Jan. 13, 2007
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NEW MEXICO HEAD COACH Ritchie McKay
“I thought it was good college basketball game, a good atmosphere. The fans really helped us down the stretch. I got a little nervous at the end of regulation. Tony (Danridge) had a great look, he missed it, but we got a stop behind it to put us into overtime.”
(on UNM’s last possession of regulation)
“I want Tony to shoot. He took a step tonight. The old Tony wouldn’t have shot the one in overtime after missing the one in regulation. He’s so conscientious. So I love the fact that he stayed aggressive.”
(on Daniel Faris’ play tonight)
“When (Luke) Nevill fouled out and (David) Foster played tremendous – it’s the best he’s played in his career – I thought Daniel gave us great energy on the defensive end and gave us some productivity on the offensive end as well. Daniel is evolving, he’s intelligent, I think he’s trying to stay away from silly fouls and trying to stay on the floor because he’s good for our offense.”
(on the defensive mindset)
“We think we can guard. Although they have a size advantage, we thought we would have an advatage on the other end. Our group is confident. We’ve been improving little by little on the defensive end. Having guarded Air Force the way we did I think gave us confidence.”
(on J.R. Giddens)
“He’s a little rusty because he hasn’t practiced. He’s been wanting to get out there, but I haven’t allowed it because I want him to be completely healthy. Because completely healthy he’s really good for our team. I don’t know if he’s 100 percent, but he’s capable of playing at a high level. He’s great for our team. I think the more he takes it to the basket, the better we’re going to be because he’s a difficult matchup.”
UTAH HEAD COACH RAY GIAGOLETTI
“We need to be able guard possessions without bailing (the other team) out with fouls and then be able to rebound balls. We had three or four (fouls) at the end. That’s what wins or loses games. It’s not about one guy going all out, it’s about doing those things. One guy isn’t going to beat you. If we could have done those things – played defense without fouling, bailing (them) out at the end of the stretches and then when they did miss, box-out.
“We had some guys step up. David Foster was unbelievable. He gave us a great lift. Curtis Eatmon, it could be the best he’s played all year. I thought Ricky Johns did a real solid job overall. I’m proud of the effort. We dug ourselves a hole, dug ourselves out of it, had the ball at the end. Luke (Nevill) played 18 minutes. To survive with him sitting that many minutes is pretty impressive.”