Nov. 30, 2005
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Cleveland State Head Coach Mike Garland: "Tonight, we won a game the Mike Garland way. This was a tremendous effort defensively. That is how you beat programs that are better than you. Going into anybody's place, that is how you get a chance to win. I like the way we played on defense. And our offense will come. Those guys will pick it up."
On the MAC matchup: "This was a big win in a lot of ways. MAC schools are very comparable to the teams in our conference. These are the kinds of teams we have to beat if we're going to take strides and steps toward turning our program into one of the better mid-level programs in this area and even in this country. I'm excited. I'm excited about my kids."
"I told my kids before this game, `Go and just beat this team. Go and play. We have a system. The system is in place. Just go and play ball. I felt that I was riding on them a little bit. But it was time to let them go, and they came out and played.'"
"This is a high character group of kids and you win with high character."
Cleveland State forward Patrick Tatham: "Ever since coach Garland has been here, his mission statement has been to be a blue collar team. This year, he has a bunch of players who are buying into the defense that he wants us to play."
Cleveland State guard Carlos English: "I just felt I had to be aggressive. The past few games, my three-point shot hasn't been falling. I just had to come out agresive to get my team in the game."
"With the talent we have on the this team, we feel that we can beat a MAC team or a conference that is bigger than us. I feel that we have the talent to go as far as they go. We are just playing together right now and getting to know each other's game."
Cleveland State forward Raheem Moss: "Coming into the season, we set a team goal to base this whole year on defense. Even though we were struggling on the offensive end, we knew that we were going to stay in the game and eventually knock down a shot as long as we stayed strong on the defensive end."
"I'm just trying to go out there and have fun and not think as much as I did last year. I'm just trying to let the game come to me. Coach G and the rest of the team count on me for certain things, but I'm not trying to get pressured into that. I'm just trying to have fun. That's my goal this year."
On the MAC matchup: "I know it is important to some coaches on this coaching staff and people that are from MAC schools, especially me. It's always big competition when these two conferences match up against each other."