NC State 74, Western Carolina 62 Saturday, Dec. 29, 2007 RBC Center • Raleigh, N.C.
SIDNEY LOWE, NC State Head Coach
“We put in a great effort in the second half; the guys really turned it up. We were able to keep their shooting percentage a lot lower, and I think that was a big difference.”
On the substitution pattern: “We were trying to take advantage of putting guys in and getting that energy from them. Guys like Dennis [Horner] and Ben [McCauley] would come in and add energy to the team.”
On Brandon Giles: “He’s inside, he’s outside, he likes to score. Sometimes we allowed him to go on a scoring streak. He has the ability and the confidence and just went with it. Marques [Johnson] did a good job of staying with him and throwing him off balance.”
On J.J. Hickson: “We ran sets that put him in the paint where he was able to catch it and go up with it. We wanted to get him closer to the basket so they couldn’t double team him.”
On Brandon Costner: “He can make the shot, and when they’re blocking him, it opens up the inside for Ben [McCauley] and J.J. [Hickson]. It allows him to make great passes and he did that all game.”
On the team as the season progresses: “I like that we’re continuing to get better in areas that we need to and we’re concentrating more on the defensive end. Our guys are coming in and playing how we need them to play without dropping off.”
LARRY HUNTER, Western Carolina head coach
“I couldn’t be more proud of our team with the way that they competed today. We played with an extra bit of toughness and intensity. We didn’t shoot as well as we would’ve liked in the second half, but overall the guys gave an incredible effort.”
On his team: We’re not a real physical type of basketball team. We don’t have those type of bodies, and we’re young. We just got tired. They had more depth and size.”
On Brandon Giles: “Brandon Giles was a really good player today. He got it going and our guys realized that he was feeling it on both sides of the ball, especially on the offensive end. He hit some big shots for us and gave us a great effort.”
On taking on NC State: “I have tremendously fond memories of my four years here. I’m privileged to have been a part of this storied program, as well as the ACC. The Wolfpack family has done nothing but open their arms to my wife and myself. This place has a great tradition.”
