Head Coach Buzz Peterson
Opening statement ... "Our guys, I give them a lot of credit, I gave them a game plan that was to play with a lot of poise, don't try to get into a running match, not going up and down with these guys. They are very good at going up and down the floor; we didn't want to get into a game like that. With Goudelock, we had to make sure we contested his shots. KB (Kellen Brand) immediately wanted him, he wanted the challenge. Last time we played them, we were so close to winning that ball game, but we came up short at the end. These guys were pretty hungry for another opportunity. I had a feeling two and half weeks ago; we'd face them again. We tried to go up and down with them in the first half. The second half, we slowed it down and made it a much closer game. We are excited for where we are. And, we are playing a team we haven't faced in a long time and it's a championship game. I'm sure they are hungry for us; they are very physical, they have good inside play and good perimeter play; so it should be a heck of a contest."

On getting Charleston's big men in foul trouble ... "We tried to get him into foul trouble (Jeremy Simmons). We wanted to get the ball to our post guys. And they did a nice job. We got two fouls on him. I noticed the points in the paint. We got 40 and I was hoping somewhere in between 28 and 34. I see 40 and I see we did what was asked of us."

Senior Guard Kellen Brand
On his performance ... "To be honest, I was just comfortable and playing with energy. My teammates did a good job of helping me keep my head up by trying to keep getting me the ball, I got hot and coach just let me go ... I tip my hat off to (Andrew Goudelock) because he is a great player. He is a tough assignment because you never know what he is going to do. He can definitely shoot the ball. From last game, I learned I had to be more physical. He had a great game last night. I didn't want that to happen tonight, so I just wanted to get up in him and make him make some tough shots ... I feel like (Donald) Sims can explode at any moment, and I'm just trying to help him out a little bit. We have great support on this team; inside presence and guard play. Somebody had to step up tonight; fortunately, it was me. I have tip my hat to big-boy here (Isaac Butts); he made some great baskets and made (Jeremy) Simmons play down low and that was a part of the game plan earlier. We just tried to execute today."

On special motivation ... "It's another opportunity for us to come out and play. That was my motivation, just to come out here and step on this floor. Being a senior, it can very well be your last game. That's enough motivation to me and the rest of my team. Coming out tomorrow, we want to keep that in our minds that this could be our last game."

College of Charleston Cougars

Head Coach Bobby Cremins
Opening statement ... "Appalachian State played some great basketball. We were outplayed and outcoached. We are very disappointed we didn't make it a great game. Appalachian deserves a lot of credit and Buzz Peterson deserves a lot of credit. They were ready. We tried to key in on (Donald) Sims and (Kellen) Brand got hot early. They came out with a lot of energy and it's going to be a great final tomorrow night. I'm very disappointed for us and our team. We had a lot of fans and it's one of our toughest losses since I've been back in coaching."

On tonight's game ... "I knew when I came back to coaching there would be a lot of highs and there has been a lot of highs and this is definitely a low. This a low point for us and I knew Appalachian would be hungry. It's just too bad it wasn't a great game. Buzz has done a fantastic job with these players and deserves a lot of credit. They are a great team and tonight they were great. It should be an exciting conference final."

Junior Guard Andrew Goudelock
On tonight's game ... "This is how it happens. We've been through it before. That's the game of basketball."

Senior Guard Tony White Jr.

On tonight's game ... "I felt like early on, we really couldn't get into rhythm. They were coming at us scoring and making big plays. They did play our game pretty much. We knew that coming in that it would be that type of game. It just wasn't our night."