University of Memphis Athletics
Postgame Quotes
Dec 16, 2010 | Men's Basketball
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#18/19 Memphis (8-1) 70, Austin Peay (6-6) 68 ot
December 16, 2010
FedExForum (Memphis, Tenn.)
Postgame Quotes
Memphis Head Coach Josh Pastner
Opening Remarks
We are 8-1 and 2-0 in overtime. We grinded this game out and found a way to win. I don't know what happened in that 21-0 stretch when we were no man's land. We tried different subs and even went zone a little bit. We turned the ball over. Twenty-four turnovers, although the last 17 minutes of the game we only had one turnover.
How about our missed free throws? Fifteen of 30. You have to give Austin Peay credit and you have to give Coach (Dave) Loos credit. They are very well coached and a very good veteran team. We grinded it out, and we held them to 31 percent from the field, and it would have been about 15 percent if we could have rebounded. They had 22 offensive rebounds, and if we didn't turn it over so much. Our half-court defense wasn't the issue; it just comes down to missed free throws and turnovers.
We hit a wall tonight. What saved us was Chris Crawford, Charles Carmouche and Will Barton with his big three pointer. Antonio Barton's shot was big too. We shot 45 percent from three which was our best since the Centenary game. I don't have a whole lot of words because I don't know what to say. All I know is we are 8-1 and that beats 7-2. We were down 15, and I kept telling the guys to keep chipping away defensively and grind it out. We grinded it out and found a way to win.
What do you plan to do on the rebound and turnover problems the team has faced?
We drill it every day, talk about it, emphasize it and we smash mouth each other. We hit each other, but we just have to rebound the ball. Charles Carmouche came up big in the second half with seven defensive rebounds. In the first half, I thought Will Barton gave us some big defensive rebounds, but Charles (Carmouche) had big defensive rebounds in the second half when we needed them most. It just comes down to toughness and us going up and finding a way to get the ball.
I believe we are a tough team; we just have to do it and grind it out. We get stops but we aren't finishing them by giving up offensive rebounds. Tonight with 22 offensive rebounds and 24 turnovers, that's 46 possessions we gave away. They shot the ball 18 more times than we did. You look at our stats against Arkansas State, they beat us in every category, but we found a way to win. All I know is we won in overtime which is good. We had some great looks, but missed early on.
Austin Peay Head Coach Dave Loos
Opening Remarks
You know you have to pick your poison when you play a team like Memphis. We decided that we were going to pack it in. You're going to give them some looks outside, and they made them. They made some shots outside the arc on us, but our effort was terrific. I liked our defense, and I thought that we frustrated them in the paint. It was effective but it just wasn't enough tonight.
About the back and forth play of tonight's contest
I don't feel like either team played very well. Neither team shot extraordinarily, and we both turned it over. The positive was that we were in the game at the game, down five at the half. Then things heated up in the second half. We got off to a great start by getting two or three steals that led to baskets and I feel like that boosted our confidence. We were able to build a pretty nice cushion.
About the 16-0 Austin Peay run to begin the second half
It was great, but you know that they (Memphis) play so hard defensively. You knew that they would make a hard run to come back, and they did. It was a terrific game but we came up a little short.
About out rebounding Memphis
We had a bunch of guys who really went after I;, they really went after the ball. That is effort and determination. I can't fault any of that.
It was a good game. We played well, but we came up a little short. As I told them (the players), this was not the important game tonight. I appreciate the effort, it was fun and we had a good time out there, but our big games are Saturday (Eastern Kentucky) and Tuesday (Morehead State). Hopefully we can bottle this effort and take in into Saturday night versus Eastern Kentucky.
About #20 Melvin Baker's performance tonight
He played well didn't he? I really thought that we should have gone to him more, or at least earlier. He has some great post moves, and they had a guard defending him for a while. We just didn't get it to him enough to take advantage of what they were doing. I hope this game boosts his confidence, and he can go forward from here.
