Tulsa-UTEP Post-Game Quotes
2/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Tulsa Head Coach Alvin "Pooh" Williamson:
"First off, I'd like to say that I think we beat a really good team tonight. I give UTEP a lot of credit, they are a really good team. The fact that we held them to 54 points and to 32.7% shooting from the field, I want to commend the guys in that locker room. Our guys did a great job defensively. I thought Brett McDade and Chris Wallace did a tag-team effort to really do a good job on Fili Rivera, who is one of the best guards in our league, if not the best. They combined to really frustrate him and wear him down as the game went on. We are getting better. We are getting better at executing our stuff and doing the things that we want to do. And to do that against a team as good as UTEP is definitely a step in the right direction."
Q: Was the only negative that you let them comeback in the second half?
A: "They are a really good team. College basketball is a game of runs, and every team is going to make a run, its just how you respond to that run. I thought our guys responded in the right way. We made some big plays. Some guys stepped up and made those plays that we'd been talking about winning plays. All year we have been talking about winning plays and I thought those guys, our guys, stepped up and made those plays tonight."
Brett McDade, Freshman Guard Opening statement "We just executed the game plan tonight. We've been talking about it every game, we've been right there, and we just finally pulled it through."
Q: Was there any specific that happened in the game?
A: " Coach said it was big to stop the transition today. Chris Wallace and I picked up (Filiberto) Rivera early in the backcourt and all five locked in tonight."
Q: Why were you able to bounce back from their late second half run tonight?
A: "Just looking in everyone's eyes we just really wanted this win and we went and took it. "
Jarius Glenn, Senior Forward Q: Brett said you could still make this a season, is that right? A: " Most definitely. It's all about making runs in basketball. My sophomore year and my freshman year we had a little stumble during the season, came back, got hot toward the end of the season, second round time around the WAC, so hopefully this year we can do the same."
Q: Is this team coming together?
A: "Yes, it's coming together. I think my point guard, Brett (McDade) and Deion (James) they are getting a little bit more patient. They are learning how to control the game a little bit better, learning how to control the pace of the game. Defensively, they have to learn how to just take guys out of their comfort zone. I think they did a good job getting in early on Filiberto (Rivera) and taking him out of his comfort zone which is getting the ball, getting a full head of steam just coming at you. Early we got Brett in his face and Chris in his face a little bit to slow him down. He is the key to their whole team."
