Greenville Frontcourt Finds its Groove

Greenville used solid team defense and hustle to overcome its shooting woes for the evening. With the victory, the Groove improved to .500 on the season (5-5). The Patriots fell to 2-8.

"I am pleased because the guys know we can play better and I am confident that we will play better," said Greenville Head Coach Milton Barnes. "We were coming off a rough game the other night and tonight the guys fought through it. We did a much better job today, particularly on the defensive end."

Rahim Lockhart's 16 points and eight rebounds led the Groove en route to their third win over the Patriots. Lockhart's frontcourt mates Ansu Sesay (14 points, eight rebounds) and Eric Chenowith (11 points, nine rebounds) were the only other members of the Groove in double figures.

"That's what I wanted to see," stated Barnes. "DeeAndre (Hulett) had been doing so much for us scoring in the past, but I didn't want to be a guard oriented team. Those guys were drafted for a reason. Like I told them, it was on them to start being productive. I was committed to playing those guys the minutes to give them a chance to be productive. I am glad they stepped up to the challenge."

Fayetteville was led by the league's top scorer John Strickland, who finished with 15 points. Terrell McIntyre finished with 14 points and newcomer Danny Johnson scored 11 points in his second game in a Patriots uniform.

"It was one of those games either team could have one -- it was just who executed," said Fayetteville Haed Coach Nate Archibald. "They outrebounded us and they got closer shots at the basket. Whether they shot 20 percent, it doesn't matter, at the end of the game it's who has the most points up on the board."

Greenville quotes

Coach Milton Barnes
On the game: "I am pleased because the guys know we can play better and I am confident that we will play better. We are coming off a rough game the other night, not doing what we needed to, the guys fought through it and we did a much better job today, particularly on the defensive end."

On the frontcourt: "That's what I wanted to see. DeeAndre had been doing so much for us scoring in the past I didn't want to be a guard-oriented team. Those guys were drafted for a reason. Like I told them, it was on them to start being productive. I was committed to playing those guys the minutes to give them a chance to be productive. I am glad they stepped up to the challenge.

Rahim Lockhart
On the game: "We took a page out of last game, what we didn't do, and just came out and played hard for 40 minutes. The game wasn't decided by who executed the best, it was decided by who wanted it the most. We realize that if we want it every night we will more than likely come out with the win."

On rebounding from Saturday's loss: "We are all winners, wherever we came from and we know the importance of winning at home. How we lost last game was unacceptable. We decided that we wanted to take back the home court, and that's what we did tonight."

On the strong frontcourt play: "Every night one of us gets close to a double-double, just one or two rebounds short. I think we have the best frontcourt in the league and our guards are one of the best in the league because they play so hard. We have guys that can make shots, so I fell we have the best team in the league right now, but as far as just gelling after our transactions we are just getting to know each other. A few weeks from now we are going to just really roll."

Fayetteville quotes

Coach Nate Archibald
On the game: "It was one of those games either team could have one, it was just who executed. They outrebounded us and they got closer shots at the basket. Whether they shot 20 percent, it doesn't matter, at the end of the game it's who has the most points up on the board."

On what Fayetteville needs to do to win: "We need to execute a lot better. They dominated us on the boards even though they went with a smaller, quicker lineup. They dominated us inside and they just executed down the stretch a lot better than we do. It's a 40 minute game and we don't seem to play the 40 mintues necessary in order to win a game. The positive is we know we need to show up every night and go out and play."

Terrell McIntyre
On the game: "The defensive intensity and just not helping out and containing the penetration really hurt us tonight. Everyone was getting by us and getting to the basket and that was the difference I think."

On playing against former Clemson teammates: "It's just another player, and I can't get caught up who it is I am playing. We will talk before the game and after the game, but during the game I have a job to do. I have to try to stop them on defense. During the game we just play play and act like we don't know each other."