ECU, JMU Postgame Quotes
December 13, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
EAST CAROLINA HEAD COACH Jeff Lebo
Opening statement
"I give my team credit. We didn't have a very good start to the game, our first 10-12 minutes. Defensively I thought we stayed in the game despite being so poor offensively and turning the ball over in the first half. We fouled too much in the first half. We put them on the line 15 times and we turned the ball over 14 times in the first half. That has been a good area that we have taken care of the basketball but we had problems today. The second half was a different story. I thought we did a lot of nice things. We moved the ball better, we got them out of the zone, we attacked off the dribble in gaps, and we shot the ball much better. Caleb (White) and Terry (Whisnant) made some big shots. We shot 54 percent (after halftime). When you make shots it makes everything else better. It makes your defense better, it makes your energy better, it makes your communication better and it does that everywhere in the country. It is amazing how that works. Finally, we shot the ball pretty well in the second half.
On the team's defense
We had some key stops I think when we needed to. We went to a 2-3 zone and forced a couple of turnovers and that was big for us. We did a nice job on the glass as well and were able to out-rebound them." On the return of Marshall Guilmette and Paris Roberts-Campbell
"It's going to take time with Marshall. He had three turnovers in six minutes and just looked out of whack. He has practiced for two hours since his injury. I wanted to try get him in. That's how they look when you come back and that's just how you look. I wish it was a little different but that's why I wanted to get Marshall in the game early to get him to work that out his system a little bit earlier. I thought he was closer to being ready than Paris.
" Paris is still hobbling. I would like to give him another week to try to get him back a little bit closer."
James Madison Head Coach Matt Brady
Opening statement
"I liked how we played in the first half, holding a small margin at the end of the first half. I thought we played with a lot of energy. I thought the second half really changed because we missed a lot of shots on two on one's and plays around the rim. We just didn't finish and they ran the other way and they made plays."
"I thought we gave them a lot of energy with our inefficiency offensively just finishing advantage plays in the open court. Especially against the press I thought we had really good opportunities. There are a number of different plays we could have made to make it a more difficult game for them to win. Give East Carolina a lot of credit they kept fighting and they pulled away at the end."
On the rebounding battle
"We thought that was the key to the game to be honest with you. Watching tape they send three guys to the glass. Those guys are a little bigger than we are, we had to be a little tougher and they just fought hard. Twelve offensive rebounds were too many. We thought we could hold them to seven or less then we could win the game, 12 offensive rebounds were too many. I thought also loose balls, they got more loose balls than we did. I thought offensive rebounding was going to be a factor in this game and it was."
Junior Terry Whisnant
On getting a win after back-to-back losses
"We know we are definitely a better team than we have been playing (in the previous two games). We just have to put two halves together, 40 minutes together, and I feel like we did that tonight."
On the team's rebounding performance
"Coach preaches to us everyday in practice, we need more boards, and we always get out rebounded. However, I think we put an emphasis on that, and it was big game for us coming off a loss. We are just ready to take a step forward, so we all came together and played hard, and got a great team win tonight."?
Sophomore Caleb White
On his second half performance
"In the first half I have a tendency, not necessarily a good tendency, to sit back and get the flow of the game. In the second half I know my spots and pick and choose them. That is when I usually go for it then. We have a lot of other players that can come in score when I have an absence of scoring. Then in the second half I take more initiative."
On JMU's first half run
" We just preach to stay calm and that everything is going to go. We were turning the ball over and the press caught us of guard. We were making simple mistakes that are easily correctable. We calmed down and the adrenaline got under control, which made us think more clearly and the turnovers cut down."
