Coach Slessinger's Quotes Following Saturday's 78-69 SLC Win Over Nicholls

RECAP | POSTGAME VIDEO INTERVIEW | GAME BOOK (PDF)

Overall thoughts on the game
"It was a great homecoming crowd. My hat goes off to our alumni association and Student Involvement & Leadership's LeeAnne Sipe in doing a great job of getting the students back involved and do some tremendous things to make this such a dynamic atmosphere. Of course our athletic administration and our staff just works tirelessly to try and put a great show on the floor for basketball each and every night. And the staff of the Lakefront Arena goes over the top every time to make it a great facility and atmosphere. It was a good Homecoming night and a great game. Our women pulled off an incredible game as well, so it was double wins for everybody. It was a good night."
 
On the way his team played against the Colonels
"We knew that this was a very tough, explosive offensive team to deal with. They shoot a ton of 3s. They've got multiple people that can shoot it and stretch the defense, put it off the bounce and take you. Liam Thomas is a skilled, big shot blocker that can do a lot of things and JáDanté Frye is one of the most versatile players in our league. We knew it was going to be a tough night. We were able to get some good runs in the second half to be able to stretch it out a bit, and we were able to make some clutch free throws down the stretch in the last two minutes. That was a big moment for us."
 
On the difference in his team's play in the first and second halves
"We came out with a lot more intensity and focus. We knew that we had played pretty hard in the first half, but the guys weren't satisfied at halftime. They knew that they had to turn it up and they did a good job of that. I was very, very proud of the team's effort. They played very hard and very unselfishly again. It got back to where we were prior to these two losses that we just went through."
 
On moving back into the Southland Conference lead as Abilene Christian knocked off Sam Houston State earlier in the day
"It makes Wednesday's loss to them a little tougher to swallow. Abilene Christian is a good team. I've been saying that all along. They've got great pieces. The coaches there have done a great job of getting those guys playing at a high level, and they're getting better and better. It's a hard place to play. To have a week like this where they knock of us and Sam is a big step for them. I'm glad to be back in first. Our guys said it after the game, but we've got a second chance here. We know we've got a tough week ahead of us with two huge in-state games at McNeese – Burton Coliseum is one of the harder places to play in our league – and then go out to Southeastern and play in Hammond against a team that has been very, very good at home this year. We know our work is going to be cut out for us and we have to get back to work on Monday morning to continue to get better and improve as we go down the final stretch of this league."
 
On the performances of Erik Thomas and Travin Thibodeaux
"Those guys have both been playing at a high level and they've both been working hard. Erik continues to be a really efficient scorer and staying within the framework of what we're doing. The guys are finding him in the right places and the right times. Across the board, between Thomas, Thibodeaux, Makur [Puou], [Michael] Zeno, we've got as good a group of forwards as there is in this league. They play together. They play well. They're skilled. They're tough to deal with defensively. There are a lot of fun. And then we got some great contributions tonight off the bench from Zeno and [Jorge] Rosa. Nate Frye was tremendous again tonight and gave us some huge sparks. It was a great team effort."