Jan. 28, 2010

Recap | Final Stats | Notes

Senior guard Kenny Hayes
"Coach challenged us after losing to Ball State and said that we were going up against two All-MAC caliber guards. He said he knew we could meet the challenge and we went out and proved that tonight."

"I got a lot of rest today. Kramer Soderberg gave us really good minutes tonight and I needed the break. I played 46 minutes the other night and then we had practice yesterday. It felt like with Kramer giving me some time on the bench, it helped keep me fresh for the end of the game. If he can keep giving us that effort, that'll help get us to where we're trying to go."

"We were terrible defensively at the start of the year; we were giving up 70 to some teams. It feels like game by game we're improving our effort on that end."

Junior forward Nick Winbush
"Earlier in the year, I think a game like Ball State would have sent us into a two- or three-game losing streak. I think it shows how much we've come along that we regrouped and got a win tonight."

"I think that everything started for us on the defensive end tonight. When we play good defense, our offense gets going a lot more smoothly."

Head Coach Charlie Coles
"Tonight was probably our best game to date in league play. Our defense was outstanding, we were very selective on offense, and I don't think Central Michigan was worried about controlling the pace, and that was fine with us because it let us set our defense the way we wanted."

"It's still important for us to find consistency on the defensive end, but I feel like we're improving with it on a game-to-game basis."

"Julian (Mavunga) is improving but there are still nights like tonight where he needs to get more aggressive. The biggest thing with Julian is to get him to play to his height and weight. He's such a skilled guy that sometimes you really have to get on him to get down low and not hang around the perimeter."