It was another one of those games where it just didn't feel like we had a real convincing lead. They were a very scrappy team. They didn't have the greatest shooters or the greatest post men, but they hustled very well.

That was a pretty big deficit to try to dig a hole out of. They went inside on us to start the game. We tried fronting the post, but that didn't work, so we ended up playing behind them, and we got into some foul trouble after that.

If we can get our 20-plus points in the first quarter, it seems to be a real key to us as far as getting a 'W'. The games that we've lost, they've been games where we haven't scored a lot in the first quarter.

They're going to be very, very good no matter when we face them again. The north tends to be a bit stronger and they've been playing against some tougher competition all year. If we play good defense and can have balanced scoring like we have been lately, I think we'll be fine.

Going up to their gym and playing up there, I honestly expected a closer game. But with the first quarter that we had and the guys started off shooting the ball well, it was pretty incredible.

They were disappointed. ... They could've had an opportunity to go through league undefeated again, which is a pretty tough deal to do. ... But it's gone, and we'll have to play smart basketball the rest of the way to stay in first place.