Jan. 31, 2009

Recap |  Final Stats |  Notes

Cleveland State Head Coach Gary Waters:
"Today was a hard-fought game and I thought they didn't quit. They came back at us. We could have been a little better to start the second half, but I put a lot of that on me. We should have been quicker and I thought we could have knocked them out. But they hit some three's. Our guys were resilient and we defended as hard as you can defend and we are starting to get back on track on how we defend."

"We needed Tre's three's tonight. He can shoot the ball, but is doing a lot of thinking. It's a mental thing right now with him. We have to get him through this year and have him help us in certain situations like tonight. I think next year he is going to have a big year. We just have to help him through this year. He may be our best athlete. He came to me before the game and told me he was ready."

"George recovered on one play and pinned the ball on the backboard. And one of the players who didn't hustle back thanked George because he knew he didn't hustle back."

"We've been talking about getting back on track and getting our momentum back. We had some momentum where we won eight of nine, but then went on the trip and lost. We had two home games and that will help us on this next roadtrip."

"If we want to have good positioning in the tournament, we have to do well on this roadtrip. And I think we'll be more prepared and focused and ready to play."

"If you get a good crowd, they can help lift you. And I thought tonight's crowd was great. Our guys came out and saw a lot of people in the stands and really lifted us tonight. And that's what we have to establish here. We going to compete."

Cleveland State's Norris Cole:
"It was a good week of focus. The team was focused and I was focused. I wanted to go out and be a leader. We wanted to keep getting stops because our shots were going to start falling."

"I like to take open shots. If it's not there, we have to run the offense. My shots come through the flow of the game."

Cleveland State's J'Nathan Bullock:
"I told Norris to keep turning the energy up and have a trickle down effect to the team."

"We got away from the game plan early. After the first media timeout, we regrouped and got focused and took care of business."

"We need to win ballgames and keep going. But out main focus is to get better and stay consistent on the defensive end."

"Norris' shot was a really big shot. We are always joking around, but we're looking at the future there. He is always stepping up and that's good for a sophomore."

"A game is a game of runs and everyone is going to have a run. We weathered the storm and pulled it out."

Wright State Head Coach Brad Brownell:
"I thought Cleveland State played well tonight. I'm not exactly sure what happened in the last 10 to 12 minutes of the first half. I thought we started out well, but then just fell apart for 12 minutes and the kids lost some confidence. We didn't look like the same team we had been for the last five weeks, but Cleveland State certainly had something to do with it."

"We didn't compete hard the last half of the first half. We settled for bad shots and didn't do anything. I was anxious to see how they were going to respond. And I thought our guys came out and battled and played well in the second half. We played with more poise and did some more things we were trying to do in the game."

"They did a good job on Todd. We needed another player to really be able to score enough points to win the game tonight. We have some depth, but tonight we struggled. I think our guys are laying it on the line, but it's a long season and I think that's where the wear and tear of the season gets to you. Teams figure you out more and weaknesses are exposed. It's a real challenge every night."

"Cleveland State is very long and athletic and they are always going to get to loose balls. They got to loose balls out on the floor and blocked several of our shots at the rim."