St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: St. John's 70, Niagara 57
12/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Head Coach Steve Lavin
Opening Statement:
"We were disappointed with our collective rebounding effort. As a result of our poor performance on the boards, we allowed Niagara to come back and make it a one-point game on our home floor. We were fortunate that our zone defense down the stretch allowed us to pull away late."
On tonight's starters:
"Sitting [Sir'Dominic Pointer] was because of a minor team violation for showing up late to a film session. [Jamal] Branch has been playing well. [Tonight] was to reward Jamal for his performance in practice and games. He has been very steady for us. Coming off the bench for a player like Rysheed [Jordan] is a helpful, constructive way to see the game before you jump into the action. I was also rewarding Myles Stewart as he has been playing well too."
On who he will start against Syracuse:
"We have three more days of practice. A lot can happen between now and Saturday, so it is too soon to know. I like what Jamal brings to the table and Myles [Stewart] is a long range marksmen, but practice often determines what we do in terms of lineups."
On Rysheed Jordan:
"Rysheed was solid tonight. Contributing to a win is a positive. He will have breakout games, but I thought he was in a good place tonight. I was pleased with his maturity. Sometimes when you don't start a player, you are curious how he responds. [Tonight] Rysheed was pulling for the same players that pull for him when he's in the game." ​
Senior Guard D'Angelo Harrison
On tonight's intensity:
"We were off to a good start, but got kind of lackadaisical. Coach [Lavin] said just now, `that's not how we're supposed to play even though we got the win.' But you have to credit Niagara, they did a good job tonight. We just need to do well collectively. We had some let downs on defense, which we will work on tomorrow. We'll learn from it and get ready for Saturday."
On walk-on Myles Stewart getting a start:
"That's just St. John's basketball. Any player that coach puts out there, he has confidence in. Myles [Stewart] had a good week and his confidence carried over tonight."
Senior Guard Jamal Branch
On productivity as a starter or reserve:
"I'm a senior now, so I know what my job is. I know what I'm supposed to do. I don't believe I was efficient tonight and I had four turnovers. That's something I need to fix and work on going into the Syracuse game."
Niagara Head Coach Chris Casey
On tonight's game:
"I think St. John's is very good. They are extremely talented offensively but I thought we fought them. I thought we did a good job coming back. We played hard in the first half, but we didn't play particularly well offensively. We left a lot of points out there with some missed layups and some missed open shots. I do think we calmed down in the second half and got much better, particularly in the first eight to 10 minutes of the second half. Then we hit a low again where we didn't finish some plays. I think with a young group, you're going to get that. We need to be more consistent on the offensive end which will help our defense."
