At times, our defense was tremendous. We gave them eight easy points in the first half. I told the players at halftime, 'championship teams don't do that.' We played better defense in the second half. It dictated the outcome.

It's always a huge rivalry. You can throw out the last time we played them and our records. We're looking forward to it, and I'm sure they'll be prepared.

Our defense carried us in the second half. That 9-2 run came off our defense.

Sometimes you've got to be good. Sometimes you've got to be lucky. It hasn't been a real lucky year for us.

It was the right thing to do. Everybody on the Coast has been devastated with the natural disaster. It would have been a shame if no one didn't take care of business and host both tournaments.

We had the effort tonight. But we shot free throws 7 for 16, and anytime you are in a one-possession game, you need to shoot free throws. And we did not.

Justin Ray is a tremendous talent. He has great skills and can take over a game at any time.

Longmire earned his points. Luther Suggs played good defense on him. It was fun watching Longmire play. He was very unselfish. Pascagoula has a good team. I was impressed with their athleticism. Keith has done an outstanding job.

Our kids know the situation, and they have a lot of pride. They want to finish the regular season on a positive note going into postseason.

Our kids played their guts out in a hostile environment. It was a valuable experience for us as tournament time nears.