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MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 11, 2016Larry EustachyJoe De CimanAntwan ScottLas Vegas, Nevada Fresno State - 64 Colorado State - 56 THE MODERATOR: Coach, we'll start with you, some thoughts on tonight's game. HEAD COACH LARRY EUSTACHY: Well, you know, this is my fourth year since I've been here and I haven't had a more enjoyable season. I told the players we really had a good time fighting through what seemed like adversity after adversity, all the way to the final game when their starting post played two minutes in the first half because of fouls. Three of our best -- three of our best players were on the bench the first half because of fouls. Our base is defending and rebounding, we out-rebounded them, held them to 37 percent. I don't know if I've had a team shoot 22 percent ever, and that's not this team's mental makeup. I think we led the league in scoring. I can't say enough about these guys, I really can't. As proud of a group that I've had since I've coached, and this is my 25th season. Really proud of my guys to the left. I know they're really disappointed. They have nothing to be disappointed about. They represented this university really well. We lose three in a row, they come back and they win. They've fought it off all year long. And they fought this game. This is a four-point game, in spite of looking at John Gillon went 1 for 12. That's not who he is. Antwan isn't a 4 for 12 shooter. They out-rebounded, like I say. We only had 11 turnovers against a team that's known to force turnovers. We just weren't at full strength. But that's no knock on Fresno. The coach is certainly a candidate for coach of the year, Steve Fisher, but I've got all the respect in the world for Fresno State, and we do. And again, give the credit to Fresno State. They figured out a way to win. I give a lot of credit to our team to fight through all these things and be in the game all the way to the end. Q. With three games in three nights and without some key players, just how exhausted were you guys, and how much did that take a toll on this game? JOE DE CIMAN: You know, our program is built for this kind of stuff. We practiced in the fall. We go for three hours, day in and day out. We were fresh mentally. It wasn't an excuse or an issue with us. Q. Is there anything you could kind of put your finger on or explain just how you guys struggled so much to score given how well you guys have played offensively all season? ANTWAN SCOTT: I think we, including myself, got to taking bad shots. And we didn't do what Coach told us to do at halftime, go inside out. We came out taking long 3's, they got fast breaks, and got some easy buckets. As Coach said all year long, it's inside out, and we live and died by the early in the second half. Q. Emmanuel is a big part of this team, rebounding, scoring, what was it like trying to play without him tonight? JOE DE CIMAN: It was just some adversity. I can speak to everyone right here on our team, Fred stepped up big time in his absence. And it's tough having him out, because he's very important for this team. But in this game you just have the next man up mentality. Q. Was it hard trying to work the ball inside out, though, when your usual inside guys weren't on the floor, trying to find them? JOE DE CIMAN: Yeah, we got into some very early foul trouble. And with Emmanuel not there we had to put Toby in, who was very ready to play. And he had some big minutes. But the foul trouble hurt us. But he was still available to go inside out. Either through a post-up, or through penetration, and we just settled for 3's. Q. You did a good job on Marvelle Harris, 19 points, but 23 shots, but just how hard is it to defend him without getting into foul trouble? ANTWAN SCOTT: He's a great player. He's the player of the year in the league. It's tough, but that's something we do every day, full court, one on one, keep your man in front, hands up, body them up. We're built to stop guys like that. Q. What's it say about your team that despite your shots not falling, you guys made it a three-point game with like three minutes to go and really still made them earn it. Nothing seemed to be going right offensively for you, and yet you guys were in the game the entire way. JOE DE CIMAN: In this game and all season my teammates just fought their hearts out. Didn't shoot the ball well, but, you know, it was a one-possession game late, close to. And that's just who our team is. I think this weekend we -- it was super fun. We had a lot of fun. We stayed together. We all played for each other, not like we didn't do it all season, but we just kind of knew it was a one-game season and we really tried to enjoy it. But this team has always fought through adversity and has been very resilient. Q. Obviously nothing yet, but if this team were to get a chance to play in one of these other postseason tournaments, would you like to play another day? JOE DE CIMAN: We're going to have to sit down and talk about it with our coaches and teams. We don't know what's going on with anything right now, so we'll just have to wait and see. Q. Tiel obviously sat out most of the first half, but in the second half no field goal attempts. What did they do to limit his touches and keep him away from the basket? JOE DE CIMAN: They have a lot of size that cycles in and out. So you have to give credit where it's due to Fresno and their defense. We struggled as guards. Start with myself, to get Tiel the ball. He was working hard and getting in position, and we just didn't throw it in. So a lot of Fresno and some of us. Q. With so many foul calls on both sides, both teams had more turnovers and assists, how hard was it to get in a rhythm and flow in this game tonight? JOE DE CIMAN: It was a slug fest, we had a slug fest last night against Boise and we knew it was going to be one tonight. The officiating we had to play through. And like you said, it was on both sides. Q. How much can you tell us about Emmanuel's injury and when you found out and knew that he wasn't going to be able to play tonight? HEAD COACH LARRY EUSTACHY: Well, he didn't practice today, but he told me he thought he could play. And then we tested his ankle and he wanted to play, but our trainer said it could be detrimental. And so we're certainly on the side of caution with those type of things. So we didn't want any type of major thing to happen. We could have really used him but you've got to do the right thing for the student-athlete and we definitely made the right decision. All the way down to the end I asked, When do we have to put in our last -- when is the time we have to put in our lineup under these conditions, because they're different than I think normal season. So it was down to the wire. And then we just said, No, Emmanuel, we've got to shut it down. And hopefully figure out a way to win this without you to get to tomorrow. Came close, but not quite. Q. If you had to do it over again would you have maybe played Tiel a little more in the first half given what ended up happening? I know it's standard to sit a guy with two fouls early like that. HEAD COACH LARRY EUSTACHY: If the game had gotten out of hand I would have put him back in. If you check the halftime score we were leading. I thought as long as we could keep the game close, the last thing we needed was for him to get three fouls. And so I don't second-guess for one bit it was the right thing to do. We got away with it. You made a great point, when we try to get it to the post, and he's not in there, and Emmanuel is not in there, I mean, who do you really have to throw it to? I thought Kimani did a very commendable job, but he hasn't played a lot. And I thought I saw him grow through the game. He took a couple of bad shots. Then we talked about it during timeouts. You noticed that he improved as the game went on. I thought it was a good point, one of you guys finally made this year, you made a good point -- that's a joke, okay, so don't take it -- so really, you know, kind of takes away everything when you don't have him. I just can't say enough about things that have -- the adversity. It was kind of a great tall tale about how we finished our regular season, like a MASH unit. But I'm really proud of how the guys hung in there. And like we said, I think it was four points with under a minute to go. Q. The way they played today, obviously not the shooting and all that, but is this kind of how you expect a team of yours to go out, kind of kicking and screaming there at the end? Is that kind of an expectation of them fighting until the end, even as you mentioned without some of your best players on the floor? HEAD COACH LARRY EUSTACHY: Yeah, I think our guys get the respect from every team in this league. They know they have to play hard. So we usually get the opponent's best shot. I thought -- you look at the stats, we out-rebounded them. We beat them in areas that is really just hustle. But I thought both teams played really hard. And it's amazing when you can shoot 22 percent and be in it in the last minute. So we expect -- it's just a given that we're going to play hard. It's just that I thought Antwan said it right, we also took some very good shots, just were not going in. Maybe it was the toll of three straight days. Maybe it was -- we've had these nights before. Q. This is the fourth time in the last five years you guys have made it to the semifinal round. Is there anything you can take from that? You'd love to move on to the finals or win one, but is there something you can take from that with this team going forward? HEAD COACH LARRY EUSTACHY: Yeah, I think it's -- Colorado State is a very relevant program nationally now. We have been able to get into a different level of players' home in recruiting. And I think it just adds to -- the guy that just left, Joe is the winningest player in the history of the school. So we just continue to build the program that we think can be pretty special before it's over. Q. Paige was great for you all tournament and seemed like he hurt his leg maybe in the first half and the shot might have been off after that. Could you tell if he was in pain or if that injury was serious at all? HEAD COACH LARRY EUSTACHY: I mean they were all hurting somewhere, some place. But you didn't really notice it. He just played through it. That young man has turned into a young man from a very old teenager to a young man in the last two weeks. I've really enjoyed to watch him grow so quickly. He couldn't have done that a month ago. Yeah, he got banged up pretty good, but he played through it. Q. You played Fresno three times this year and San Diego State twice. Who wins tomorrow? HEAD COACH LARRY EUSTACHY: We played Fresno twice this year. You're putting me on the spot, because my two favorite coaches are -- I've got to root for the only coach that's older than me in the league. So I've got to go with San Diego State. But I think it's going to be a -- I think also Fresno kind of was looking past us just a little bit, you know, and I think you'll see them play -- they'll shoot it better, they'll play better. I think it will be a great game, go down to the wire and I'll be here to watch it. I have never done that, but I'm anxious to watch these two teams clash. I'm going to go with Steve, as a sentimental pick for the 60-and-over group. But I wouldn't be surprised if Fresno won, too. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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