Postgame Comments: GW at Xavier
1/27/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2011
George Washington Head Coach Karl Hobbs
"I think, number one, we made some changes with what we do offensively. I think it was mainly we stayed focused."
On defense
"We knew coming into the game that [Tu] Holloway and [Mark] Lyons average about 22 shots between them. We wanted to eliminate some of those shots. But you have to defend all five guys when you play Xavier, because they're very, very good. They made every big free throw down the stretch, and that's what good teams do."
"Two of the biggest plays offensively were Lyons' three - that was huge. Then there was the offensive rebound that [Kenny] Frease had off the missed free throw."
"We had difficulty getting consecutive stops in the second half. But once again, there is a reason why they have the long winning streak at home. They have too much experience. They have too much will to win. A good defensive team like Xavier, you're just not going to shoot 50 percent for two halves against this quality of basketball team."
Xavier junior G Tu Holloway
On the 9-0 run just past the midway point of the second half, all scored by Holloway
"I know we can play a lot better when I can be a little bit aggressive."
Xavier soph. G Mark Lyons
On Coach Chris Mack's halftime speech
"Basically his message was that we had to defend better. He was just letting us have it. We just executed as a team. We've got good chemistry. We kept our composure down the stretch."
Xavier senior G Dante Jackson
"They're [George Washington] a good team. They have good players. So they make plays, That's why they shot it at such a great clip. They had a good game plan. We didn't play good defense. Give all the credit to George Washington."
"We knew coming into the game that they wanted offensive rebounds. That's always a point of emphasis for us. We've got to continue to get better, especially with the goals we have."
"They throw a lot of different zones at us. They play really hard. Their hands are flying. They're just really active."
Xavier Head Coach Chris Mack
"I think Karl's [Hobbs] teams play very, very hard. I think his kids played with a lot of confidence, and it showed. I think our guys played like fat cats tonight. We didn't play great on the defensive end."
"It's very hard to take coaching criticism when you're winning. That edge was missing. The edge we had against Rhode Island after we got our heads knocked in [against Cincinnati]. I thought we played well offensively. I thought we shared the ball well. The difference was that we were able to handle their pressure down the stretch and get to the foul line and make free throws."
"They're [George Washington] very athletic. They play with desperation. They did a good job flying to the glass."