Chattanooga vs. Jacksonville State
Chattanooga, Tenn. | The McKenzie Arena
Wednesday, December 29, 2022
Postgame Quotes
 
Head Coach Shawn Poppie
 
Opening statement
"We've got to find a way to finish some games. We've got to make plays down the stretch and right now our opponents are finding ways to make those down the stretch and we are not. To be one possession down with four and a half, five to play, you got an opportunity to finish at home. We're not doing that right now. That's on me. I gotta find a way to get this team to finish.
 
Hats off to Jacksonville State that's a veteran team. They've won 20 games a year ago. With a lot of kids coming back, they definitely showed some experience tonight down the stretch. So hats off to them they did a wonderful job and we got to we got to find a way now headed into conference play."
 
On Jacksonville State's quickness
"It definitely affected us on both sides of the ball. You know, I think we tried to shadow the ball as much as we could to keep it in front. I thought we had some opportunities there to keep it out of the paint, but they just stay very persistent to get into the paint. On the defensive side, they're a really good defensive team. They've done that all year long. They use their quickness. You better make some shots from the perimeter and we did not do that. That paint has been filled with a lot of people and we have not shot the ball well enough to make people spread out. Game basketball is hard when you can't make shots."
 
On what was learned from playing 15 non-conference games
"I got to do a better job of finding a way to help them score the basketball. That's, that's really what it comes down to. We're not scoring at a good enough rate to win games like this. With that said, I do think you got to take a step back. We're 8-7. We played a very hard nonconference schedule. That team we just played. It's 20 win team with a lot of returners back and picked third and a really good league and they're gonna win a lot of games and with some veterans. With that said, I think it helped us be prepared for the league, so it hurts today and it will continue to hurt. I thought we had a wonderful opportunity. We had an awesome crowd. We hadn't been here in what felt like forever. I thought we had a really good opportunity to get some excitement for them to come back. Now we got to earn that back from them."