Photo by: The Daily Reflector
Postgame Quotes: ECU vs. N.C. A&T
December 28, 2018 | Men's Basketball
ECU HEAD COACH JOE DOOLEY
Opening statement
"Initially I thought the best part that got us going was obviously at the defensive end. We guarded very well. They only hit 31 percent in the first half. They are an efficient offensive team. I thought that gave us some confidence because we got some stops. I thought in the first half with the exception of turning it over, our defense was terrific but what happens is when we turned it over they turned it into points. That was bad. Eleven turnovers in the first half is too many. We've got to get back to where we were a couple of weeks ago but overall I thought it was a pretty solid performance."
On how he's utilized extra practice time in December
"We've been noticeably better in practice the last couple of days, but the speed of the game is a lot quicker. Guys have been practicing at a lot better pace, which is helpful. We put some new stuff in, but we really got better at the stuff we had in. I think this team being young, we're going to keep it pretty simple. We will tweak some things, but I think, to give them confidence, we've got to continue to get better at some simple things. I think it was noticeable tonight the way the ball moved and we looked a little bit more fluid offensively."
On protecting home court
"We need to defend our place. We need to start instilling some pride. We're not going to let people come in here and kick sand on us."
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FRESHMAN JAYDEN GARDNER
On forcing the pace of play
"We really dictated the tempo early and we've been focusing on that in practice. We knew A&T was a game where we could get better. We played a lot of good defense, passed the ball well and shot the ball really good. It's nice to see all those things come together."
SOPHOMORE SHAWN WILLIAMS
On avenging last season's loss to North Carolina A&T
"We talked about that a lot. They're not fixing to come in here and beat us again. They're a good team and they played a lot of good teams early, so we just made sure we came out and handled business from the beginning."
On his shooting performance
"I'm just glad that I finally hit some shots. I'm in the gym getting some extra shots up. My teammates have been encouraging me, telling me to shoot the ball. I'm glad it filled and now the offense can flow a little better."
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POSTGAME NOTES
Opening statement
"Initially I thought the best part that got us going was obviously at the defensive end. We guarded very well. They only hit 31 percent in the first half. They are an efficient offensive team. I thought that gave us some confidence because we got some stops. I thought in the first half with the exception of turning it over, our defense was terrific but what happens is when we turned it over they turned it into points. That was bad. Eleven turnovers in the first half is too many. We've got to get back to where we were a couple of weeks ago but overall I thought it was a pretty solid performance."
On how he's utilized extra practice time in December
"We've been noticeably better in practice the last couple of days, but the speed of the game is a lot quicker. Guys have been practicing at a lot better pace, which is helpful. We put some new stuff in, but we really got better at the stuff we had in. I think this team being young, we're going to keep it pretty simple. We will tweak some things, but I think, to give them confidence, we've got to continue to get better at some simple things. I think it was noticeable tonight the way the ball moved and we looked a little bit more fluid offensively."
On protecting home court
"We need to defend our place. We need to start instilling some pride. We're not going to let people come in here and kick sand on us."
Â
FRESHMAN JAYDEN GARDNER
On forcing the pace of play
"We really dictated the tempo early and we've been focusing on that in practice. We knew A&T was a game where we could get better. We played a lot of good defense, passed the ball well and shot the ball really good. It's nice to see all those things come together."
SOPHOMORE SHAWN WILLIAMS
On avenging last season's loss to North Carolina A&T
"We talked about that a lot. They're not fixing to come in here and beat us again. They're a good team and they played a lot of good teams early, so we just made sure we came out and handled business from the beginning."
On his shooting performance
"I'm just glad that I finally hit some shots. I'm in the gym getting some extra shots up. My teammates have been encouraging me, telling me to shoot the ball. I'm glad it filled and now the offense can flow a little better."
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POSTGAME NOTES
- The Pirates finished their non-conference slate with a 7-5 mark with a 7-2 mark at home.
- ECU used its 10th different starting lineup of the season.
- The Pirates improved to 6-1 all-time against North Carolina A&T. The 20-point victory was the Pirates' second largest margin of victory in series history (+33, 86-53, Dec. 10, 2003). ECU's six wins in the series have been by a total of 94 points, an average victory margin of 15.8 ppg.
- Gardner posted his fifth double-double of the season and sixth 20-point game of the year, finishing with 27 points and 13 rebounds. He's scored double figures in each of the last 10 games. Gardner also handed out a career-best four assists.
- Gardner's 27 points were the most scored by a player in series history.
- Williams matched his season-high for points scored with 18. He also had 18 in his season debut against Prairie View A&M. He missed tying his career-best for 3-point field goals made by one, finishing with six. It was the fifth time in his career he made six or more 3s in game. He drained a career-high seven 3s against UCONN last season.
- Seth LeDay scored double figures for the fifth straight game and the 10th time in 12 games this season, totaling 13 points against North Carolina A&T. It was the eighth time he was ECU's leading scorer off the bench.
- Senior Isaac Fleming reached double digit points for the first time since the second game of the season, tallying a season-high 13 points. He also distributed a season-best seven assists and played a season-high 34 minutes for the second straight game. He collected four or more steals in a game for the fourth this season as well.
- Senior Addison Hill finished with a career-best six rebounds, while matching his career-high for minutes played with 32.
- Senior Justice Obasohan scored his first points of the season, finishing 1-of-2 from the field and 2-of-2 at the free throw line for four total points.
Players Mentioned
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