Marshall University Athletics
3/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 8, 2008
Larry Eustachy - Southern Miss Head Coach
Opening statement
"That was as good an officiated game as I've seen, they let these guys play. Fouls were even. We got some fouls down the stretch against Marshall that really hurt them. That's how a game should be officiated. You go see Billy Joel and you pay good money, and then you find out that Billy Joel fouled out at intermission and you can't see him in the second half. Marshall pushed us and we pushed back. Unless there's a huge advantage, let it go. I can't tell you enough about Donnie Jones. [John] Calipari called me this morning and told me that they're going to be good."
On Marshall
"You're going to see Marshall elevate this league, because they're soon going to be a tournament-caliber team."
Mark Dorris - Marshall University guard
On the end of the game
"We had vast opportunities out there. We missed free throws down the stretch. We missed out on some key defensive stops, and they jumped up and hit some big offensive shots. We had a lot of open shots tonight that didn't go in. You just can't control the basketball. I give my team credit because they went out there and competed, but sometimes you compete and you just don't execute and compete enough to win the game."
On Southern Miss' physcality
"They're a real physical team. There's one possession in the first half that I vaguely remember, where their big guy got three or four offensive rebounds in a row and put it back for an and-one. They're a pretty solid team in this conference, and they will be pretty solid come tournament time."
Taurean Marshall - Marshall University guard
On teammates
"It was pretty tough to not be able to help my teammates. Especially because we are so low on guards. With me having a knee problem, Matt [Walls] having a hurt hand, and [Darryl] Merthie playing limited minutes, it was difficult. They still held their own, but down the stretch Southern Miss made some key stops."
Donnie Jones - Marshall University Head Coach
Opening statement
"It was a tough game. It was a tough loss for us. We played a pretty good Southern Miss team. We knew it was going to be a physical game and that our guys were going to be in for a battle from the first play to the end. We had free throws we didn't make. We had three, four looks at the basket off of offensive rebounds and we just couldn't make them. When we have won these kinds of games, that is what we've been able to do. I think it probably goes back to a depth stand point. I thought our guys played hard, but give Southern Miss credit, they made big shots when they had to. Jeremy Wise hit a lot of shots with the shot-clock winding down. They hit several of those. They did exactly what you need to do to come in and beat somebody on the road. Our team is disappointed, but I am very proud of the guys that played their last game here today. Those kids have given our staff everything we've asked for and more since we've been here."
On Mark Dorris
"Mark's [Dorris] game is not physicality, it is finesse. He was 4-18-tonight. I thought he hurried a lot of his shots. I told him at halftime that he was trying to do too much. Sometimes on senior night, guys want to make it their night, and I think Mark was trying to will his team to victory, like he did the last time at Tulane."
On officiating
"It's one of those games when the referees could have called a foul every trip down the court if they wanted to. That made it very difficult to officiate. We knew it was going to be that kind of game coming in."
On preparing for conference tournament
"We need a day off to watch film and learn from this. The good thing is we're going into the conference tournament now where all the records are even. You have a chance to play you're way into the NCAA Tournament. And that's what this team is going to have to do."
