Feb. 24, 2010

Recap |  Final Stats

Athens, Ohio -

John Groce

Opening Statement:

Obviously for us that is a heck of a win. You go through a game like we did at Akron, where I thought we made as many plays, it goes to double overtime, and one of the coaches from Miami said that was the best MAC games all season, and you know what it feels like to be on the losing end of a game like that. It feels good to be on the winning end of one like that in this case. It was certainly a game that could have gone either way. They shot over 50% from the field against us for the second time this year, and only three teams have done that to us all year. The difference in the game is that we just made a few more plays late in the game. I thought our press was good late in the game; I thought our guys did the best job this year executing out of timeouts. The last play was one of the neater ones I've seen because of the way Armon inbounded it quickly, D.J. pushed it hard and got double-teamed. He did a great job staying calm and didn't panic. He just kept his dribble and skipped it across the court to Tommy. Then Tommy had the presence of mind to shot fake, and K.V.K. had the presence of mind to set a screen. The focus will be on the shot, and Tommy did make a really big shot for us, but during the last three or four minutes guys were doing everything they could to help us win.

On D.J. Cooper contributing in ways other than with his scoring:

He wasn't the in groove that has been in offensively. I've always told him that good point guards find a way to put their team in position to win, and sometimes that requires scoring, sometimes passing, and sometimes defense. I think a lot of his attention and focus was that he had to play with a lot of focus and effort on the defensive end against Hayes. With nine assists, helping us out rebounding, and geting three steals, there's no question he impacted the game without scoring at as high of a level that he has normally.

On the impact of the big crowd:

It's great. We have a great crowd here and the O-Zone is terrific. We have as good or better crowd night in and night out over the course of a whole season than any team in our league. That's a tremendous advantage, I know these guys enjoy playing in front of the crowd, and they certainly had an impact on the game, as they always do. It means a lot that they would come out and support us like that, and certainly had an impact on the game.

Tommy Freeman

On the last shot:

When Hayes hit the runner to put them up, I knew my job was just to run to the corner. By the time I got there D.J. was already pushing it, and I saw that he got doubled on the opposite side of the floor. For him to kick it over to me is just him having vision. For a freshman, I know that's sometimes hard for young guys to do. When I got it there were guys there and I shot-faked. I honestly didn't know how much time there was on the clock but just knew I had to take the shot, and I just tried to slow it down as much as I could. K.V.K. took some guys out, and I was able to squeeze it off. Honestly, I thought it was off when I let it go, but I'm glad I was wrong.

On how it feels to hit a game winning shot:

I like it. That was the first one I've ever had, and I just glad I could send K.V.K. out 5-4 against Miami for his career.

On what the last two wins have meant for the team:

We've been in a lot of close games this season and come up on the short end of the majority of them. We've really worked hard with our execution late in the game. To be able to pull out these last two close ones, it really gives us good confidence going into the tournament. We're really trying to finish strong in MAC play and get a home game for the first round of the tournament. We feel like we can play with any team in the MAC night in and night out, so if we can execute late in the game we feel like we can put ourselves in a better position to come out with wins.

Kenneth van Kempen

On winning his last ever regular season matchup with Miami:

I thanked Tommy a couple times after the game for making that shot. When Kenny Hayes made that shot, I thought, "Oh no," because that happened a couple of times this season. With the rivalry, it definitely feels good to be going out with a winning record against Miami.

On the team turning the corner toward better performance in close games:

I think the most important part is that we show more poise at the end of the game and we keep growing to be a better team at the end of games. Also playing Miami, everyone had a chip on their shoulder and really wanted to win this rivalry game. We really played for each other today, and I think that really showed at the end.

Miami Head coach Charlie Coles

On the game in general:

I thought we came into the game and did about what we wanted to do and put ourselves in a great position to win. I thought we did a marvelous job on (Armon) Bassett and (D.J.) Cooper... It was a great ballgame, a great Ohio-Miami ballgame. The last two times we were here we didn't play very well. I thought both teams played well.

On Tommy Freeman and his last shot at the end:

We knew Freeman had been hot at home, and my fear was that he was going to get some shots. The last shot he made was a tough shot and a testament to how tough he is to make that kind of shot under pressure like that. I credit him for making a tough shot. That wasn't an easy shot to make.

On DeVaughn Washington:

Washington. Washington. Washington! He was something else. I kept wanting him to miss free throws, and he didn't. He had a great day. We're trying to get our guys to have that kind of day... I knew he was a good player. Now maybe we didn't put the emphasis on him we should have, but in my mind, I knew he was the best athlete on the floor. He certainly got the game ball tonight if there was a game ball given out.

On Ohio's team in general:

I've said that Ohio University is the most improved team in our league. If you watch their scorers and how they've been playing on the road, I thought they should have beat Akron. They played Kent (State) really well there, but lost to them down the stretch. This is a good team. If you add (Steven) Coleman, Wow! I think this team would be ready to win the tournament if they had him back.