging."

On the second half adjustments UNCG made:
"I don't think they made big adjustments.  I think they just played their game.  The change more came from us.  We just made a few big mistakes and silly turnovers at the beginning of the second half.  When you have a team that plays the press like that it gets their confidence up and maybe they just got a little more aggressive.  I don't think they made any big adjustments, that is just how they play.  We handled it well for a big part of the game, not the entire game."

On the recent slide:
"I think the most important thing to keep in mind right now is we are in a position in the league where our record at the end of the day won't be that important.  I think the most important this right now is to keep our head up and find confidence and learn from whatever we do, whether we win or lose, just learn from it."

Donovann Toatley – 5 – Fr. – G
Overall thoughts on the game:
"I believe in the first five minutes we started off with a couple of turnovers, couple of missed shots and they got out.  They are a very good team and they are always going to capitalize off any team's mistakes.  When you give them live ball turnovers and let them run out it transition…they have Alonso knocking down shots.  Isaiah Miller is finishing at the rim and all of their bigs are running the floor.  It is just hard to give them those chances."

On their recurring runs:
"Sometimes it feels like we can conquer the first run a team brings, then once they hit us again in the second half, as unit, we hit the panic button.  I think that just comes to our maturity and our experience.  We have a very young team and even though we are deep in the season, experience still pays a big role.  We are not as seasoned as other teams, it is just different being in those situations.  We have to learn how to come tighter and be resilient and push through each run."