Jan. 30, 2007
New Mexico Head Coach Ritchie McKay
“Obviously a very physical game. I think our guys did a good job of defending in the second half. I’m really proud of our effort.”
(on the on-court scuffle): “I think Jamaal kept getting pushed down to the ground. How many times can you get pushed down without coming back? I thought our guys responded to what was happening out there. The game got really physical. About the last five minutes, they decided to foul on nearly each possession. As a player you can only take so much of that. I thought the referees did a good job of managing it.”
“Our bench did a good job tonight. We make a big deal of starting, but I thought Daniel (Faris) and Aaron (Johnson) did a good job in the post and played well together. I thought Ryan (Kersten) was really good, especially his free throw shooting down the stretch. I thought J.R. (Giddens) got a little bit of his rhythm back. It wasn’t a typical night from Tony (Danridge).”
(on defending Wyoming’s Brandon Ewing): “He’s a great player. We did a good job defensively on him and he never found a rhythm. Make no mistake about it, he’s an all-conference guard.”
Wyoming Head Coach Steve McClain
(on his team’s performance after the on-court scuffle): “I thought we fought, we kept going. If (Eric) Platt knocks that three down, we’ve got it to three with 15 seconds to play.”
Statement from Referee David Hall on the three player ejections in the 2nd half
“In accordance with NCAA Rule 4-23, New Mexico player Jamaal Smith and Wyoming players Brad Jones and Brandon Ewing were assessed flagrant technical fouls and ejected for fighting.”