St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: St. John's 58, Seton Hall 47
2/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2006
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St. John's Head Coach Norm Roberts
On tonight's game:
"I was really proud of my guys. It was a really good team win. They played very focused and they played hard, even though earlier in the game I thought we were very, very tight in our shots and we missed some bunnies...some easy ones. But our guys came out in the second half a little bit more loose and more focused. Lamont (Hamilton) played unbelievable. He had 15 rebounds and 19 points. Eugene (Lawrence) made some big plays for us when we had to in the end. Our bench really gave us a lot of help. Jermaine Maybank played a great 16 minutes even though he only had 4 points, he played terrific on the defensive end. Ricky Torres made some plays when we didn't have anything going on. But I was really proud of the whole team. We played with a lot of energy. We played with a lot of passion."
Senior Ryan Williams
On possibly playing his last game in Madison Square Garden:
"Coach (Jose) Martin said something to me earlier. He said, `You have to play all out tonight, this may be your last time playing in this arena.' So, I told Phil (Missere), he's my roommate, we have to play as hard as possible tonight, so we can play again. He told me not to think, that's when I play my best."
Senior Phil Missere
On possibly playing his last game in Madison Square Garden:
"I'm not going to lie, it went through my mind throughout the day, but you can't let that affect you. I just wanted to come in here with an open mind. The game plan the coaches laid out for us was incredible. It's a credit to the coaches. I just wanted to play hard today and get my team the win."
On making the BIG EAST Tournament:
"From the end of the season last year and during the summer, that was definitely one of our main goals to make the BIG EAST tournament. We're trying as hard as we can, we're fighting every game. We just have to keep coming out with the same passion and energy and play St. John's basketball, which is defense and the rest will come, hopefully. In our locker room we have a list of the teams and the standings. We use it as motivation. They picked us as 10th in the preseason in the BIG EAST. That was motivation for us. We knew we were a good team. We want to come out and play hard basketball and inspired basketball. We think we can play with anybody."
Seton Hall Head Coach Louis Orr
On tonight's game:
"We knew going in this was going to be a 15 round match. St. John's, they compete and play hard. One of the big keys was going to be rebounding. I thought defensively we did a good job with the initial defensive. But they rebounded and got loose balls and they hung around and competed. Our guys, in the second half, didn't shoot the ball well. We can't allow field goal percentage to affect out field goal percentage defense, rebounding and our effort. But we got to have perseverance and keep enduring. We have to keep our heads up and get ready for the next one.
On Seton Hall's effort:
"Every team has a personality, an identity. To me the team that leaves no doubt, plays hard and competes, wins the hustle plays, loose balls, the second shots, gets up and down the floor. This time of year, you got to have sustained energy. It's one of those things where you just have to grind it out. I think with St. John's, as much with any team in the league, that's how they play. There will be very competitive games all year. No question, we competed, we just have to get more done. We have to rebound better. We have to come up with the loose balls more. But we played hard, in terms of the hustle plays and rebounding, we have to rebound the ball, especially when we're playing against a team like St. John's. That was one of our keys. Our effort was good and our defense was good. We didn't shoot the ball, but nobody's trying to miss shots. We still gave ourselves a chance to win. I give St. John's credit."
On impact of tonight's loss on the season:
"Every game, we call it like a one game season. You shouldn't have to put the weight of the world on your shoulders for each game. It should be habit. It has to be habit. For us, we won a lot of close games. We just have to get back on that grind. A lot of it just has to do with just getting after it. I thought we did, but we can't let a team out-rebound us by, I think, 16 rebounds. To me, when it's physical like that, everybody has to respond. When you play St. John's, that's the type of game you're going to have. I give them credit for grinding it out. So, our guys just have to play. We can't look too far ahead. We have to take one game at a time."
