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Postgame Quotes

Cleveland State Head Coach Gary Waters

"I thought we played hard all the way to the end. We have two issues we need to correct. We can't turn the ball over too many times and we need to stop constant fouling. We're working at it and it will come. When we finally get it, everyone has to watch out. We can defend well enough to get after any team. The last three possessions, we defended hard and they only scored once and we scored all three trips."

"Keith is a good coach and he has good players. I expected them to fight back. I didn't expect us to turn it over as much as we did. We let them back in the game. One time a guy hit a shot that hit the back of the rim and fell in. I knew we were in trouble then. When you let a team hang around, you need to close it out. You need to finish. You can't relax!"

"Anton Grady is a freshman and they're going to struggle at times, but I had him out there because he was trying and working hard."

"Jeremy is a shooter. He's a shooter converted to the point guard, but the shooter mentality is still there. I don't mind if he shoots, as long as he's taking the right kind of shots. He and Tre Harmon have that mentality that if they miss their first 15 shots, they think they will make number 16."

"I don't think Jeremy Montgomery was looking to throw it into Aaron Pogue. When a guy feels that confident, I don't mind if he shoots it."

"I feel pretty good about beating Kent State and Akron. I knew today would be a struggle for us because we've been on the road and we played two days ago. They had all week to prepare for us and all we did at practice was shoot and walk through what they do."

Senior Forward Aaron Pogue

"Zeke Marshall is a pretty good player. I let him get a few easy ones at the beginning of the game and he got into a rhythm. I knew they would go to him down the stretch. We got a deflection late in the game when they were trying to go to him which was huge for us."

"It was an okay defensive day. I let my man score too many points. That's something I continue to work at each day at practice."

Senior Guard Jeremy Montgomery

"I heard the crowd screaming out that the shot clock was low. I had to step-up and knock down a shot for my team."

"You have to stay positive and keep shooting. That's a shooters attitude."

"I felt confident the whole time. With the ball in my hands and seeing that nothing was there, I just knocked it down for my team."

"These past couples games, it has been tight at the end. We've had leads and we relaxed. We need to stay more aggressive and attack our opponent. We give the other team too much confidence. We'll work at closing out games."

Akron Head Coach Keith Dambrot

"I think compared to our other seven years here, we're a little bit immature and lack a little bit to win those games. We're unsettled and we've been battling discipline, suspensions and injuries. We've won a lot of those games over the past seven years. Until we get it right, we aren't going to win those types of games. Before its over, if we get it right mentally and practice better, I think we can be a good team. The ingredients are there."

"I was going for the three the whole time. If they gave us an open drive we were going to take it, but we were thinking three."

"Gary Waters and I are similar guys. I'm not putting myself in his class, but we have a similar coaching tree. We were both with Ben Braun and then I coached Gary's son. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and what he has done. Cleveland State is lucky to have him."

"I think when both Gary Waters and I are gone, this series should continue forever and ever. I'm glad we're playing. This game should always be played. It's the right thing to do."

Sophomore Forward Demetrius Treadwell

"It felt like a homecoming game. I was so proud to come home and play in what was the biggest game of the year for me personally. I played alright but I missed a lot of free throws and the jump shot at the end. I was confident, but unfortunately it didn't go down. Next time."

"Both teams played very hard. They are a spurt team and we tried to keep them out of their spurts. It was a well-contested game."

Junior Center Zeke Marshall

"It feels like a rivalry. Every single time we have played them, we've lost. I came in here with a chip on my shoulder. It's not a far drive and it felt like a regional rivalry."

"We didn't care we were down 13. We kept playing hard. That's Akron basketball."