Nov. 21, 2014
UCF head coach Donnie Jones
"Obviously I'm happy with the win. We are a team that is still in transition and learning how to play together. I have to give it up for Eckerd. They really competed. We knew coming in that they were tough. Tom [Ryan] does a great job with this team. They're very physical and have a great feel for how to play. I knew we'd be in for a battle."
"The first half turnovers were crucial. We got up 20-8 and I subbed three guys off the bench and our energy went straight to the ground. We turned it over four times in a row for eight of their points. That put them right back in the game. It changed the whole momentum. We had a hard time getting that momentum back."
"We turned it over only three times in the second half. It takes the young guys a longer time to learn the reads of what to do with the ball, and in the second half we did much better with that."
"Adonys can really shoot the ball and he had the hot hand tonight, so we had to find a way to get him the ball. I thought he did a good job shooting, but I was also proud that he had six rebounds. He needs to rebound the ball for us so that was huge."
"I thought we pressed very well throughout the game. It wasn't about turning them over. It was about them taking 8-10 seconds off the shot clock and not having a rhythm on offense. We worked on that a lot and I thought our guys did a good job with that."
UCF senior Kasey Wilson
"We had 11 turnovers at half so Coach talked to us about taking better care of the ball. We focused on playing the right way, making the extra pass and playing with energy. I think that carried over into the second half. It showed once we extended the lead."
UCF freshman Adonys Henriquez
"It felt good. I felt like I had a good warm-up. My teammates felt like I was hot so they kept getting me the ball and I kept shooting it. If I was open I shot it, if I wasn't I moved the ball. I give my teammates the credit for getting me open shots."
Eckerd head coach Tom Ryan
"Playing a Division I team is always a good experience for our guys. They get motivated and they really see what they are able to do on a stage like this. For at least a half, we hung in there and made some shots."
"I knew they were going to come out hard on us. Their athleticism and strength really showed in the second half. Coach got on them a little bit and told them to execute. They moved the ball well and sure enough, they attacked us. Their shooter number 10 really got going in the second half. They blocked a lot of our threes well. We have to work more on the defensive end. They finished shooting at 59 percent overall and that is definitely something we don't want to carry on. We are getting better defensively and I think that will help us moving forward this season."