Jan. 9, 2008
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State-Northern Colorado Postgame Quotes in PDF Format
San Diego State Head Coach Steve Fisher
From Postgame Radio Interview
Opening Statement:
"(Northern Colorado) was good, we were not. I told our team we disappointed ourselves. It drops on my doorstep first. I have to take ownership. I am the coach of this team and I'm not going to say it was (our player's) fault, because it was my fault. It starts with me making sure we are ready and prepared. I thought we were but we weren't. We played with a lack of energy and toughness and it showed, especially in the first half. This is a good Northern Colorado team, there's no question about that.
"You have to find a way to engage and win those 50-50 balls and it seemed like they won everyone of them in the first half. They got every loose ball and that's not luck. Maybe once it is or maybe twice, but really it's effort. We didn't have it and I am responsible for making sure we do have it.
"We must come out now and not feel for sorry for ourselves, and get ready for Saturday. We're going to be at a very hostile environment and we'll have to get ready for a tough New Mexico team in Albuquerque."
On the loss:
"There's no excuses, we got beat. I thought Northern Colorado played very good basketball and we did not. I thought (head coach) Tad Boyle and his squad did a wonderful job. I would say we would get a D- in a whole lot of areas but it starts with me. I didn't have this team prepared.
"It seems like we didn't deserve to win and I put the onus on me. We've got good character, good kids and good players who know how to win. We'll get over this."
On New Mexico:
"They are 14-2 with three straight road wins. They are playing on an emotional high and feel they can beat anybody. We need to not dwell on tonight and get ready for Saturday. We need to make shots, protect the ball, and do what we did not do tonight."
From the Postgame News Conference
Opening Statement:
"I think in life you get what you deserve, you get what you earn and tonight we got what we earned. It was a tremendously disappointing loss. It is not the first loss I have been a part of. Losing doesn't affect me as much as losing when you don't have the energy, toughness and competitiveness. We had it for stretches, but for minimal stretches in the first half and in the early stages in the second half. We energized ourselves a little bit but it wasn't enough. We didn't deserve to win. The better team won tonight.
"As the head coach, I am the number one guy responsible. It wasn't (the team) didn't do this or (the team) didn't do that, we didn't do it. It starts with me. I have to do a better job and they have to do a better job to be the kind of team that we have shown. It is bitterly disappointing but it is life. We earned what we got tonight."
On rebounding and the play inside:
"They were tougher than we were. Sometimes the guys made an effort that was far from superior to get (the ball). We didn't work hard enough to demand the ball and when we got it we didn't complete enough plays to be successful. I believe we gave up six layups in the first half, four off of transition and that is a sign of a team that is not engaged and not prepared. We all have to be accountable and responsible and say, `I had something to do with the lackluster play tonight'."
On the mind set going into Saturday's game:
"I am hoping that we will come back and have an incentive to compete like never before. The winning and losing takes care of itself if you give the kind of maximum effort physically and mentally. We use the term smart aggressive, and we were anything but that tonight. We are playing a very confident and ht team right now. They will have (18,000) packed in there and we have to go in there and find a way to give ourselves a chance to win."
Junior forward Lorrenzo Wade
On the team's focus heading into the game:
"We were as focused as we possibly could be. They were a team that came in undermanned, but still found a way to win the basketball game. We practiced hard and did everything as usual. We just didn't perform the way we were supposed to tonight."
On the Aztecs' defensive efforts:
"Bottom line is we have to play defense. It starts with each individual person. You have to take pride in not letting the guy you are guarding get the ball in spots where it will enable him to score easy baskets, and at times, we didn't do that."
On the effect the loss will have on the team heading into New Mexico:
"Going in to New Mexico or a bye week, either way, this is a bad loss and it will leave a bad taste in your mouth. Not to take anything away from Northern Colorado, they came in and played well, but I personally am embarassed. We will come in here tomorrow and practice hard, and then we will go to New Mexico to continue Mountain West Conference play."
Junior guard Kelvin Davis
On the last few minutes of the game:
"I think the sense of urgency was there, but there were a couple plays that just didn't go our way. There were some 50-50 balls that we should have had, but just didn't grab. (Northern Colorado) made a bunch of clutch shots and free throws that gave them a cushion and made us push to score faster than what we are used to, but you have to make plays at the end and we didn't do it. We got out rebounded, so that hurt us as well. Rebounds and free throws were the difference in the game."
Northern Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
On his team's victory:
"It's huge. It's one of the biggest wins for our program. I really believe that. It's the biggest win since we moved to Division I, there's no question. Beating a Mountain West team - a quality Mountain West team on the road."
On San Diego State:
"I think San Diego State's one of the better teams in their league. I don't think we got their best shot tonight. But they're a talented group. We were giving up size at every position, and our guys just battled."
On what he thought one of the keys to his team's success was:
"The key that we talked about going into tonight's game was that we wanted to take away their easy baskets. Other than a little stretch there in the first half when they got their transition game going for a little bit, for the most part we did a pretty good job of doing that."