March 6, 2010
Vanderbilt vs South Carolina
March 6, 2010
Memorial Gymnasium
Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings
Opening comments:
“We had control of the game and lost it, got tentative, and got beat. That’s all there is to it. We had too many guys who didn’t show up to play. I told our staff that South Carolina had lost six games in a row and weren’t going to lose the rest of the season. I was disappointed that, as a group, we didn’t do more to send Jermaine Beal out the right way. I thought he played well, we just had some no-shows.”
On South Carolina’s 16-0 second half run:
“We got tentative. I don’t know if we thought they’d roll over and play dead or whatever. We were not right mentally from the start.”
On Vanderbilt’s future:
“You are what your record says you are. I’m not proud of it, but they’ve bounced back all season long. I don’t have any concerns; if they don’t want to play, they’ll lose.”
On senior Jermaine Beal:
“He’s going to his third NCAA Tournament. He’s a poster child for what a college athlete should look like. He’s ahead in school academically. He’s a hard-working guy who wants to get better. I like Jermaine Beal a lot and it goes back to the recruiting process. His mother once told me that I had him at hello.”
Vanderbilt center A.J. Ogilvy
On loss before SEC Tournament in Nashville:
“It makes us hungry to win and since it’s just downtown, we want to take care of business.”
On missed opportunities:
“We just didn’t play well down that stretch. We missed some easy shots as well and it cost us the game.”
On losing on senior day:
“Obviously, it’s very disappointing. Jermaine (Beal) has meant so much to us and to the program and of course we wanted to send him off with the win.”
On Devan Downey:
“We did a great job of containing Downey in the first half, but he was making tough shots in the second half and we couldn’t stop him. That’s what great players do: they make big shots.”
On moving forward:
“I thought we played well as the game was going on. Teams like that play for runs and we weren’t able to get back. We’re a lot better than we played today and it’s good to get that game out of the way. It’s better to have it now than come tournament time.”
Vanderbilt guard Jermaine Beal
On Senior Day:
“I knew eventually today would come. It kind of hit me earlier in the game, but I refocused. It hit me again after the game for sure. I’m so appreciative of all the players, coaching staff, and the Nashville community for supporting me. I can’t say enough.”
On losing on senior day:
“Of course it’s your last home game and you want to win it, but Derrick Byars lost his and went to the Sweet Sixteen. Our team has a lot more left in us and we just have to refocus, bounce back, and look ahead. Of course it hurts though.”
On South Carolina run:
“We were turning the ball over and missing shots. Downey got a few in a row and we just kept making bad decisions.”
On not having all players contribute:
“I’m not the type of player to call someone out. I haven’t watched any game film and if coach notices that, then that’s his call, but this is a bad feeling right now.”
On being tied down the stretch:
“Even though it was tied with four minutes left, our team is always confident. Down two with 12 seconds left, I thought we still had a chance, but we need to make shots down the stretch.”
On losing before the SEC Tournament:
“It certainly humbled us and made us hungry. You learn from it and I hope it makes us hungrier and focused. Everyone tells us how good we are, but this is what March Madness is all about. It’s not supposed to be easy.”
On missed 3-pointer near the end of the game:
“When I shot it, it felt good. I had a good look. I missed it, but it felt good.”
South Carolina Head Coach Darrin Horn
On the importance of the win:
“The win is obviously really big for us heading into the tournament. I was really proud of our guys. It’s the first time in a while I thought from start to finish we competed and played like we thought we could win and everybody did their part.”
On the team’s successful free-throw shooting:
“It was crucial to get there as much as we did, and get the ball in the basket. We had a lot of different guys step up and make big ones: Sam (Muldrow), Brandis (Raley-Ross), Ramon (Galloway).”
On Sam Muldrow’s big game:
“We challenged Sam. One thing about Sam is that he has tremendous pride and he’s always up for big challenges. He knows he hasn’t been his best the past two games, but I thought he was the best big man in the game tonight.”
On the end of the game:
“I saw that they were trying to trap Devan (Downey), and what Devan did a great job of was not throwing that ball back underneath the basket, where if it got stolen or deflected, they could score. I thought it was a really smart play. Those are the things that you have to do to win games like this.”
South Carolina guard Devan Downey
On offensive struggle in first half:
“I was playing with the flow of the game. I was getting good looks but wasn’t hitting shots, it was more mental. My coaches told me at halftime to keep shooting and every time I take a shot, I think it’s going in.”
On keeping the score close in the second half:
“We kept fighting in the contest. At this stage of the season, we’re playing for pride. The lead was cut in the second half and we had some bad breaks but we stayed together as a team.”
On what the win means to team:
“This is a big win for us. Hopefully we will carry this momentum into the SEC Tournament.”
On final possession of game:
“I got the inbounds pass and I could hear Vandy’s head coach Kevin Stallings telling them to not foul me but I passed it ahead to a teammate to keep the clock moving.”
South Carolina forward Sam Murdrow
On effort in game:
“The coaches challenged me to play well tonight because I’ve struggled in the past few games. I wanted to go out there today and play with pride.”
On first offensive possession of game:
“I was able to go to the post and make an aggressive move. I wanted to come out with intensity today on the court.”
On significance of win:
“This is a big win for us. It will get us ready for the SEC Tournament.”