Nov. 26, 2008
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Vanderbilt 83 – Central Arkansas 62
November 26, 2008 – Memorial Gym
Attendance: 12,126
Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt Head Coach
General thoughts:
“We didn’t play so well in the second half because we lost patience and they held on to the ball. We built a nice lead in the first half and kept our turnovers down, but this wasn’t the performance that I was hoping for. We didn’t play well with a big lead but this is the first time this season that we’ve been in that situation. We missed some open three-pointers in the game but it was still a victory.”
On attempting 3-pointers:
“We could have gotten the ball inside more but we built a 29-11 lead and I want the guys to feel the freedom to shoot. We showed patience when they starting playing in a zone defense. We didn’t make enough threes and missed some open ones but we didn’t take too many bad ones.”
On strong early start:
“We hit them hard in the beginning when they realized that milking the clock wasn’t going to work. We played sharper in the start of the game and made more shots.”
On coaching young team:
“Tonight was a lesson to learn for us. We played for the first time this season with a big lead and it was a challenge because human nature tells them to let up. We’ll handle the situation better next time.”
On contributions of George Drake and Festus Ezeli:
“Both of them got good looks in the game. George played aggressively and made some nice plays. It was good to see him do well because he’s been banged up.”
On play in first 15 minutes of game:
“Festus got the ball inside early which helped. We took care of the ball and Jeffery (Taylor) got some offensive rebounds for us. We also did a good job of being patient defensively because it was tough bouncing back from Monday night’s game which was physical.”
On Festus starting the game and health:
“His back is ok. He got the start tonight because of some other injuries on the team but he has worked hard and earned tonight’s start.”
On playing status of Andre Walker:
“We’re unsure of his status.”
Vanderbilt Players
Jermaine Beal, guard
On getting to play with a big lead:
“It was a great feeling. Our team came out and played hard tonight.”
On maintaining focus after coming out with a large lead:
“(Central Arkansas) held the ball on us at the beginning of each possession, so our team was tested mentally on defense for the whole 35 seconds.”
On playing with a short bench:
“Our team does have a short bench right now and all that does is give other players an opportunity to step up and make plays for us.”
On what the team can take out of this game:
“We have learned how to play even when we are up a lot. Against Middle Tennessee State, they were able to come back a little bit, so we are learning how to play even when we have a big lead.”
George Drake, guard
On his career night in points, rebounds and assists:
“Whether it is coming off the bench or starting, my thoughts are the same to just come in and play with intensity and bring whatever it is I can bring to the team on that night.”
On feeling better tonight after battling a groin injury:
“I felt a whole lot better then I had since the Illinois game when I strained it. I felt alright today, but not 100 percent.”
On where his game is most improved when he is healthy:
“When you are dealing with a groin injury, it is just one of those nagging types of things. You are limited when trying to make quick turns and getting down into a defensive stance and maintaining that stance for a while.”
On his three-point shooting:
“I worked on it ever since the end of last year and I just want to make the open shots, and that is what I focus on. Right now I’m doing well.”
