After a six game losing streak, Clemson won two straight games including Wednesday’s 74-62 victory over No. 9 Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech was coming off of two top-15 team wins including Florida State and Notre Dame, but their winning momentum couldn’t shake the Tigers defense.

Following the game, we spoke to head coach Brad Brownell and center Elijah Thomas.

Here is what we heard:

Brownell spoke on his team’s win and was pleased with the defense improvements the Tigers have been working towards.

“Really good win for us. We had good stretches where we played really well. Especially defensively. I know we had 7 or 8 straight stops in the second half. I thought we did a great job on Stevens and Acobe and that was key for us,” Brownell said. “Offensively I thought we were anxious in the first half, but once we settled into the game, I thought we were pretty efficient offensively, and obviously played well even with Jaron in some foul trouble.”

One of the Tiger’s main focuses this season has been on playing sound defense. Tonight, Brownell said he was pleased with his team’s defensive play.

“We worked at it a lot. We went twice on Monday. We went twice Wednesday and Thursday last week. I just think this team has to continue to take strides in that area. We certainly can be better. I think we are working towards it,” Brownell said.

Thomas spoke on his team’s defensive play and the strides they have made to improve in that area.

“When I came here, I was not a defensive player at all. Coach Brownell and Coach Winieki emphasized to me that I have to play defense to stay on the floor. That if you don’t play defense, you don’t win,” Thomas said. “We just got tired of people saying we don’t guard, we don’t defend. And then we got tired of losing. If we want to win, we have to play defense.”

After stringing two wins together and playing sound defense, Thomas said the team has a different energy.

“There’s a different energy throughout the entire team, the entire staff, the entire organization. We all came to a decision that we were going to play our hardest every game. It’s working for us. We wanted more,” Thomas said.

The Tigers will travel to Tallahassee to face Florida State on Sunday. Brownell and Thomas stress the importance of feeding off of their winning momentum to increase their chances of defeating the Seminoles.

“It is [important], just to keep our morale up. Certainly to move our way up into the leagues standings. We still have 5 of our last 9 at home, so we have a chance to do some more damage but we’d like to win one or two more on the road as well,” Brownell said.

Thomas said the most important thing the Tigers’ past two wins have given them is confidence.

“It gives us a lot of confidence. We have that attitude that we’re going to win every game. On to the next one. Celebrate today, watch film tomorrow, and get ready for the next game,” Thomas said

The Tigers will travel to Tallahassee to play Florida State on Sunday, February 5, 2017. Tip-off is set for 12:30 pm.