Mark had to deal with some adversity and after missing the free throws could have hidden. But he showed a lot of character by stepping up and knocking down the three in such a critical situation. |
Our players didn't come out and compete at all. It came down to leadership and we didn't show any. It looked like our players were hiding and just gave up. Trust me, we will address this in practice. |
They were obviously keying on Aaron and working hard to limit his touches. But most teams are going to employ that strategy, so we have to be more creative in finding ways to get him the ball. |
Tony (Queen) and Ray (String) did a phenomenal job defensively on Hurtado. We executed our game plan and forced him to his left all night and got him frustrated. Not many teams have been able to shut him down. He is really a special player. |
We knew that Cox was a very good shooter from 3-point range and were determined to not let him get comfortable out there. I told our players to deny him the ball and make him put the ball on the floor and we definitely kept him from hurting us. |
We play in a very tough league and although we have come a long way, can't afford this type of performance against teams in our league. So now we'll really see just how much we have progressed and who we can count on against much better competition. |
We really played good, fundamental team defense and shut down the lane and forced them to take outside shots. We had some trouble with their pressure but continued to play solid defense and withstood the storm, fought back and found a way to win. |
We talked all week about having the instinct needed to put teams away but sure didn't show it tonight. We get up big and then seem to give our momentum and it just kind of snowballs. |