Marshall University Athletics
2/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 20, 2008
Recap |
Box Score |
AP Action Photos 
Marshall Head Coach Donnie Jones Opening Statement: "First of all, congratulations to UTEP. They're a very good basketball team. They made plays down the stretch and we had our opportunities. We missed 13 free throws in the game. When you play against a very talented team like that you have to make free throws; you have to make plays. One thing our basketball team has done a great job of this year is make big plays down the stretch. We've made free throws, we've made big rebounds, we've made big stops. The flow of the game was a little faster than we would have liked it to be. We gave up way too many fast-break points, which really hurt our flow. We were in foul trouble early. I thought our bench did a good job, we never really got Pierre [Marie-Altidor Cespedes] into the flow with fouls. He's probably our best on-ball defender which made it difficult having him out. I probably played Darryl Merthie too long, I think he got tired, but Darryl has been really good for us. There will be nights when he'll be there again and he'll make his free throws. It comes down to making plays. We put it in the hands of probably the best scorer in the league's hands, it's a tough shot to try and stop and [Stefon Jackson made a big shot. He hopped up and made a big-time shot." On UTEP's team speed: "They're one of the most deep and athletic teams we've played and we knew that coming in, and our goal was to have it close at the end. We did that. We battled to get some big shots to get back into the game and had the lead and where we wanted to be with 30 seconds to go with the ball. You just hope that you make those free throws and for the most part we have. That's a good team, their backs were against the wall coming in here, they've had some tough losses and the ball bounced their way tonight." On team's performance: "Sometimes you play your best games and you don't win. Sometimes you play your worst games and you end up winning. But unfortunately, you're judged on wins and losses in this game. We've been competitive all year long, and we were on a three-game winning streak here. We have to regroup and that's what good teams do. This group has been very resilient in doing that, and the greatest thing is we have a team [UCF] that's ahead of us in the standings coming into our place again, so we're looking forward to that." On Tirrell Baines guarding Stefon Jackson: "We were switching. I thought with them running all of those screens, there was no way we could get across. I was okay if that's where it ended up [with Baines guarding On team scoring: "We had five guys tonight, if Darryl [Merthie] makes two free throws, six guys in double figures. That's what we are and that's who we've become. We have nothing to be discouraged about. I told the team, we win together and we lose together. We have to learn from what we didn't do well and what we did do well and go back to work on Saturday."
Marshall Guard
On execution down the stretch:
"It was all about getting stops. They had good players on their team that could make shots. [Stefon] Jackson and [Randy] Culpepper are good players that were hard to guard. We just have to finish playing at the end and doing the little things. We have to execute plays, make our free throws, hit our shots, and get some stops."
On comparing Memphis and UTEP:
"I would say we had to guard them about the same. We had to do the little things on defense."
On Stefon Jackson:
"He has great legs on his shot. He is real good at creating space. Guy like that, you have to be aggressive on defense and try to deny him the ball because he is a guy that will shoot. It is not one person's job to stop one person; it is the whole team's job. "
UTEP Miners Head Coach
Tony Barbee
Opening Statement:
"It is not easy to win on the road in this league. Everybody in this league plays good at home. Outside of Memphis, there is a lot of parity in this league. This is a tough place to play. Donnie's got them going, playing hard, and competing. I am just happy for our guys. We have had our last three out-of-four on the road and have been close. We just haven't been able to get over the hump. But tonight, we were able to make some plays down the stretch to get us over that hump."
On the conference road victory:
"It was big to win on the road but not just for our team. Outside of Memphis and Houston, they have separated a little bit but for everybody else, are fighting for seeding into the conference tournament. It is just hard to win on the road in this league. There are good coaches and home court environments. I thought tonight was a very good home court advantage for Marshall. The crowd was good and was into it. They were loud and made it hard on our guys. Unless you can win on the road on the league, you are not going to be able to separate from that pack. So it was big for us against the team directly ahead of us in the league."
