Postgame Quotes
February 14, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2009
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East Carolina Head Coach Mack McCarthy
"You have to win tough games in [Conference USA] to be successful. Sometimes, we give teams too many easy shots, but we also made some shots ourselves. We stopped turning the ball over in the second half, but they still made some tough shots. I thought we executed a bit better in the second half in terms of out-rebounding [Rice] and getting to the free throw line."
On Individual Performances
"We had some individuals who turned in some great efforts tonight. Darrius [Morrow] was 13-of-15 from the free throw line and Brock [Young's] stat line was incredible with 17 points and 14 assists. Additionally, anytime Sam [Hinnant] and James [Legan] go 9-for-16 from beyond the arc, we have a pretty good chance to win."
On the Overall Efficiency of the Team
"We scored 91 points tonight, the most we have ever scored in a Conference USA game. We have had a lot of firsts like that this season, and we hope they are not over yet. [ECU] has matched the most C-USA wins we have had in a single season, but there is a tough week ahead, traveling to Southern Miss and Tulsa."
On Legan's Final Shot
"Brock was supposed to reverse dribble and bounce the ball into Darrius. I think that play was open, but Brock continued on. We run the drill every day in terms of dribble penetration and filling in from the wing. I didn't know if the shot was going to go in, but I am certainly glad it did."
On Rice's Recent Shooting Success
"Like I said, I think they made some tough shots, but we also gave them some easy ones. There was one I remember where we overreacted to a lob from out of bounds and they kicked it to the corner and scored. [Trey] Stanton had made three three-pointers all year and he made four just tonight. You can't always count on production like that, but we were able to overcome it in the end."
Rice Head Coach Ben Braun
"Give East Carolina credit for making the big shot at the end. We were up four in the overtime, but they kept battling back. I thought we were close to putting the game away, but by the same token, I thought we had to battle back as well. It was one of those games in which whoever had the ball last would win. ECU hit their free throws tonight and I believe that was the difference in the game."
On Brock Young
"I think we did a pretty good job of containing Brock in the first game. I also thought we did a good job on him tonight as well, but he hit the huge bank shot near the end there. He is a tremendous player and makes good things happen for his basketball team. There is no wonder that he had 14 assists tonight because he made things flow with his team and obviously their shooters were also a factor in that."
Senior Guard James Legan
On the Game-Winning Play
"Brock [Young] and I practice that play every day in practice. Coach Mack actually drew up another play that had the ball going into the post to Darrius but the play was busted. Luckily, I hit the shot."
On Scoring the Winning Basket After a Scoring Drought
"I am a shooter, so there was no hesitation in my mind whether or not to take that shot. If you hesitate before shooting, you will always miss. The shot looked good leaving my hand, but I wasn't sure it was going in until it did."
On the Team's Mindset Going Into Overtime
"Rice made a tough shot at the end of regulation. [Rodney] Foster is a great point guard in Conference USA and we saw that he could make tough shots when we watched film. Now we have seen him in person and we are glad we came out on top. We look at our season record now and we have confidence. We just need to go to the conference tournament in Memphis ready to make some noise."
Sophomore Guard Brock Young
On Breaking the Single-Season Assist Record
"It feels really good. I told everyone before the season that when James and Sam are on their games, that is trouble for the other team. I am glad that I can depend on our shooters to make shots."
On His Play This Season
"I have goals set for myself and this team, so I just expect to come out and play well each night. Obviously, things are going well right now. My teammates are able to open up the lane for me to score. It helps the rest of the team because the defense slacks off on them and they can make plays."
