Casey Morsell: "We Were Unfocused"

NC State guard Casey Morsell met with the media following the Wolfpack's 69-57 loss to Notre Dame Saturday afternoon.

Morsell finished the game with 11 points against the Fighting Irish. He also added three rebounds and one steal.

NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Morsell’s comments.

On what went right during the first half run...

It’s simple: We got stops. We communicated at a high level, and on the offensive end, we were executing. Guys were getting good looks and knocking shots down. That didn’t happen in the second half. We started off hot, but around that 12- to 13-minute mark, they started running away with it strictly off of our mistakes. It came back again from the first half.

On if it felt like two games in one...

No, not really. Credit to them: they started off hot by capitalizing on our mistakes. It was not a situation where everything was going in. We were miscommunicating, not focusing on the little things and details. Towards that 10- to 12-minute mark, things started to turn around. We picked things up on the defensive end, and defense leads to offensive opportunities.

On the small-ball lineup...

We have so many guys banged up and out, especially in the frontcourt. We will have to play a lot of small ball, which worked for us today, especially when their forward went out. It worked to get us back in position, but for us, it is about closing out the game and doing what it takes to win. 

On the message after the Jericole Hellems injury...

Next man up. There are so many guys banged up and out. We have seen it all in terms of injuries. Everyone on this team has had an injury that they have had at some point this year. The mentality of this team this whole year is next man up.