I told the guys, this was an ugly win, but I've never seen a pretty loss, so we'll take it. We can play much better, but when you play poorly and still win, you've got to be pleased.

We lost a lot of confidence after the East Burke loss (Jan. 6). But I think we've got it back now. Our kids are really hard on themselves because they want to win so badly. But they're a great group. They are super young men.

Add in dozens of suppliers tied to them that are failing, and it's pretty ugly.

(The) third-quarter breakdown was pretty ugly. I think we got really excited. They were maybe surprised we had such a lead in the first half and they were ready to run with it. Then they tried to make the perfect pass, the one that really is going throw the dagger in when all you need is solid execution.

The first period was pretty ugly, we'd been off for almost three weeks - I'm not using that as an excuse, but we were flat-footed. But as the game went on we got stronger and stronger ... I think rolling four lines helps wear down other teams and our guys had the jump to finally get going in the third period.

Our defense was phenomenal, especially in the first half. We played man and only gave up 12 points, and six of those they scored diving on loose balls on the floor that bounced their way. Alexander made a real solid run in the third, but I like the way we held our composure and then counter-punched them.