Coach Slessinger's Quotes Following Monday's Win Over Central Arkansas

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Overall thoughts on the game
"We got into a media timeout, they huddled themselves up and said, 'Hey, this is it. We're going. We're making a run.' They had such resolve and determination in their eyes and I knew that they were serious. They finally turned the corner and figured out a way to win. They got down and started guarding again and kept them out of what they wanted to do. Give UCA credit. They played a great game but the injuries and the double road trip ran them out of gas. I think the world of [Central Arkansas head coach] Russ [Pennell] and what he does. I've known him since I was a JuCo coach in Arizona and I have the utmost respect for him. Luckily, we were able to get them a little bit tired and they missed some shots, because they didn't miss them early. They were really special. Our guys found a way to get tough, get stops and win as a unit."
 
On the performance of Kevin Hill and him moving into a tie for ninth in UNO career rebounds
"It was so important and special for Kevin. When you look at our Top 10 rebounding list and the names that are on that list, it's Mt. Rushmore of UNO basketball. There are some pretty special people on that list. For a guy who only had one scholarship offer out of high school, and that was us, for him to buy into us and for us to buy into him, it's been a fun thing to watch. That hustle play with him and Nate [Frye] was pretty special."
 
On snapping the five-game losing streak
"It was big to be able to finally turn the corner and get off of where we were. We know we have a homestand here and hopefully we can put another 40 good minutes together. We weren't perfect tonight. We'll go back and look at this film, and we'll look at some things offensively and we'll kick ourselves for some of the decisions we made. We'll also have to fix some stuff defensively. Our effort was good, our hearts were right and we played with a lot of passion and intensity."
 
On the team getting contributions from just about everyone tonight
"A great example was Danny Cohen. Danny is a guy that's a freshman, he came in in the first half cool as a cucumber, drained a 3-pointer and played great defense while he was in there. He gave us a huge lift. He's been working his tail off and has been doing a great job. That's just a snapshot of where the team's at. They're starting to turn the corner. I know we were at a low point 48 hours ago, but they're good kids. They're fighting and they want to do the right things. We're not losing on purpose. We've got to figure out ways to make winning plays. Tonight, we found some ways to make more winning plays."
 
On how his team can build on this win
"We've got a lot of work to do. We go up against McNeese on Saturday, who is coached by Dave Simmons. He and I sat next to each other on the bench and coached together for six years at Northwestern State. We were roommates on the road and we recruited together for six years, so nobody knows me as well as him and [NSU head] Coach [Mike] McConathy. I know we've got our work cut out for us. They're a very, very explosive and dangerous offensive team. We've been hot and cold over the last three games, so we've got to get better and get ready."
 
On what the difference was offensively during UNO's second-half run
"During that run, we got a little bit from everybody. It all came from ball movement. We had 20 assists and 10 turnovers, and that's really good. We finally turned the corner on that. We made shots. We've been working at it. We know that we have to be prepared for Saturday and Monday because this is as pivotal of a run as we've got in our season."