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 Shields |  Petteway |  Smith |
Opening Statement-- on the team's effort in the 15 point loss
"I told the guys that we certainly got better tonight. We were better than we practiced yesterday, and the game prior to that. We showed it tonight, we came out to win but we accomplished something that was important to us, and I think we really got better tonight."
On what the difference was in tonights game, coming out shooting 50 percent in the first half
"Confidence. We shoot 50 percent in the first half so we jump right into the game, we were playing our style. They tried to trap us early, which bothered us at first, but we broke it so they stopped. It just kind of flowed, the guys on the bench came in. They came in and gave us some great minutes, the starters sat there and cheered them on. We shot 50 percent in the first half, and held them to 41... That is big time."
On the second half
"We broke down in the second half, I think some of it was fatigue, and some of it was obviously Nebraska. They are a big basketball team. I don't know if we got a good whistle or not I would hope to think so. They shot 34 free throws, and we shot 14, you do the math. We play in the Southern Conference and they play in the Big Ten. But I am proud of our guys. It was a great-- team effort."
On the run in the second half for Nebraska
"I think we just---- we haven't put 40 minutes together so we were't really used to playing this well for that amount of time. Some of the mistakes that we have not been making up to this point reared its head. Some turnovers, bad shot selection, you play against a team like this (Nebraska) you cant afford to do that."
On their defensive strategy against NU, Petteway
"We don't haven an answer for him (Terran). That is why we tried to play a little bit of man and a little bit of zone, a little bit of 1-3-1, hell we even threw in a little triangle and two out their for one possession (Nebraska hit corner 3). He is a very talented player. We knew one guy couldn't stop him so we were trying to change things up and keep him off rhythm."
On Citadel's offensive strategy
"Well we are a guard oriented team this year as opposed to last year. We had a first-team all-conference big man and so we got the ball into him most of the time last year. This year we are trying to create some openings in transition which we didn't get a lot tonight. We are trying to utilize our guards more and their ability to use screens and get some penetration. We don't have a guy that can go down there and post up. My center weighs 205 pounds and my power forward ways 190 pounds and they are both freshmen. So until we get that, we have to play the way we play now. We have no seniors, all freshmen and sophomores and juniors."
Nebraska Head Coach Tim Miles
On if "love the rim" came out of his mouth at halftime
"'Love the rim' came out of my mouth at halftime. There was a few expletives included unfortunately. I apologize, mom. We always go to confession before Christmas, so I'll be fine."
On the game
"The Citadel comes in and they just take it to us the whole time. Great energy. They were aggressive. You just have to credit Coach (Chuck) Driesell and their effort level. Just the way they played and executed. They made some shots. They had some guys step up. They had some guys that haven't been playing much that stepped up and played big roles. Now we're sitting out there like the Bad News Bears. We got two guys who run into each other, the ball falls out of their hands and they get a layup. Not once. Not twice. Like three times, you know? We said, 'Here's what has to happen in the second half.' And really we started out pretty good and then they came back again. Because we had give them so much confidence. But I was happy that we were able to go out and finish the job. It wasn't a lost day. I think it was a meaningful day in terms of a learning experience."
On the run at the end of the first half
"That was huge. I was worried. I didn't want to go in down. I had this idea that we might be down double figures. I'm like, 'Gosh, that's not going to be good.' And to just come out and make the plays we did. We got a little bit lucky on one steal I think. But that was really an important run for us to even the game. I think we were very fortunate to be even at halftime. The first possession of the second half we were able to get Shavon (Shields) a layup. We were lucky to get (Matt Van Scyoc) out of the game. We had to try and attack him as much as we could because he was the one guy that was a really tough matchup for us. He and the guard (Quinton) Marshall."
On the defense
"It's always tougher in the first half, because guys are kind of looking at you. And that's where you wish you had a more experienced point guard. We told them, 'this is what you'll see.' And then we extended it a little because they hadn't shown at all and we just turned it over the first few times. But the guys knew what to do. Like Terran (Petteway) and Shavon, unless we are all talking the right things, we just didn't get into it and get quality shots the way we needed to. We still make some bad decisions. We scored six of our first eight buckets inside I think. And then we run a little action and Terran's got Walter (Pitchford) wide open underneath the basket for a dunk. He throw is the other way for a turnover. I think we still need to understand that there's a certain amount of discipline that you have to stick with to be successful. And that was prevalent to me the entire night."
On the timeout at the end of the first half
"I called a timeout because I didn't get the sub up to the bench to get Shavon out quick enough. That's why, just reality. And I just wanted to talk to him a little bit too. I wanted to let them know again if this happens, we're in this. If this happens, we're in that. And if they are in man, we are in this. There was nothing magic about it. Really it was get Shavon out of the game and protect him from foul trouble."
So. Forward. Terran Pettaway
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1st 2nd Total
Citadel 32 30 62
Nebraska 32 45 77
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