Wofford Terriers
Coach Mike Young
Opening statement
“I’m proud of our team. We have great respect for coach (Larry) Hunter and those Catamounts. You know when you play those guys it’s going to be a fight and it’s going to be a fight to the finish. Their preparation and how they go about things in their program is exemplary in nature. They march at hymn as well as anybody I have seen in coaching and I applaud them. Our guys and these two guys to my left (Lee Skinner & Karl Cochran), not just this year, but the success we’ve enjoyed down the line. We look forward to coming back tomorrow and strapping it on one more time and getting after it.”
On defending James Sinclair
“It’s really hard. That’s a burden to chase James Sinclair. James Sinclair is fabulous. He is a terrific basketball player and a first-class young man. That’s a tall order. Now, I’m going to send him down on the offense end and run him through 13 screens, moving at 100 miles per hour.”
Senior Lee Skinner
On last four years
“Not this year, but the last four years have been great. After all the highs and lows, to be in the position we are in now is that much sweeter and we enjoy it that much more. We’re not finished and there is always more to do and more to accomplish. It’s been a great ride. We play like we don’t want it to end, and that’s because we don’t. We’re really excited and happy.”
Senior Karl Cochran
On this season
“This year was challenging because of the standards we’ve had to live up to. We couldn’t let those standards allow us to underestimate anybody, especially when we came into the tournament. Every team is a different animal and a different beast in the postseason. That’s one thing we’ve focused on is playing every team like it’s the first time we’ve played them and not let anything that happened in the past determine the future.”
On mindset for tomorrow
“One thing we have an advantage of is poise. This team this year, opposed to last year’s team, we’ve been able to fight back when the other team punches us in the face. It’s the nature of the game. The other team is going to make a run, but with the team this year, we do a good job of huddling up and settling down.”
Western Carolina Catamounts
Coach Larry Hunter
Opening statement
“Number one, I think Wofford is an awfully good basketball team. They do a lot of things well on both ends of the court. They don’t beat themselves. I thought a big difference in the game, and it has been the difference the last three times we’ve played them, was our inefficiency offensively. We left a lot of points out there. They do a good job of contesting some of those but we missed some easy ones, too. I thought, in the first half, Spencer Collins was really big for them. Karl Cochran was held to zero in the first half, but he was big in the second half. But above that was their support players. Jaylen Allen had 10 points on two shots and free throws. He had some big baskets in the first half. John Swinton had a big basket. They are a good team. They have a lot of pieces of the puzzle. You can’t just key in on one or two guys. We had it to nine points and changed up our offense. We opened it up a little bit and got some things going in the second half. I thought we did a good job of changing the tempo. It was all in their favor in the first half. I thought we changed the tempo by picking them up full court and a little bit more ball pressure. Then we had two steals and missed both layups. We came out of there with no points and we were down 11 at the 2-minute mark or so. They got two offensive rebounds off of free throws and that was pretty much the game. We didn’t have a chance to cut it to five or six. They played well. They are a good team.”
On Wofford’s offense
“I see they had 13 turnovers. The last few times we played them they had a few more turnovers than us. They are just efficient. They shot 55 percent. They get quality shots and they finish really well. They’re playing with such confidence that when they do get an open jumper, they hit it. They keep you under the gun at all times. It doesn’t always have to be the same guys. It varies. That’s what makes them a tough team to defend.”
Senior guard James Sinclair
On Wofford’s offense
“They’re very efficient at what they do and they run their sets. They had open jumpers and they hit them, and we missed them tonight. They’re a good ball club. I wouldn’t want to go to war with anybody else than the people in our locker room. Coach, the assistants, and all the players have given me a very loving and special career here at Western. I truly believe I wouldn’t be the same player I am today if I didn’t attend this school.”