WESTERN MICHIGAN at EASTERN MICHIGAN QUOTES

Guard David Kool

(On Eastern Michigan) "It seemed like they were more hungry than us and played with a lot more energy and that showed in different areas. They just played like their backs were against the wall and they were at home. They wanted to get back in the race and they did. We didn't counter that with enough energy."

(Are you concerned moving forward) "No. I think we can correct what we did wrong. We know what we did wrong. It's just a matter of putting it into focus and getting it done. Obviously, it's not a good thing that happened today, but I think we're going to learn from it and make the best of it."

Forward Flenard Whitfield

(On starting 0-of-11 from the field as a team) "I think it was just one those days where we were shooting the ball a little dry in the first half. We couldn't knock down any threes and lay-ups weren't falling. It was just one of those days."

Head Coach Steve Hawkins

(On the game) "They played with a lot more confidence, but ... for the first time tonight, in a long, long, long time, I felt like we really struggled at the guard spot. We had 20 turnovers and 14 came from our starting one, two and three. We've really taken care of the ball all year long and tonight we didn't. That led to a lot of easy shots for them on the other end. We didn't help ourselves that we missed our first 11 shots.

"You're going to question everything, but right now I'm kicking myself for not coming over last night."

(On the 0-for-11 start) "It put us in a hole and put a tremendous amount of pressure on our defense. The defense held up for the most part. It seemed like every time we made the run, they either hit a three or we turned the ball over and we took some bad shots. It was like we were trying to score an eight-point basket. We played rushed. We didn't play comfortable and that's why I'm kicking myself about not coming over the night before. I didn't want to put them in the hotel another night, but right now it's easy to second guess."

(Are you concerned moving forward after this game) "We can't have as many people play as poorly as we played tonight. I know the kids pretty well and I don't think that's going to happen. It's very unfortunate. It costs you in this league when that happens and it cost us tonight. We had energy. Defensively, it was there. You just don't see a three-assist, 20-turnover game coming. You don't call that. To me, it's real simple. It's the 20 turnovers that led to our undoing."