Chattanooga Basketball Postgame Quotes
Chattanooga at VMI
Cameron Hall – Lexington, Va.
Wednesday – Feb. 26, 2020

Lamont Paris, Head Coach
On starting hot and building necessary cushion.
"That was great to get off to a good start. We were very fortunate, we did not play well during a stretch and we were extremely fortunate to be up double figures at that point. We had some stuff that we did not do well early in the game and they didn't capitalize. Sometimes it's like that. They missed some shots they usually make. We were very fortunate to be in the position we were at the half."

On matching up against VMI.
"A team like that, they are going to pull some that are quick, but they aren't going to shoot 20 that are contested. It means you're giving them a lot of good looks and they believe shooting the three is their best option. That is a very scrappy team. Man, that was one of the most true belief teams in our league. Just the way they communicate, they way they play, it's not fake. I give them so much credit. They just don't stop playing."
 
On VMI's comeback efforts.
"I'm nervous when we're up 20. I'm always nervous about what's happening. I don't know if nervous is the right word, maybe concerned. I had to call timeout in that stretch even though I wanted them to play through it. It exposed some stuff on our end for sure. It was all about how can we respond. There were some areas that we failed in tonight, quite frankly. To get through some of those situations, that's good experience. I've always said that, if you can draw up every win as a close win, it helps your team's growth."
 
On securing first round bye in SoCon Tournament.
"I think I'd rather have it. I think I'd rather have the bye because that means you played well, but you want to be playing well during tournament time. I believe in playing. I say that because I think it's a real thing, playing and getting momentum going. Saturday will affect how we perceive how we're playing heading into the tournament."

Trey Doomes, So.-G
On starting fast against VMI.
"It makes it a lot of fun, especially in this league. It was important. VMI was playing well and we emphasized trying to start fast. We held the lead and did the little things right which helped down the stretch."
 
On VMI's toughness and compete level.
"They competed until the end it showed. We were up big and they came back and made a run for it, we had to do the little things. There's some stuff at the end we emphasized that we should have done better, but after we figured that out we continued to keep playing."
 
On embracing the role and contributing in any way.
"When it comes down to rebounding, doing the little things, I just want to do everything I can to help our team win. I'll do everything I can do help us get a win. That's always who I've been. But with more playing time, I can become more effective. It's always been about waiting on my time to come and it's been fun. My confidence has been growing with the amount of playing time. We're a very deep squad. We have a lot of guys who can do a lot of different things."