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INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEFebruary 1, 2017Josh NewkirkThomas BryantRobert JohnsonBloomington, Indiana Indiana - 110, Penn State - 102 Q. Have you guys ever felt this tired after a game before? THOMAS BRYANT: Me personally, I haven't. This was probably one of the longest games I've been a part of. But it felt so good with the win and then the turn out with it. It just felt great. Q. Josh, talk about the shot you hit at the end of the first overtime to send it in to the second overtime. As the replays are going on, did you think you had gotten it off in time? JOSH NEWKIRK: I was a little nervous at first that I had got it off but I looked at the replay and seen it was in. But it was a great play written by Coach Crean and we executed it well. Q. Robert, you played 50 minutes, Thomas plays 44. Josh goes for 46. What's it like in an environment like that, you've got to stay out there and it's a tight game? ROBERT JOHNSON: First off, I just want to thank God for these guys and Coach Crean, because there's no quitting them. Whenever we looked over at Coach Crean he didn't give us anything but confidence. And the guys on the court, they fought every possession and at the end of the day that's what it's about. So I think we've really grown up tonight. Q. What about Penn State makes it so hard to put them away? THOMAS BRYANT: Penn State was a really good team. They have different areas of offense that are pretty good for them. They just executed tough plays but for us we're going to look at the film and get better for them whether it's certain fouls that we couldn't do. But they played a pretty good game. Q. Rob, seemed like there was some -- getting Thomas involved quickly 13 points at halftime, for him across the game how good was he how consistent was he? ROBERT JOHNSON: That's very consistent. That's something we always talk about, establishing a game from the paint. We always want to pay through the paint, whether it's through the dribble drive or post feed. And I think he did a great job of making reads, attacking when it was there one-on-one and getting all the other guys involved too. Q. You all three had career scoring highs tonight. Does that amaze you that all could happen in one game? ROBERT JOHNSON: I mean, we had enough time to do it. So not really. But like I said before, those guys, we just kept fighting and it didn't matter who had to make the play. Somebody just made the play and that's what it was about and at the end of the day we came together and just pulled off for the victory. Q. Josh, you had struggled the previous three games with shooting but tonight you were on. What was the impetus for that confidence of shooting, to score like you did? JOSH NEWKIRK: I want to thank Coach Buckley. We've been working getting in, getting extra shots with Coach Buckley. So I have to credit him for me making those shots. Q. How much did it take to get those shots down, getting on a roll? JOSH NEWKIRK: It felt good. I want to thank my teammates for finding me in the right spots and I had the opportunity to knock down the shot and I just shot it with more confidence. Q. Robert, talk about how Josh's performance was especially without James in the lineup, having another star on court with you? ROBERT JOHNSON: I think it was great for him and for the team. Came out aggressive and when he comes out like that he's hard to deal with. So I think this will be something good for him to build on, because we'll need it going forward. Q. Thomas, you've had 54 points in the past two games, what's really been going so well for you? THOMAS BRYANT: Just staying aggressive. Just taking what the defense gives me. When people go down, everybody else's play steps up. So I'm not really thinking about that. I'm here for the team and trying to win each and every game and looking forward to it. Q. Rob, really having to battle tonight, what's that say about the mentality of this game? ROBERT JOHNSON: That there's no one in this group, that we're just going to keep fighting no matter what. At the end of the day it's about getting better and just putting your best foot forward. And I think if we continue to do that we'll be okay. Q. Thomas, I know you said you don't want to think too much about the injury; but after Fort Wayne you saw a sense of urgency, new found sense of urgency. Do you think that again when you know there's some guys out and you'll get more touches and your team needs you to be a bigger part of the offense? THOMAS BRYANT: Everybody feels the sense of urgency when somebody goes down. But I'm not worried about the touches or anything. I'm worried about winning a game, whether it's on offense, defense, passing, blocking shots, rebounding, I'm not really worried about the points. The points will come just as long as you do your job out there with your teammates. Q. Robert, you found some offense through floaters in the lanes and those things, have you been working on that, building towards that? ROBERT JOHNSON: Yeah, that's something I've been working on with one of the GA's James Fraschilla. That's something we started a lot of our work outs with just finding ways to finish in the paint and he did a good job with helping me with that. Q. Any sense a game like this is something that you can build off, positive momentum? THOMAS BRYANT: We always stay positive in the locker room, no matter if it's a win or loss. We're always going to stay positive and look forward to the next game. Q. Thomas, what's it feel like for a big guy have to play 35, 42, how do you stay in the game and go for that long? THOMAS BRYANT: You fight. You know? You just gotta do it. It's no other way around it just gotta do it, be a man. Q. Devonte missed a couple of free throws, came back made some big plays. What do you say about his performance? JOSH NEWKIRK: I think it was big for him. I'm pretty sure it was a big confidence builder for him. He grew up today and he made some big plays. Got a lot of key rebounds for us. So it was big for him to come in play that many minutes and be productive. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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