Northern Illinois Head Coach Rob Judson
"This game was determined by our defensive effort in the second half. Bowling Green runs a very good motion offense and to hold them to 26 percent shooting in the second half is very impressive.

"The essence of the game was the defensive effort in the second half. We didn't allow them to have a run in the second half. We had stretches where we made several stops in a row.

"It's good for these guys who have persevered and worked hard to see some success. A win like this fills the confidence bank a little more for you.

"James has a great attitude. It's interesting that since he's coming off the bench he's actually been more productive.

"Depth helps. You saw Cody Yelder out there tonight and he looked very rusty last weekend at Buffalo but tonight he was starting to shake the rust off. Ben Rand has practiced with us the last two days and it's great having him out there, but he hasn't played in six weeks. It's good to have him at practice, but he's still shaking the rust off.

"It's nice to look at the stats and see `points off turnovers * NIU 25, Bowling Green 10'. We work on ballhandling, we work on finding the open man. We try to get better with that every day in practice so it's good to see that improvement.

NIU Center James Hughes
"I feel more relaxed coming off the bench and I think I have more energy at the end of the game when I come off the bench."

NIU Forward Zach Pancratz
(On having Cody Yelder back) "He's another playmaker. He's great with the ball. When you bring in someone who can do the things he does, it helps everyone."