Jan. 16, 2016
Recap | Box Score | Notes | USATSI Photos 
| Howell’s Photos
Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings
Opening Comments:
“I really enjoyed watching us play. Coming into this game, Alabama was a team that was a lot better now than they I thought they were going to be coming into the season. Avery [Johnson] has done a great job with them. They play hard. They play physically. They guard you well. I knew it would be a grind.”
“Riley [LaChance] didn’t feel well enough to practice yesterday. He was in the student health center with what they thought was tonsillitis.”
“Wade [Baldwin’s] defense on [Retin] Obasohan was key for us. Except for the very end of the game, we took away the three.”
On Alabama Guard Retin Obasohan:
“He wasn’t the kind of player he is now when he went to Alabama… He has a good enough talent to be in basketball for a long time.”
On Vanderbilt Forward Jeff Roberson:
“Jeff was terrific. He was probably our best player today.”
On Vanderbilt Guard Riley LaChance’s 18 Points:
“He sat out most of the shoot-around today. He looked fatigued. He said he was having trouble keeping anything down besides water. He’s a great kid. He’s a tough, competitive kid… Sometimes when you have a guy who has something else to focus on besides just playing basketball, that happens.”
On Jeff Roberson and Luke Kornet Being on the Floor Together:
“It was borne out of necessity… It has been a M*A*S*H unit for us, pretty much all the way back to when Luke got hurt… I give these guys credit. They have learned to fight through it.”
On Damian Jones’ 0-8 First Half:
“We wanted to get him the ball [in the second half]. [Alabama forward] Jimmie Taylor is a long, defensive guy, and he was an offensive guy today too. It was good to get Damian loose in the second half.”
On Vanderbilt’s Second Half Defense:
“In the first half, they were able to drive us. We made a couple of defensive adjustments and switches. The matchups were better when we made those switches. Our key change was putting Luke [Kornet] on [Shannon] Hale… He killed everyone in front of him in the first half, so we put Luke on him in the second half. That worked well for us.”
On Winning Back-to-Back Home Games:
“There’s a little added pressure in home games. When you give one away at home, it makes it a lot harder. I felt it was important to win two this week and we did that. We’re happy with that.”
On Vanderbilt’s Toughness:
“We showed some toughness today. Alabama is a tough team. I told them before the game, I told them last night, I told them in the shoot-around that it was going to be a tough game. This team [Alabama] makes you play. This team makes you grind. They had every chance to win at Ole Miss. They destroyed South Carolina. I knew this would be a dogfight and it was. Everything this year has challenged us, made us keep working and getting better. I’m happy at the end of the day we have something to show for it.”
Sophomore G Riley LaChance
On scoring 18 points with tonsillitis:
“I’m alright. Obviously it feels good to win against a very good opponent, that’s what I’m focused on right now. I’m just happy about that.”
On his symptoms:
“I’ve lost a couple pounds, no fever. Just low energy and really no appetite or anything like that, can’t really eat very much.”
On managing his energy during the game:
“I just tried to play as hard as I can, if I needed a sub I asked for a sub. I’m sure I wasn’t as active as I could’ve been but my teammates did a good job picking me up and having confidence in me. I just tried to shoot with confidence, my teammates did a good job of getting me open looks, a lot of easy looks from three.”
On two home wins this week before a road trip:
“It’s definitely important. We were just trying to take it one game and one possession at a time. Getting two wins in a row was huge before we go back on the road to UT.”
Sophomore F Jeff Roberson
On LaChance playing through sickness:
“I wasn’t sure if he was playing or not today but, once I found out, I knew he’d be ready to contribute all he can, whether it was a little if he wasn’t feeling well or, like he did today, producing a lot.”
On his two early three point makes en route to a 16 point game:
“I was just trying to be aggressive and take what the defense gives me. They left me open so I was going to shoot it with confidence. I’m just trying to do whatever the team needs so we can come out with a win.”
On paying more small forward in recent games:
“I don’t mind either position, really. Just whatever the coach wants me to do, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m comfortable with both positions, and I feel like I’ll be effective either way as long as I’m playing hard.”
On rebounding with two straight SEC wins after starting 0-3:
“We all have a lot of confidence in ourselves. Even when we were losing, we always felt like we were going to win the next game. We kept preparing and working hard, so now it’s just a matter of putting it all together and keep getting wins. It was very frustrating. We know we’re very capable. Things didn’t go our way, but that’s no reason to hang your head, it’s more reason to go even harder and prepare for the next game.”