Dec. 30, 2008
Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery 
Head Coach Brian Gregory
"There was a great screen, a great pass from Rob (Lowery) to Chris (Johnson). Chris hit a big three. Everybody will remember that shot. We designed the action of the play before. He shot that ball with a lot of confidence. A lot of things went into it. For a freshman to knock that thing down..."
"An unbelievably tough-minded and tough-willed team we played tonight in George Mason. Give them credit, they are a hard-nosed team. It took us 38 minutes to finally break them. It took us everything we had tonight to stay in the game."
"Finally with about 38 minutes gone in the game we made just enough plays and got enough stops and our defense turned into offense."
"I'm pleased with our guys. They showed a lot of toughness tonight and heart. They didn't always play right, but it's amazing what you can do when you believe in each other."
"In the second half our defense was much better. We wore them down physically. They didn't shoot as well in the second half. They played some guys that handn't been playing so us playing 12 guys definitely helped us win."
"I don't know if we have a "go to" guy. We have some "go to" actions and our guys kind of just fill in. We just go with the flow, whichever guy is really playing well that's the guy we go with. I have faith in all of our guys."
"We have 18 games left, nine of which are on the road. The first one is on Friday against Toledo. To be a good team you have to be able to compete and raise your level of play on the road because it's much more difficult. That is our challenge on Friday. We have to learn to become a very good road team because half of our games are on the road."
Rob Lowery
"It was a battle. Coach told us that it was going to be a battle. They are a Final Four-type team. At the end it was a battle and we fought through."
"I think the three was a big shot, but the steal and the dunk was a big, big, big play because I had the lane to get the dunk. I knew I was dunking that all the way. I got the right feeling and I anticipated it. I knew if I missed the steal coach would have pulled me out of there. I got it though and had the dunk."
"Coach in the huddle - well I can't tell you exactly what he said - but in the huddle he told us to fight and keep fighting."
"I was in a shallow triangle in between the ball and the man. I anticipated the pass and jumped it to get the steal."
Chris Johnson
"It was a big shot. After I shot it, it felt good. Once I hit that we played defense and kept playing hard."
Marcus Johnson
"It's a big win. We lost to them last year on the road. They are a good team, a real tough team. They made it to the Final Four two years ago. They are a good team."
"They got a lot of points in transition. We told each other that we have to get it done defensively and get some stops. We have to get back as a team."
"Sending guys at them helped. Their guards play more than 30 minutes a game. Sending different guys at them who are fresh and attack them helped tire them out. We wanted to pressure them in the half-court and wear them down."
