Jan. 5, 2012

Recap |  Final Stats |  Notes

Head Coach Gary Waters "We needed to come out and do what we are capable of doing. Every time that you lose a game, a little doubt creeps in. We had to de-redshirt Marlin and play Charlie Lee at the point guard because of injuries, and it was good to see them have a good game."

"Charlie Lee pushed the ball. He penetrated some and hit his shots a couple of times. Put those things together and good things come out of that. I thought he did a great job guarding their point guard. That's a kid who averages 18 points per game in the league, and he held him to six points tonight. He did a great job defensively."

"The only reason Marlin Mason was redshirting was because he had never played the small forward spot. He's a young kid who just turned 18. I hated to redshirt him. If he had a fifth year, he'd probably be one of the best players in this league by that time. Because of circumstances, we had to make adjustments. In our exhibition game against Buffalo, he scored 16 points. He scored 12 in our other exhibition game. When we decided to redshirt him, he understood and said whatever is best for the team. I was hoping as a team would stay healthy so we could redshirt him. He's a big three who can also play the four. He works every day at the four but I played him at the three tonight."

"I need 20 points from our bench. When you start Charlie, it hurts the ability of our second unit to score."

"I told them in the locker room that someone would step up, and I grabbed Anton and told him that I wanted him to step up. He did. Eventually he'll be the four man here. That three point shot is part of his game. I cracked a smile when he hit that second three."

Freshman Forward Marlin Mason "It felt good to get out there and finally experience a real college game. I would do anything to help my team out and I'm glad they had faith in me. Coach told me yesterday before practice that I would be playing."

"Defense is the main thing I was working on each day in practice while I was redshirting, and I let the offense come to me."

"I was really nervous before the game - even when we were shooting around before the game. The second time I was out there, it was way easier. I got my wind back and felt more comfortable."

"There was a media timeout and my teammates told me I had to get a dunk in. I had to get a tip-dunk."

Freshman Guard Charlie Lee "With my speed, I like to get out in transition and I think I play better that way. I think we got Jeremy Montgomery and D'Aundray Brown going. We need to get them shots."

"We don't want to lose at home in 2012. We would do anything to avoid losing."

"The upperclassmen teach me something new every single practice. I mess up a lot at practice, but the older guys help me a lot to cut down on my mistakes."