The Hill City kids played hard and fought.

After taking the press off we just want to get in the passing lanes and play good half-court defense. We're trying to pride ourselves on getting big stops in key situations. In practice this week, we worked on the communication side of defense and I thought it showed.

A lot of people have made light of it, but I thought we played a good schedule. Out here in the Black Hills Conference and Region 8, there are a lot of good coaches that we've had to face. They all had their teams playing hard.

Zach Finley really had a big game for us tonight. It was good to see because he was due for a breakout-type of game.

Colby never really did get his stroke going like he did last year. I told my assistant coaches that one of these nights he's going to go off. He picked a good time.

Flannery really hit some big shots the first half. We talked at halftime that we couldn't let him touch the ball.

This time around, I think our kids are a little bit more mature, a little bit bigger and stronger. With the level of leadership we have, I expect us to be more relaxed.

That was really big. The kids realized Zach wasn't there and they stepped up.

I thought it was good for our kids to come out with the intensity they showed. We got in the passing lanes, and obviously, our size was a factor. The kids want to play well in front of some of the former Gaels.

I was happy with the way the guys played tonight, they played hard, and I thought we defended well at times.