St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
7-8, 1-3
DePaul
7-8, 3-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| DePaul | 21 | 39 | 60 |
| St. John's | 24 | 30 | 54 |
Post Game Quotes: DePaul 60, St. John's 54
1/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2008
Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
QUEENS, N.Y. -
St. John's Head Coach Norm Roberts
Opening Statement:
"DePaul is a well coached team and they made plays in the last seven or eight minutes. We were sloppy with the ball and they took advantage of it. They made some big shots and some big plays and we didn't finish when we had the opportunity."
On what upsets him most about the loss against DePaul :
"We didn't take care of the basketball at key moments of the game. We made some ill-advised turnovers that turned into baskets. We had some opportunities to get down some shots and stop their run and we didn't make them. We didn't make the plays on both the offensive and defensive ends. DePaul made the plays."
On what St. John's can do to improve:
"We have to get to the point where we can execute. In the BIG EAST it comes down to two, three, four possessions. You have to make sure you do your best job in those possessions. We didn't, and DePaul did."
On putting players with experience on the floor:
"You have to go with your best players. You have to give your best players the chance to make plays. That's what we did. Against Cincinnati we made those plays, this afternoon we didn't. "
On seeing his players get down after a loss:
"That's life, sometimes it doesn't go your way. You have to focus in and get better. It's the little things that are beating us. The players feel it. They want to do the right thing. There are no shortcuts. It's not going to be easy. Every team is good. If you don't execute, you will get beat by anybody. We just have to learn to be more patient, more poised. They know when they make mistakes. They know when they're not doing the right things. They know what they have to improve on. It's not easy."
Senior Guard Eugene Lawrence
On DePaul:
"I think we're a tough team. Down the stretch we just have to get better at executing. You didn't see DePaul come out here and bully us, so I wouldn't say they're tougher than us but they are a good team. Toughness-wise I think we went head-to-head."
On the crowd's reaction to the DePaul comeback:
"I don't play basketball for the fans, I play for St. John's."
On keeping the optimism up after two straight losses:
"We just have to take this blow, learn from it and get ready for the next game. In the BIG EAST anybody can beat anybody on any given night; 1-3 is a bad start, but I think we can pick up. We just have to work on things and get better."
Freshman Forward Justin Burrell
On his team high, 18-point performance against DePaul:
"I didn't make a big enough impact. We have one win in the BIG EAST right now. I have to do more."
On being a young team playing a factor in the team's production:
"I'm not going to make excuses and say it's because we're young. We had the opportunity to win all four games. We just have to execute. No excuses."
Junior Forward Anthony Mason Jr.
On losing the first home league game:
"Losing a home game in this league is bad; but you have to regroup and come back from it."
On getting to the BIG EAST tournament in March after a 1-3 league start:
"We have to win, and work on things that we need to improve on like converting when we get to the basket and getting stops on defense. We just have to get back into the gym and win."
DePaul Blue Demons
Head Coach Jerry Wainwright
Opening Statement:
"We struggled and was very disjointed in the first half. We got into some foul trouble and really didn't play with much confidence. We got a wonderful spurt in the second half. That's been the story of our season. I think if you look at our non-conference schedule, we've been at Kansas, Creighton, Clemson, Mississippi and Vanderbilt. I think by playing those teams it really helped us. It allowed us to play through some tough times against good teams. Sometimes it doesn't work because Georgetown beat us up pretty good in our last game. But we kept our composure and you can see the potential of our two young players."
On winning a BIG EAST road game:
"It was a big win for us. Any road win in this league is treasured. I was really proud of how we came back when there was an opportunity to fold. One thing about St. John's obviously is that their younger core of kids has improved. I had the opportunity to see Justin Burrell when he was younger and he has made such terrific improvement. He's a wonderful kid and he's going to be one of the premier players in our league. He adds so many different dimensions to their offense."
On being 3-1 in the BIG EAST:
"We started with three home games and I felt that if we didn't win the first one, it would be difficult to win the other games. We have a fragile young team. We were fortunate enough to beat Villanova because we played very well. We backed that up with a good performance against Providence."
