Jan. 2, 2011
Recap | Final Stats
Head coach John Groce
Opening statement
Obviously it was a really hard-fought game. We got up by 13 in the first half and then 12 in the second half and they came back both times. I’ve got to hand it to them. I’d watched them on film and they had been down 20 points on two different occasions and came back to knot it up so I really respected their resiliency and their toughness, especially with such a young basketball team. Our guys knew that; we had communicated it to them.
I didn’t think today, by any means, was an effort issue. I thought we played hard. I thought we really moved the ball on offenseâ€"had 18 assistsâ€"and shot it well from the three-point line. The offensive rebounding I think was a differential of one and then I believe the turnover battle was a differential of one, so there was no possession advantage for either team. It came down to them shootingâ€"quite honestlyâ€"shooting 78 percent from the free throw line on 23 attempts and us shooting between 60 and 61 percent on 34 attempts. Normally, when you’re plus eleven from the free throw line you like your chances. We just left some points at the line a little bit today and I thought that was the difference. They made a few more playsâ€"in particular thereâ€"than we did.
I’m excited about what our schedule has done for us. Sometimes when you play Oakland, IUPUI and Robert Morris, those teams truly become appreciated at the end of the year when they run through their leagues. We played those teams on purpose; those are winning programs that test us. Obviously Kansas, St. Bonaventure, Temple: we’ve played a rigorous schedule that I like, that I think will hopefully allow us to learn from it and make us better as we start conference play next weekend. I think the biggest thing right now is we’re not going to lose our minds over a hard-fought loss. We’re going to stay the course and see if we can get a little bit better this week heading into next Sunday’s MAC opener against Miami.
On the play drawn up at the end of regulation
Todayâ€"and really for a while now, maybe one game I can think ofâ€"we’ve done a great job of showing poise. We’re down seven with three (minutes) and change to go; we had a four overtime game; we had a close game at Illinois State; we had a close game against Valpo here. That’s what I’m saying. We’ve been in a lot of those situations and I think that will bode well for us as we move forward. I’ve got to hand it to our guys: they really executed everything offensively and defensively that we wanted to get done, probably from about three minutes and down at the end of regulation and into overtime. We got looks, we got foul shot attempts, we got high-level execution from our guys and that’s going to be important as we move forward. We talk about all the time, it seems like every MAC gameâ€"or the majority of themâ€"come down to the last eight minutes or four minutes.
I remember a couple of years ago during our first year here, we weren’t great sometimes in those situations and it’s been a learning process to get to this point. But I thought we were great there today and we just came up empty a couple of times on a couple of shots here and there.
On the quick start
Yeah we did a great job early. I thought D.J. did a great job of pushing the pace; our bigs were running; Nick and T.J. to start the game were out running; we got a lot of advance-pass threes that I thought were quality looks for us. We got the ball inside and they started coming hard. They’re an undersized team and I’ve got to give them credit when they switch and they put a little guy, he fights. When we did get it in there, they doubled. I’ve got to give our bigs credit; they threw it out(side to the perimeter players).
On how he feels going into MAC play
I’m excited. I’m excited moving forward that MAC play is starting. It’s a completely different season; it’s like our second season within our bigger season. At this point, the greatest point is that everybody is 0-0 starting out. Everyone has to utilize the quality of their work: the good experiences that they’ve had and the difficult experiences that they’ve had in the non-conference and kind of put all that aside, learn and grow from everything they’ve been through and lace ‘em up. Everything is a war. Every game is a war. It’s one thing that I’ve learned in two years, it’s a war every night. Everybody knows one another and everybody knows what each other’s running and it comes down to players making plays and toughness.
Sophomore guard D.J. Cooper
On overall play of team
I think we played hard. I feel like they made some tough shots. They are a team that can come back.
On persistent play despite struggles
I’m just out there to win. I’m not thinking about how many points or turnovers. I just want to get guys involved.
Freshman guard Nick Kellogg
On his strong play as a freshman
I’m just out there trying to win. I just go out there and try to knock shots down. I’m pretty confident and I like my role on the team. I’m here to hustle and be a good defender, as well as knock down open shots when I get them. My coaches and teammates have confidence in me.
On play of RMU’s Karon Abraham (28 points)
I think he has a quick release apart from the fact that he is just very quick. He’s a good shooter and player and that makes him tough to guard. He had a good game.
