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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: SPOKANEMarch 20, 2016Dana AltmanTyler DorseyJordan BellSpokane, Washington Oregon - 69, Saint Joseph's - 64 THE MODERATOR: We'll start with an opening statement from coach and then take questions for the student-athletes. COACH ALTMAN: Very proud of our team. Didn't look good there with 5:30 to go and down seven, and we weren't playing well. We had a number of bad possessions offensively and defensively. Very proud of the way the guys regrouped and fought their way back. I thought the press helped us a little bit, changed the tempo and the rhythm of the game a little bit. Our activity increased with the press. Then we just had some guys make some plays. We didn't shoot the ball very well on a night that we didn't shoot it well. We did shoot free throws well down the stretch and that really helped us. But just a great effort the last five minutes to fight one out and really proud of our team. THE MODERATOR: Questions? Q. Seemed like you were really upset there after that DeAndre' lost the ball and that dog pile. What happened there to make you upset? TYLER DORSEY: Oh, no, I just felt somebody collide on top of me very hard, so I didn't know who it was. But I was fine. My teammates calmed me down and that's about it. Q. The three that you had that kind of got things, opened up the flood gates a little bit for you there down the stretch, were you looking for that shot from the time that you brought the ball into the front court or was it just there when you got the ball? TYLER DORSEY: It was just there. It was a great swing and nobody was there, they didn't pick me up, they left me open and I shot it. Q. For both of you, Coach mentioned the point of the game at 5:30 left, and you guys were down seven. What did the coach tell you on the sidelines and what did you guys talk amongst each other when you went back out on the floor? TYLER DORSEY: It was down seven, but we knew it was four minutes left. There was a lot of time left, and we just wanted to stay composed and get stops on the defensive end and that's what we did. That led into some transition and getting to the offensive glass on the offensive end. We just made simple plays at the offensive end and that led into the momentum at the end of the game. JORDAN BELL: Yeah, coach emphasizes on us, we knew the ball wasn't falling tonight, so it's going to come down to the defensive end. We needed stops and rebounds and limit them to one shot and then rebound the ball and let the offense come. Q. Physicality of the game, at times, it seemed to be a little chippy, like and the pile on on Tyler and some of the other things. Was it ever really, kind of, to the point where you thought it was starting to get out of control or were you able to kind of keep your focus and keep your mentality through there? JORDAN BELL: No, we knew it was going to be a tough game, a dog fight. So they were playing hard, super hard. It wasn't anything dirty like that. Everybody was just playing hard and the refs kept it in the lines. Q. I know you guys have faced adversity in games this year and come back to win, but when it's an elimination setting like this and national television and everyone's watching, does the nerves at that moment, with five minutes to go, feel different than the nerves at other games in the season? JORDAN BELL: No, it was the same. We, obviously, want to win every single game we play. Coach calmed us down, let us know that we're going to win this game, it's going to come down on defensive end, and I think we did a great job of that. TYLER DORSEY: Just staying composed and not letting the pressure or anything like that get to us. And there's no panic, and we made great plays at the end and that's what it came down to. And also getting stops and getting the offensive rebound and defensive rebound. Q. You guys have seen Dillon play pretty well at times a lot this season. What will you remember about the way he played tonight? JORDAN BELL: He played with a lot of energy and emotion. He let us know that he's not going to let us lose this game. He made a big shot at the end like he always does to put us up. That's just the kind of guy he is. He always brings a lot of emotion, a lot of energy, trying to keep us positive, letting us know what to do and letting us know that he has our back. THE MODERATOR: All right, thank you, guys, we'll take questions for coach. Q. When we spoke earlier, a couple days ago, we talked about those games that you had trouble with, and you said rebounding was the key. I think they got you by two tonight. You want to talk a little bit about that? COACH ALTMAN: Well, I thought in areas that we usually have to have to be successful, points off turnovers, they got that switched on us in the second half. We had some really bad turnovers that led to easy baskets. Second chance points, they beat us. So areas that are very important to us, usually, we were able to overcome tonight. Part of it was the press, again, I thought that helped us with tempo. Our ability to hit free throws down the stretch when we really needed them was imperative for our comeback. So, yeah, we didn't play well. St. Joe's had a lot to do with that. That was one of those games that we're going to look back on and say, we just found a way to win it. But we didn't shoot the ball well, our ball movement was not good, we had bad turnovers the second half, our execution wasn't what we had hoped it would be. So, not very pleased with the way we played, but we found a way to win and that's always the bottom line in this time of year. Q. Casey Benson came in with about five minutes to play and a lot of stuff was frantic, he slowed things down. What did he give in the final five minutes of the game? He wasn't shooting the ball particularly well. COACH ALTMAN: Well, he made a couple big plays for us there. Got a big rebound. He hit some free throws, drove in there and hit two and then hit one later on. So, he did get us settled down, I think he was the one who got the quick swing to Tyler for his three and he does give us something, there's no doubt. On a night he didn't shoot it well, he had some good looks and just rushed them a little bit. He was able to settle down and come back four or five minutes later and really help us. Q. What was the, how would you describe the mood of your team when they got up seven points and you had to call that timeout and then what was the message to solve that? COACH ALTMAN: Well, we had a lot of time. We had some possessions there, Dillon just drove it one time and threw one up and we had two bad, two or three bad turnovers and we did have three or four possessions there we just panicked a little bit and fella's, we got a lot of time, we can't exchange baskets. This is going to be won on the defensive end. We have got to get some stops. We changed presses, we got a little more aggressive, but we got to change this on the defensive end, because we just cannot exchange baskets, we don't have enough time to turn it around. And I can't remember exactly what the score was there, but we did a pretty good job. We win by five and we were down seven. So we had a 12 point swing in the last 5:30. Q. Talking with Duane, he said that one of the sparks for this team was Casey just coming into the huddle and saying this team wasn't going to lose. And this team said that kind of your motto of believe has been really big for them all see some. Did you ever see it on their faces that hey, maybe we could lose or did your team just say, hey, we are going to win this game, no doubt? COACH ALTMAN: Well, there was a little doubt there. I mean, we didn't have very good possessions and there was a little doubt. But, fortunately, we have got guys that kind of like each other and even though some of them had made bad plays there was no finger pointing or anything, just, okay, we got to finish this. We got enough time, but we have got to have stops. Once we got them calmed down and convinced them that was the key, then I think we had a chance. We really turned up the press and Jordan was really active on the front of it. We got some big rebounds there and got it headed back our direction. Q. Dillon, obviously, carried you scoring-wise tonight. Is that what stood out to you most about his game or was there something else that impressed you? COACH ALTMAN: He did play with tremendous energy. He is a competitor. I like his competitiveness. He got beat a couple times on dribble penetration and he was upset about that. He didn't rebound the ball as well as he's been rebounding and we talked about that. So, he wants to be a complete player and tonight he made some big shots and hit a big three after Tyler had hit his three. We had those back to back threes which gave us a lot of energy and really turned the game around. We had a lot, Tyler's was really open, but we had a lot better opportunities from the three and we just rushed them and didn't shoot it very well. So, hit them when we had to. Q. Not to play the cliché here, but having been down seven and finding a way to come back in a tough environment like this, do you think that that can pay dividends in the next couple of rounds for you? COACH ALTMAN: Well, we have had our share of adversity here in the last couple weeks. The Arizona game where we go 6-16 from the line and get tied up and go into overtime and almost give that game away. And we found a way to regroup and come back. Then we find a way to regroup and come back. So we don't have to do it that way, but it's nice to know that your guys are going to stay in the fight and not going to give in to it. Q. Jordan really scored much all game, but what did you like about his defense to put him on Bembry and then how do you feel like he did impacting the game? COACH ALTMAN: Well, he had 10 rebounds and his energy on the front of the press I thought was critical for our success. So, even though he didn't score, the 10 rebounds and the energy he got on the front of the press, he was really active. He tried to get hands on balls and coming from behind I thought he really played hard. Q. Was a player like Bembry just kind of giving the ball away, was that a little bit of a surprising ending for you? COACH ALTMAN: You know, he's an outstanding player and Phil, I've known for years, our teams played when I was back at Creighton and he's a veteran coach, he's a great coach, he gets his guys to play really hard. I think our zone bothered him a little bit, because you get him one-on-one, he showed a couple times there when our zone didn't collapse on him, just how explosive he was. So, it was a game going back and forth we only got them to turn it over 12 times, so it wasn't like our defensive activity slowed them down that much. Q. Going to the Sweet 16's always a big deal, but you're going to face Duke and the history that they have, what's the significance of that game for your program? COACH ALTMAN: Oh, heck, to be there with I believe Texas A&M won and Oklahoma and Duke, it's a great opportunity for us. I'm really excited and I know the team will be. We got a quick turnaround, we play Thursday. We won't get home until really late tonight and try to regroup and then fly out Tuesday. So, it's going to be a very quick turnaround here for us, but really excited about the opportunity. We're moving on, we go to a new four-team tournament, we know we're going to have to play better than we did tonight, but it's an opportunity. And it's one that our guys are excited about, I'm excited about. So, we'll just regroup and hopefully be ready Thursday. Q. Both you and your players mentioned that this game was a fight. Did it kind of feel like those last five minutes kind of felt like the 10th round of a boxing match almost? COACH ALTMAN: Well, we were a little fatigued and our guys were able to muster up some energy there. But, no, it was a physical game and that loose ball there, there were bodies and there were hard hits there. So, no, it was a clean game. It was just everybody was playing hard. And it was physical at times, but you expect that in a game that meant a lot to them and means a lot to us. So, both teams really -- and we knew that. They won 28 games. They won the A-10 tournament title. They're coming in here, we knew we were going to have our hands full. I mean, make no mistake, we didn't underestimate them or nothing like that, we knew how good they were. Our guys saw film on them the last two day, they knew how good and how competitive that team was. So we feel very fortunate to be moving on. THE MODERATOR: All right. Thank you, coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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