We knew they were going to come in here and battle. They started out of the gates quick and we were a little sluggish, but I thought our kids kept their composure.

(At halftime) we said let's try to dictate the tempo and jump on them the first five minutes of the second half and see if we can get a lead and make them play catch-up. At one point, they cut it to 60-59, but our kids didn't fold. They made plays when it counted. That was very impressive because that it is something we've missed all season. At tournament time, you need to step and make plays.

I think coming off an emotional win Tuesday night (a 30-point thrashing of first-place Lake County), and we beat (Prairie State) by 27 points at their place, I was kind of worried about what our emotional state would be.

I've had my alma mater (Bemidji State) call me the last two times the job has been open. But where my kids were in school, and where I was at professionally, it just wasn't the right time. A lot of times in this profession, it's all about timing. Still, if you told me 21 years ago that I'd be here 21 years, I'd say you're crazy.

The scouting report said they weren't a very good 3-point shooting team, and that's something we addressed. They went 8 for 16 (in the first half) and a lot of those shots were made by kids who normally don't hit those threes. So I said 'stay patient, I don't think they'll drop in the second half.' And sure enough, they didn't.

We just wanted to hang around, hang around.