Nov. 28, 2011
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Vanderbilt vs Xavier
November 28, 2011
Memorial Gymnasium
Vanderbilt Head Coach Kevin Stallings
Opening Comments:
“We’re disappointed. That was a really disappointing game to lose. We had it under control in the second half, had a few of our reserves in, and they gave the lead away quickly. We put in our starters and fought to get it back to a two- to four-point lead and couldn’t hit shots in the end.”
On Vanderbilt’s Turnovers:
“They were very costly… Turnovers are generally careless or selfish. Neither of those has anything to do with the other team.”
On the Foul Calling:
“I’m not sure. I’ll have to go back and watch the tape. These guys are good officials and I didn’t have a good feeling sitting there. There’s always a chance my judgment is skewed because of which team I’m for, but I didn’t have a good feeling for it while I was sitting there.”
On Vanderbilt’s Defense:
“We did a really good job. Our defense was superb. [Xavier just] hit shots in overtime. They didn’t hit shots in regulation.”
On Vanderbilt Forward Lance Goulbourne:
“He’s been good for us all season. I’m very pleased with the way he’s playing.”
On the Final Play of Regulation:
“We didn’t execute. That’s a play we work on all the time in practice. We just had a guy not do what he’s supposed to do.”
On the Rebounding Differential in Favor of Xavier:
“A lot of it is their width. They have guys who are long in there. They also tipped the ball a lot. When the boards start going like that, they get all the balls… They were just more aggressive. They rebounded with more effort and toughness than we did.”
Xavier Head Coach Chris Mack
Opening Comments:
“I am really proud of my kids. They battled a very talented, senior-laden team, one of the best scoring teams in the SEC. Them being without [Festus] Ezeli helped us. He can be like a kid in a candy store if he’s not in foul trouble. I am proud of our kids. It is their first game on the road in a very hostile environment. To have 25 offensive rebounds shows how badly our kids wanted it…Our players won this; it has nothing to do with coaching.”
On the Impact of Andre Walker Formerly Playing at Vanderbilt:
“Number one, it obviously had a huge impact to be the lead rebounder. He was steady on the floor and was able to guard [Steve] Tchiengang. He has battled a lot in his life, losing his mother and battling injuries. He has best friends on the Vanderbilt team. It had to be awkward for him to come in here and play… He had to come in and play guys he was teammates with five months ago.”
On Mark Lyons’ Shot to Tie the Game in Regulation
“I didn’t know if we would get a better look. I thought he had [Brad] Tinsley on his heels. The whole time I was hoping that Mark would not settle to pull back and take a three, but bust to the basket and make a tough shot and maybe even get fouled. He made a tough shot.”
On Having Two Aggressive Guards:
“It meant we didn’t have to focus on one guy to create any particular play. We have two guys that can create shots for teammates and themselves. They are talented and you could see that down the stretch. There were a couple of monster dagger threes at the end… To make aggressive, confident kids you have to give them some leeway, and they earned it.”
On the Momentum Shift Heading into Overtime:
“Once we had the lead and made the first three after to go ahead by five, I could just see our kids trying to put the game away. I could tell they were excited to end this.”
On Attacking the Ball Aggressively:
“We have talked a lot about [aggressive play on the road]. It had nothing to do with Vanderbilt; it had to do with our kids. I told them that if they aren’t willing to take a charge, take an elbow, or drive on an opponent, they don’t deserve to win on the road. We took a page from Cleveland State’s book to be honest. They took the fight to Vanderbilt.”
Xavier Player Quotes
Mark Lyons, Junior Guard
On coming back from a 10 point deficit in the second half:
“As a program we’ve been down before a lot of times and we came back a lot of times, so there was no pressure on us. We just wanted to come out there and get the win.”
On teammate Tu Holloway’s performance:
“It’s all cause of my back court main man, Tu Holloway. I love him because of the way he plays. [He’s] a killer on the court and he won the game for us in overtime.”
On Vanderbilt’s defense:
“They were switching the ball screens, making us go to the baseline and that’s something that we weren’t used to, so we had to adjust. Coach made some good adjustments at half time and we executed.”
Tu Holloway, Senior Guard
On his attitude coming into the second half:
“The second half is a different urgency. That’s the last chance, it’s the last chance to go out there and do whatever you can because you don’t want to get back on that plane tonight with that sick feeling knowing that you lost.”
On the win:
“I’m excited right now. I’m happy to get this win. Last year we struggled coming in our first game at Miami Ohio, I think that was our first road game, we lost and the next one was Cincinnati and we lost. We’re a really good team and Vanderbilt is a great team and maybe has a couple pros over there that we just came and beat these guys by 12 points in their own house and natural environment, so we’re just ecstatic right now.”
On what the win means to Xavier forward and former Commodore Andre Walker:
“It definitely was a big night for him. This was the biggest game of Andre’s life. This is his alma mater and you don’t want to come back here and lose. You know, as a man, `Dre doesn’t want to feel like `Oh, these guys feel like they’re better than me’ so now he can come out with his head up. He won a lot of games here [at Vanderbilt] and he’s at Xavier coming back and beating these guys, so it’s great for Andre.”
Vanderbilt Players
On 20-4 run to end the game:
“I think their team stayed steady and made a pretty good run. Our defense was pretty solid but it slipped away there. Our first shot defense was pretty good but we kept giving them second and third chances.”
On the difficulties scoring at the end of the game:
“We called a couple plays to get people’s spots that they’re comfortable with. But the shots didn’t fall or we didn’t get the break that we needed. It was unfortunate, sometimes the shots aren’t going to fall.”
On the stretch with ten minutes remaining when Xavier tied the game:
“They were getting pretty active with their hands and they revved up their defensive intensity for a while and we didn’t handle it too well. The momentum definitely changed. We were up ten and they eventually took the lead. They kept revving up their defense and doing what they did to get up in our shorts. They got their hands on balls to change momentum and create some points off turnovers which helped them cut into the lead.
On what positives were taken away from playing the 12th-ranked team in the country:
“For us, numbers or rankings don’t really matter. We were seventh in the country at one point and that doesn’t really matter. When our coach tells us their names and their faces…we’ve got to play against everybody the same way. We can take away from this game that our defense improved. They shot 37% in the game and that’s way better than our season average so far. We had intensity on our defense and everyone tried to lock up and do what they could. For the most part, all year our rebounding has been good, but that let us down tonight. That’s something we need to combine with our defense effort and that’s the next part.”
On the final possession in regulation:
“That was me, I forgot to set a screen and I arrived before the ball got inbounded and it threw off the flow of the play.”
Jeffery Taylor
On playing against former teammate Andre Walker:
“It was and interesting experience and it felt weird to see him in a different color uniform. We were together for three plus years. When we got on the floor and the game got started, he was just another opponent. He had a good game, grabbing a lot of rebounds for them which was important and lead to a lot of second chance points.”
On guarding Tu Holloway:
“I’m pretty good moving my feet and I have length on him so I just tried to stay and front and contest his shots.”
