Dec. 19, 2009

Recap |  Final Stats |  Notes

Cleveland State Head Coach Gary Waters:
"I thought we played extremely hard the second half, and the press really got to them, which is something that we need to do more of. We never stopped fighting through the whole game. Norris had a great game in the second half, but everyone contributed in some way. When Aaron is a presence down there teams have a hard time playing us."

"We were out of position on the last play and that is what allowed them to break through to get the basket. We had a substitution before the play and we just didn't know where we were supposed to be and sometimes that happens."

"During the first half they had the lead, but most of it was off of points that we gave them that they shouldn't have gotten. We don't quit and that is the one thing that kept us in the game."

"The zone really helped today, it gave Aaron some room to play and we did a good job with it at times."

"We gained a lot today, our biggest thing is for the players to believe in what we do. And today I think the players learned that if they believe in our system and in each other we can do great things. Now we know that we can play the press and that will help our game."

Cleveland State's Norris Cole:
"No loss is okay, but we can still look at the positive things and take that on to future games. We found that we can compete and as long as we play together we can play tough against everyone that we face."

"It doesn't feel good to lose, but we found some good things in our team. Jeremy had a great game and so did Aaron and that set the tone for us to have a chance at winning during the second half."

Cleveland State's Aaron Pogue:
"It will be a good challenge against Ohio State for us. But if we go into any building knowing that we can compete we can play any team tough."

West Virginia Head Coach Bob Huggins:
"We knew the press was coming, and when you are supposed to have a good team you are going to get pressed so we work on the press breaker all the time. We just kept throwing the ball backwards today and you can't do that."

"We needed this game and hopefully it's an eye opener for us. We came in as one of the top teams and they just dominated us with how well they played."

"Gary is a good coach, and good coaches play to the strentgh of their team. And that would be Pogue and Cole and that's who they played off of today."

West Virginia's Da'Sean Butler:
"My team found me at the right time, and I was able to make baskets. We weren't focused with the press and we didn't take care of the ball. They did a good job of running the ball when we were careless with the ball."

"The way they played I wasn't surprised they came back. They just keep coming after you and they never give up. We didn't take care of the ball and they took advantage of that."