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UTA (11-3, 1-0) 90 vs Coastal Carolina (5-9, 0-1) 69
Saturday, December 31, 2016
College Park Center • Arlington, Texas

Postgame Quotes

UTA Head Coach Scott Cross
Overall thoughts on the game:
"It was definitely a good first Sun Belt game. In the first we thought we were going to be in for a dog fight. They're a very a scary team, watching them on tape because they have some individual players that are really capable of driving, pulling up and shooting the three. They got hot a little bit in the first half and made it a great game, but these guys really picked up the defensive intensity in the second half. We were able to get some stops. It was almost like in the blink of an eye and we were up 20. It's probably about as quickly of game that I've seen escalate for us. I was really proud of the way our guys played. They made each other better in the second half. Coastal Carolina is a very good rebounding team, so to outrebound them shows our guys were locked in and focused on that. Looking on the stat sheet it looks like most of the categories and things we focus on a daily basis, our guys went out there and executed. It's definitely a good step and hopefully we can build off this tomorrow and Monday."

Changes made in second half defensively:
"Nothing really. We continued to emphasize what we've been emphasizing in practice. We wanted to play in the gaps against them because they're very good drivers. We didn't want to be flat because then they get wide open shots. Our guys just picked up the intensity. There was one possession that stood out in which Erick turned a guy over about eight times and that sets the tone for everybody else. Once you get a couple of stops it becomes contagious and then it becomes harder for the opposing team to hit shots. It all starts with something as simple as one guy just sitting down and turning a guy, locking up and all of a sudden it becomes contagious with out team. The defense was definitely the key."

Offensive improvements in the second half:
"I thought offensively we moved the ball a lot better in the second half. Our guys really tried to make others guys better in the second half."

On Hervey's offensive rebounding:
"It was by far better, especially the first half. The second half was a little bit more like some of the previous games, but the first half he looked like a man child going for the offensive boards. If he can get that to were it can be, it's going to open up so many things. "

On his shooting threes philosophy:
"I don't have a limit on how many threes we shoot. If they are open threes, I'll shoot every single one of them. If they're contested threes, then I would say shot fake, drive and continue to work the basketball. There were probably five or six that were probably not my favorite shots in the world but I thought for the most part we took good shots and moved the ball around. It starts with Erick. We had six guys in double figures and Jalen was one basket away from being in double figures. To me that's one of the best signs of a great basketball team is when you've got multiple guys getting double figures. If they decide they want to take Erick away, we've got six or seven other guys that can get double figures. If they want to take Hervey away, fine we've got Kaelon who will drive baseline and dunk on you and we've got Drew who will shoot a three. So we have so many guys with different weapons and it's good to see our guys are moving the ball around and taking what the defense gives them."

On playing with short rest:
"I like to play. I know these guys are competitive like me. Practice is good. I do enjoy some practices but after about two or three, that's too many and I'm ready to play. That's what we live for is to go out there and compete and see if we're better then the opposing team."

Preparing for 2017:
"If we can top 2016 that's going to be one of the best years in school history. But I couldn't ask for anything more in 2016. What these guys did, especially ending it winning 10 straight against the competition we faced is really a testament to these guys. As a coach we work on defense and put them in a position to be successful but it's these guys. They're the ones locking up, making plays, making each other better and hitting shots."

The play of Coastal Carolina:
"They're a very good rebounding team. Watching them on film that scared me to death. They crash four and are relentless. They've outrebounded power five school and we knew we had our hands full there. I think this is probably as good as we've rebounded all year long. That was great but they have some weapons. They are going to be a team that is going to be tough to beat in the league. They're not going to be a push over. Nobody is just going to run through them. They're a team that have multiple guys that can shoot the basketball in multiple ways. Teams are definitely going to have to prepare for them.

Junior Guard Erick Neal
On 10 straight wins:
"I feel like we're playing great. We've got to keep getting better on defensive and keep moving the ball. If we keep playing how we are, we're going to be unstoppable. We've got to keep at it though and keep pushing towards it."

Intensity of entering conference play:
"These conference games mean a lot. Anybody can beat on any given so day, so we've got to keep that intensity and keep pushing."

Junior Guard Kaelon Wilson
His thought process on the dunk:
"I give all the credit to Jorge. When I drove, he sealed his man and took away the closest man. The other guy, I honestly don't know why he jumped, I was already in the air when he jumped so I just said "Ok, I'll take it then".

What a dunk can provide for a team:
It gives us more intensity and gives us that drive to play harder. It just gives us a boost."

Coastal Carolina Head Cliff Ellis
On the performance of Coastal Carolina:
"We played a very good first half. It was a draw. We played as good as we could play on the defensive side of the ball. We talked about it at halftime that if we're going to win this basketball game, we've got to play defense. Right off the bat they sprung two quick shots. We gave up an out-of-bounds play for a layup and gave up a layup in transition. We immediately called timeout and challenged our team. I said this is going to be about defense. You can't give up 55 points. That's a great basketball team, but we came in here for 20 minutes and that's not enough. I thought that offensively, we were making some shots in the first half. In the second half, it wasn't quite enough, but our offense was not the issue, except for turnovers. 17 turnovers against nine, that's eight possessions. They out-rebounded and we can't let those guys stand out there and shoot 3's and not contest it. Our defense has to dig deeper when we're playing a team like that. We have to understand that it's a 40-minute game. There will be some times where we show those signs, but we have to do it for 40 minutes."

Transitioning to Sun Belt Conference:
"This isn't going to be Big South basketball. I've been around for a long time and they understand it here. Their pep band, the championship football games coming in and they had almost 2,000 people in here. Our people are in for a treat because they're going to see good basketball. Kevin Hervey and Erick Neal are BNA prospects and that just doesn't happen in the Sun Belt."

The performance of his top performers:
"Colton had a very good game. Elijah just struggled tonight. We're trying to go with him, but at the same time, if the shots aren't falling, you have to play defense. Not just him, but everybody. Jaylen Shaw made some shots. You can't let offense take you away from defense. Our seniors are our leaders and I think Colton gave it to us. Elijah wants to do it, but he's having a tough time and mentally pressing himself."