Mike Mislak Quotations

We're a team of runs and it's hard not to have a letdown after a start like that. We lost a little in the second half and got tentative and stood around. We want to make teams pay in the half court by getting quality looks. We need these situations to experience what it takes to score when we're not getting out on the break or hitting all our shots.

I am real happy with where we are. These seniors are winners. There was a lot of pressure on this team to get back to the championship game.

What we had trouble with in the first half was the little things. What we did in the second half was the little things. Credit the seniors and their experience. We are firm believers that when we go on a run, that it will be greater than the other team's run.

He was steady, he played great defense and was a real key off the bench. Not only for rest and foul trouble, but his contributions on the defensive side and keeping us going.

Jon is a gifted athlete who likes to take the big shots. He is popular among his teammates, has a sharp wit and a great sense of humor. His versatility is a great strength and causes match-up problems for other teams.

It almost brought tears to my eyes, the resilience of my boys.

Jeff made him work hard for every shot and penetration he got. They're a quality team. We're proud of where we are and we're looking to improve.

Really, we failed to convert and in the second half there was no execution. For Essex, they played a great game. Our defense was lackluster, but they just out-played us.

Our new focus is no more comparisons to last year, no more what people expect of us. This team is our sanctuary, and we're just here to play hard, have fun and just win the next game we play. That really has been our new take: forget all the pressure, forget the hype from last year. It's this year, it's the next game and we have to come together as a team. And we did tonight.

Justin really went hard. We know that now that we have one less big guy, that everybody has to step up and fulfill their role. In addition to all of his point guard duties and sparking the offense, he was big on the boards. I was really proud of our hustle tonight.

We could have shot better from the line and the field, but overall we played well. Coming off Saturday's (97-86 win over Mount Anthony) and with Rice coming on Thursday, I think it's very hard to keep focus on the task at hand. But the guys did and I'm happy with that effort.

We just picked it up. It was the same stuff as the first half. We just dug down a little bit and made it a little uncomfortable for them to run their offense. Once we got the lead, we started building and they really had to come out of their game plan. It looked like their game plan was to hold on to the ball and stay close and once they had to attack, they were very unsuccessful with that and it played well for us.

Dylan was the man tonight. He dominated in the paint. For a big guy to finish shots at high speed on the break is impressive. I couldn't be more proud of him. His defense was great too.

It was a big upset and we were ripe for the upset tonight. Maybe this was good for us.

It was a great third quarter. We had great intensity and defensive pressure, we got momentum going and we took care of business. And in the fourth quarter we just took some time off the clock. There's no sense in attacking a zone when you're up by 30. It wasn't a spectacular show for the crowd, but we got the victory.

They were very poised. They worked their offense and they shot extremely well.

It was great. It was a huge emotional boost. It makes our team that much better. We are at 100 percent and headed to UVM; what more can you ask for?

As a coach, sometimes you look up at the score and can't believe how they can turn a game on a dime. How can you go from an eight-point lead to a 30-point lead in the blink of an eye? I don't have words to describe it. It was a spectacle to watch and I had a front row seat.

The energy was real high tonight. We came out with a lot of motivation ? we knew this game was important ? and the fact that we shot well helped us keep that going. They had it in their eyes tonight. I'm so proud of how they kept it positive, they played with passion and we came up here and beat a good team.