Feb. 24, 2008

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Brian Gregory
Opening Statement
"We did a lot of things today that we would have liked, it just was not enough. We were playing a high-quality team who has won every close game they've played in and you have to make certain plays down the stretch in the last five minutes. We wanted to be within striking distance within the last five minutes and we were. They made a couple of big plays and had a couple of offensive rebounds. Both teams played extremely hard, gave everything they had out there and we still made some mistakes, which is going to happen. When you play a team like Xavier, the margin for error is much smaller. They took advantage of the little mistakes we made. I'm disappointed because I thought our guys really played with great heart and emotion and really tried to do some good things, it just wasn't enough."

On the Flyer offense
"They are obviously a good defensive team and we did a much better job in the first half of keeping the ball on the move and trying to break down the defense not minding if the shot clock went down and working on a short clock. We're actually pretty good at that. I thought in the second half we took too many quick shots. You're going to get those shots later in the clock every bit as later in it."

On UD's defense
"Our defense was good. Our transition defense was good. We forced 16 turnovers without hardly extending the court at all. We out-rebounded them as well. There's a small margin there and they're good at working within it and we haven't been as good in the last couple of weeks. That's kind of where we are at right now. You're going to make mistakes, but our effort made up for those mistakes."

On getting shots for Brian Roberts
"I thought he was as aggressive to the point he needed to be. I think we have to do a better job of finishing plays around the basket. We had 15 offensive rebounds. You play Xavier and you get 15 offensive rebounds that means you're going pretty hard. You have to have a higher conversion rate. You can't have only 14 second chance points. That means on those offensive rebounds, you're only scoring on half your chances. You need a great percentage on those. There were some things around the basket we need to finish. You have to give them credit because they are a physical team, they are long, but you have to make a couple of those."

On the strength of the Atlantic 10
"Xavier has won on the road by two, two and four and this one was a six-point game. Every game has been like that. Every game has gone down to the last three or four minutes. The league is tough. We got this week off and we're going to work on a few things and get ready for those last three games with the most important one coming Saturday at Fordham. We have to make sure we're ready to play against a gritty, hard-nosed team that has been playing extremely well. They understand this time of year as well."

Brian Roberts
"It gets old. It's nothing I haven't seen before. They are a solid defensive team and they made it tough to get some shots. We fought, played hard and it was a battle throughout the whole game. They just came out on top."

"We weren't going anywhere. We knew there was a lot of time on the clock and we had to get a stop and be aggressive on offense. We made our little run, but it wasn't enough in the end."

"They're the No. 10 team in the country and they came in here and got the win. We just have to move on and try to get a win at Fordham. We have to take it one game at a time."

"We had the effort; we just had to be a little smarter in the second half. We just have to move on. There's still a lot of games left."

Charles Little
"The effort was there, but we have to execute more. Playing hard all of the time doesn't always get it done. We just have to execute better in the second half."

"We're not worried about our record. We're just trying to take it one game at a time. We are worried about Fordham right now."

"When we were down, we got in the huddle, we knew we had a chance to win the game. There was no need to panic. We came back, it just wasn't enough."

"Of course we're somewhat frustrated, but we're not throwing in the towel or hanging our heads. We just have to believe in ourselves and come to work."

Kurt Huelsman
"We put in as much as we possible could. It was the little things that cost us - free throws and offensive rebounds. We play with our hearts and we went as hard as we possible could."

"We can't change anything. We have to stick to what we've been doing all season and stick to what we do best to be successful. We can't change who we are and that's the reason we've been successful."

"They are just a great defensive team and they played a great game. They bring it every night."

Xavier's Sean Miller
"We won a tough game today. It was a game we expected to be hard fought. I thought our defense was the difference between winning and losing. Field goal percentage to me was the biggest difference between the two teams when you look at their percentage versus our percentage. Right now a true testament to our team is Drew Lavender who is nowhere near himself. I give Drew full credit for playing hurt. We've had to adjust a bit and in the situation he is in, the other players around him have had to step up and they've done that. For us, to at least share a conference championship is very meaningful to us. It's one of our goals and to win it in back-to-back years when you're favored is not an easy thing. Our team has taken on a great responsibility to be our best and to keep working to improve. We've been fortunate to be in the situation we are in. I'm excited about the opportunity of being co-champs at this point."