Dec. 8, 2010
Recap |
Final Stats
Penn State vs. Mount St. Mary's Post-Game Quotes
Head Coach Ed DeChellis
Q: That was a long shot..
A: Yeah it was a long shot, I agree. They went zone right at the end and that was a good strategy by them. Bubby (Talor Battle) stepped up and made a big shot, a long shot.
Q: What were you hoping for when you saw them go zone?
A: Well we were going to try and set a ball screen on one of the guards but at that point in time there was about 6, 7 or 8 seconds left when they went zone so you just have to make a play and try to get a shot.
Q: Does Talor Battle's late game shots ever surprise you?
A: No I mean I would say that that's kind of normal for him. Offensively he didn't really have it tonight and then made the big plays at the end. I think he scored eight points in the last couple minutes. He made a lay-up, that big play, some free-throws and helped us win the game. That's a senior guard that's been through the wars a bunch. He's a special kid, special player and he just found a way to win.
Q: Should it have come down to that last shot?
A: No it shouldn't have. I mean we were up nine and came out in the second half and I think we turned it over for of the first five times. It gave them good life and we talked about that. We watched the game when they played Cincinnati and they were up 19 and it was a four point game with a minute to go and they had a chance to cut it to one. Cincinnati held on like we did and made a couple plays in the end and won. We showed the kids the last few minutes of that game and said "you're never far enough ahead, this is a good team, they have guys that can make shots and you have to be ready to play." We looked like a tired team I thought. But give our kids credit they found a way to win. Sometimes you need to find a way to win these games and move on and try and get better Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and move on.
Q: What did you say to Talor before you took him out of the game?
A: Yeah I thought he took a tough shot. Just running in there and trying to take a tough shot. Sometimes when you don't have it going offensively you make another pass or try and find someone else, and the ball will come back to you. I just thought he was just trying to force a play that really wasn't there. So I told him to sit down, take a break, gather yourself and tell me when you're ready to go back.
Q: How much did you miss D.J. Jackson tonight?
A: Well I thought it was just the rotation offensively where we were out of whack. Offensively I didn't think we had any flow at all. We didn't have any ball movement. But when you don't have him you don't have him. But I thought some guys came off the bench and did a solid job for us tonight. Again I thought we were just out of whack offensively.
Q: How tough was it to juggle your lineup tonight?
A: We just had to play some guys in some different positions, out of position tonight. I thought the guys that came off the bench did a solid job for us. That is what a team is about, you have to find a way to win when you're called and you have to go in there and get something done. I thought Taran Buie came off and make a couple shots and Tre Bowman gave us some minutes. And that's what a team is all about you have to help each other, and pitch in and step up and do some things.
Q: Can you talk about Cammeron Woodyard's performance?
A: He made some big shots, made a big shot before the half, I thought that was really crucial. I'm not even sure he took a shot in the second half and that's something we gotta try to get him a shot. I thought he had good rotation on his ball, I thought he was stepping into his shot. That's something as a team we have to understand that "he's made a couple shots, let's get him a couple more." Find him in the offense and screen for him and get him open.
Q: What did you see in Cammeron yesterday in practice?
A: It was more of a solid thing in terms of defensively. He understand what we are doing with rotations. He has a pretty good understanding of what we are doing. He doesn't try to do things he usually can't do. I felt pretty solid that he would be solid with the basketball. I think he had one turnover and played 27 minutes. That was kind of what we were looking for to get some older guys out there that had played a little bit and I didn't want somebody coming in trying to do too much. He did a nice job for us and hopefully he can build on that and have some confidence. He made open shots for us and that was the problem coming in I think he was 2-19 from the floor and he's a much better shooter than that. So hopefully this game will give him some confidence.
Penn State Player Quotes
#12 Talor Battle
#2 Taran Buie
Talor, can you talk about the three pointer at the end?
Battle: We had it tied and they were in man to man at first. Coach wanted to clear out for to go one-on-one on the guy. The last eight or nine seconds they dropped back into a two-three and I just tried to get the ball in my hands and Cam just found me. I knew we had to get a shot up and that was the best shot I had all night I think. I was in motion and rhythm on that shot and I just knocked it down.
Did you realize how far away you were from the hoop?
Battle: No. The guys just told me I was about 26 feet out, but I had no clue. I just shot the ball with some confidence and got it.
Were you disappointed with your performance as a team the last few minutes?
Battle: Yes, we definitely feel like that. We just played so poorly and with a lack of energy or emotion, whatever you want to call it, we just didn't have it. I think that carried over for us making shots and defending. I credit them. I don't want to just sit here saying that we just let them stay around, they played hard, and they fought. We have to get better especially because it will be a tough game down in Blacksburg come this Sunday.
How much did you guys DJ out there, his leadership and ability to make baskets?
Battle: We missed those guys. As a senior, DJ has been around a long time and Billy is just one of those guys that just keeps a team together. There is no excuse to how we played. Guys injuries happen, but we should have filled in a little more.
You said there was a lack of energy, any explanation for that?
Battle: No, I honestly don't. I think, with me, I should have been the guy picking us up. I may have let my offense affect me as being a leader and getting guys excited. Tim told me at the end of the game, in the last few minutes, "Come on T, we need you." That's when I provided the energy I normally do. Fortunately, we won, but it was a little too late for me to do that. I just have to stay positive.
Knowing what your brother has done in the past, did you have faith when he took that shot?
Buie: Obviously we had faith in him. He is our go-to guy on the team. There was nobody else that was going to take that shot unless they were open. We had a lot of confidence in him taking that shot. We had confidence that he would knock it down, too.
You had ten points tonight, are you feeling better?
Buie: I did a lot of talking with my family and my brother. I just have to let the game come to me. I don't think I've been playing my style of play. I think my heads been cloudy. It was good for me to take time off and just think about how I was playing and what I can do to help the team.
How important is this game coming up on Sunday against Virginia Tech?
Battle: It's very important. It's one of those games that looks good coming into the year. We've had two opportunities with Ole Miss and Maryland, but we let them slip away. This is our last real big game before conference play starts. It's going to take a great effort from us to go out there and play and try to win the game.
Mount Saint Mary's Coach Robert Burke
How did you feel with Battle making that basket at the end of the game?
A: We probably should have gotten it out of his hands and been a little more aggressive especially since we ran into a similar shot recently. That was a long shot.
Even for him?
A: Good players make shots in those situations. We had to get it out of his hands.
Did you drop into a zone there? Did your players call that on their own?
A: We did. No, we made it from the bench and they did a good job. They were right there and it wasn't like they weren't close to him but they didn't trap him and we don't trap out of that. He made a tough shot.
What were you doing to slow him down at the end of the game?
A: Nothing special to be honest. I don't know if they talked to him about trying to get his teammates involved but they were trying to attack us on the inside and I was waiting. I told the guys in the second half to try and make it a little more perimeter oriented. But we just did a nice job as a team defense. We're a pretty good defensive team especially when we put our minds to it. We know his game a little bit.
How disappointed is your locker room right now?
A: This is the second loss that we've had in this manner. One to a team that was predicted to be the best team in our league on the road and then this game and we're missing five of our top nine players to injuries right now. These guys deserved to win tonight in the way that they've responded to the situation, not that Penn State didn't deserve to win.
At what point of the game did you feel like you could challenge Penn State?
A: We felt that way the entire game. Our guys were beside ourselves when we missed those easy lay ups. If we had control early and made the those lay ups, but then they started to feel sorry for themselves. We have three freshmen starting and I they've had about 3,500 minutes of experience so they looked a little shell shocked which they can't look. Now they're no longer freshman. I think they started to believe in the second half when we came out lackadaisical and I called that time out and then probably after that they responded. And we reversed the ball from side to side and were pretty good offensively. We just tried to attack off one or two passes and the fact that they're very good at getting in the help side defense. When you're as small as we are it's hard to attack.
