2006 Patriot League Men's Basketball Championship Post-Game Quotes
3/10/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 10, 2006
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Bucknell Head Coach Pat Flannery
(Opening Comments)
"I thought that the first half out there everybody had to be like wow! The shooting, knocking down shots, to be 42-38, I know nobody that follows us and Holy Cross thought we'd be at that point but both teams had time to get ready. They threw some things at us and we were able to do the same thing, but we were in some foul trouble. So we got to halftime and I thought at the start of the second half defensively we were able to adjust to some of the things they did in the first half but I knew they would never go away and just tried to keep our kids focused. I think when you are playing that many minutes, whoever gets the lead on that is going to have a tough time guarding the other person, but possession by possession we were able to put it away. I think it was an outstanding grind win against a very good team that was well prepared.
(On this year's title compared to last)
"I think the big thing from me is that it is in front of your own fans and anytime you go though things with your own fans and the way they support us. To do it at home I can't say it was different like last year up there doing on it on their floor and for me as a coach doing it for the first time, I'll never forget it. But thinking about doing out here in front of all these people, for me as an alum, it's especially gratifying for me."
Bucknell Senior Charles Lee
(On the pressure of being the favored team)
"I definitely felt relieved. I'm not going to lie and say you don't let the pressure get to you. It's hard not to listen to the media. It's all over the newspapers and on TV. I know I came in very nervous and Kevin Bettencourt had to look at me a few times and calm me down. It's not easy. We've gotten people's best punches all year and I think we got Holy Cross' again today but I think we did a good job of handling it."
Bucknell Senior Kevin Bettencourt
(On supporting Lee and his teammates)
"I don't know. I guess I should probably bottle it. Each one of us wanted this one really badly and we told each other `let's keep each other in check', look out for each other. We always do that type of stuff."
(On the three at the end of the first half)
"The first half was tough. There were so many fouls called, it was tough to get into a rhythm. Obviously it's good to go into halftime ahead. Charles made a great play. He drove and I just found an open spot and knocked it down. It gave us good momentum."
Bucknell Junior Chris McNaughton
(On foul trouble)
"You want to play good defense from the get-go. We got lucky on a few foul calls that were questionable, maybe not, it doesn't really matter that's the way it went. The guys did a good job. The second half we actually played much better defense and actually got a lot of stops."
Holy Cross Head Coach Ralph Williard
(On Keith Simmons Playing Time)
"It wasn't our plan. Our plan was to rest him around the (media) timeouts but with Torey's (Thomas) injury and Alex's (Vander Baan) foul trouble, we had to keep him out there." (On Play of Freshmen) "We went out tonight and made some freshman mistakes on defense. And Bucknell is a smart enough team to take advantage of them. It's tough to expect so much out of young guys, and they just had lapses that allowed threes for Charles (Lee) and Kevin (Bettencourt). They go out and say, `I know coach, I know I'm going to it,' but then they don't go out and do it. And Bucknell is too good for that to happen."
(On Torey Thomas' Injury)
"He gave it a shot in the first eight to ten minutes of the first half and as a result we were playing four-on-five. After that I told him, `Torey, I love you, but you have to sit down. We need someone out there who can score.' He still didn't want to come out but knew at that point it was what was best for the team."
Holy Cross Junior Keith Simmons
(On fatigue factor from heavy minutes)
"I felt fine. You have to play your best, tired or not and we didn't do that. You have to step it up in that situation and hit the big shots and we didn't. We had some tough breaks, but the key was we didn't make the plays."
Holy Cross Senior Kevin Hamilton
(On Thomas' injury)
"He is one of the best rebounders at his height, so his rebounding, his scoring, but most of all his leadership and toughness we missed. He can handle the press by himself and that takes pressure off the basketball team. It was a very hard thing to overcome."