NEC Quarterfinals Press Conference
Saint Francis vs. CCSU

CCSU:

Give Saint Francis (PA) a lot of credit, they did a really good gameplan, they did a really great job. Obviously Josh Cohen being player of the year is a lot to carry. We got news yesterday our starting Center Abdul Momo was not going to be available with a fractured foot and that threw us off a little bit so we started Devonte because we wanted to keep Jaden Brown out of foul trouble. Josh is such a good player so he is a handful to handle, Andre did a good job of guarding him and made him miss some shots. The game plan going in was the last time we played these guys in New Britain he got 22 points in 20 shots. We were hoping to take away some of these threes. We held them to 7 3s in the last game. You got to give them credit, Coach Krimmel has done a great job and I can see these guys going all the way to the NCAA Tournament. 

Reporter: Of course you can't make trades like in the NBA to get some of your reinforcements back with Moore tonight. How does that impact their game plan and what you have to prepare for?

CCSU: Moore man, talk about poise. I know he's a freshman but he plays like a 5th year Grad student almost. Usually a Freshman, especially young guys who come off an injury when he didn't play, he only played 4 league games. You come in and you're a little nervous, you're a little hesitant, you're winded, you're playing a full speed game in a  conference tournament game. He comes right off the bat, I think he makes his first shot, a 3, when he got right into the game. He's a handful, he's going to be a really good player in this league for a really long time just because of his poise.

Reporter: You shot close to 50% up at your place, what was the difference today, did they do anything different defensively tonight or anything in particular that you weren't able to quite get across that you were doing up there?

CCSU: You know in New Britain they play a lot of drop coverage on ball screens so that allows our guards to get in and figure things out and make reads and make plays. In New Britain we were able to get into a really good rhythm, Devonte Sweatman did a good job for us getting to the basket and making some mid range shots, he had 20 points for us in that game. Tonight we got a lot of really good looks right in that midrange area. We were able to attack the glass, in the second half we kept telling them to drive it, drive it, drive it, I think we could get downhill and score. We just missed shots, we missed some shots that we normally make in and around the rim and some of those midrangers. They stayed in their drop coverage and they ice it on the side ball screens, we just missed some shots that we usually make.

Reporter:You guys got off to a good start, the games hanging around the teams were going back and forth and then they went on that run at the end of the first half. Was there any particular reason that they were able to kind of put a little bit of a gap there, how important do you think that was that they were able to get a multi-possession lead going into halftime?

CCSU: First off, I want to give credit to a really talented Saint Francis (PA) team, congratulations to them on winning. I told the guys, me and Nigel told the guys before the game every possession matters, every possession from the start to the end all 40 minutes matters, every possession counts no matter what. So I think when they went on that little run it definitely hurt us, but just like I told my guys, just like Nigel told the guys, we can't quit we have to fight until the end.

Reporter: You look at this game for almost a half it was back and forth and you guys could make a little run there at the end. Can you talk about the depth that this conference had this year and how you guys felt coming in on your chances to advance?

CCSU: We really liked our chances coming in, like you said it's a really talented NEC team. A lot of guys, a lot of weapons throughout every team in the league but we felt like we had a really balanced team and liked our chances in the game. 

Reporter: Can you talk about what NIgel has meant to this program?

CCSU: Man, that's my brother, that's my everything, from day one our relationship has gotten stronger and stronger. Me and him have had so many conversations after losses, after wins, in the gym talking about life, talking about everything, talking about basketball, talking about non basketball. That's really my big brother, I love him to death. For what he's feeling in the locker room right now really hurts me a lot, because we couldn't get the job done for him. I know whatever Nigel ends up doing in the future, I know he has a bright future ahead, I seen his work ethic. Man, he's a gym rat. I joke around I call him Kobe Bryant because he's in the gym every second of the day it seems like. Man, I just hope he's able to get through this and he has a bright future ahead of him.

Reporter: Coach, he might have said it all but, what has Nigel meant to you in your two years?

CCSU: Yeah, I got the job here 2 years ago, Nigel and his Father were the first 2 people I talked too recruiting wise just to try and get him to stay on. I knew his coach, I knew his family, I knew who he is as a player and a person, and he was one of the first guys that I reached out to. He was in the portal and he came back, and I said in the locker room to the team, he is who we are at Central Connecticut, he is a work ethic guy like Andre said, everyday he's in the gym. I've been coaching 24 years, I've never seen a guy that never misses practice, he rolls his ankle and doesn't come out of practice. I used to text him and say "Nigel sit today out, get the shooting part of it and sit the rest of it out" and he never takes a day off. Just like Andre says he has such a bright future because he's such a hard worker, he's so passionate about the game, he's so passionate about Central Connecticut. I also said we're gonna be cutting down nets at some point soon and when we do, he's gonna get a ring from Central Connecticut.

SFU PRESS CONFERENCE ALL BELOW
Krimmel 
I first would like to congratulate Pat and his team has done a tremendous job in his two years there and they competed and presented a tough challenge for us tonight. 

One person that is not up here is Brad McCabe physically and how hard he played really gave us a lift and gave a chance for these other guys to play more freely. 
One more game we are promised 40 more minutes and we are looking forward to competing with these guys. 

Cohen
Why did things click the way they did at the half?
It's just what we've been building for all year. We've done a great job of integrating guards and bigs in and out in practices having Landon coming back tonight. Ronnell got him right back into the fold and guys like him Max Luke everyone did a great job of sticking together and we are really starting to hit our stride

Is there one thing that really opened up that run in the second half?
In general rebounding the basketball. We knew if we rebounded and kept them off the glass and didn't turn the ball over they would have to play us in the backcourt and you know how that goes, we just kinda crushed them. 

Ronell
How important do you think it was to get a multi-possession lead going into halftime?
Very important but we try to play through our defense. The offense is important but the defense is way more important 

How important do you think it was to yourself to produce offensively and make the CCSU defense pick their poison? 
It's very important because you got guys on the perimeter making shots and You can't double josh all night so it's like what are you gonna do? He is gonna kick the ball out and find the right person and then open up one on ones for himself. 

Max
What were you looking at going into this game based on the scouting report and what was going to be open for yourself? 
It was to get to the hotspots and get to the open areas and knock down my shot whenever it was available. 

How can you build on the great passing and finishing shots in that 20-minute stretch that you guys had and carry on to the next round? 
Not really we just need to turn the page this game is over with. We will look at the scout for FDU and see what we need to do to guard them and score on them and just turn the page on this game. 

Krimmel
To win with this kind of performance and the efficiency that you had, how important is that going into the next round?
It's important and I think the guys in the locker room understand with these three that are sitting with me tonight that there could be three more guys that could step up and play at a high level  the next night out and as a head coach and bring in a group of guys that doesn't care who gets the credit it makes my job a lot easier. This time of the year it doesn't matter if you play 2 minutes or 40 minutes, what matters is that you leave it all out on the floor. I'm thankful that these guys had the opportunity to play a playoff game inside degol arena in front of this great atmosphere and fans. 

Did you get a sense in practices leading up to this that you guys might come out this sharp?
We had two really good practices and at shootaround, we finished with free throws. Usually, I have to remind them that after 10 minutes, shoot the free throws, and they're finished. You could hear a pin drop today as we were shooting free throws and in fact, for the first time in 7-8 years, both groups finished tied. The focus that we had in shootaround and having that competitive greatness and playing with emotion and not being emotional. 

Cohen
How was this like having a home playoff game for the first time? 
The energy was awesome. I've been waiting for this moment in my four years here. We were all locked in and focused. The goal isn't to beat CCSU it is to keep winning and moving on and eventually win an NEC championship