	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: SPOKANE

March 20, 2016

Spokane, Washington

Oregon - 69, Saint Joseph's - 64

THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with an opening statement from coach and then take questions for the student-athletes.

COACH MARTELLI: On behalf of our program and our university, we were proud to be in a game like that. It wasn't a thing of beauty, particularly in the first half. That's my fault. We just had combinations out there that we haven't really worked with all year. So, it's a lesson learned going forward.

But to have had the opportunity to be in that game against a wonderful man and a great coach in Dana Altman, great crowd, and we just didn't make plays in the last minute and a half.

On a technical point, the players will tell you, I told them, 10 turnovers and under, we win going away. We had 12. Eight in the first half. Two in the last couple of possessions.

So, there's no finger pointing. They came into this building as champions, they're going to leave as champions, and I've been honored to work with each of them since August. And that doesn't change, the result tonight doesn't change that. We wish Oregon well going forward and hope that we'll be watching them advance to Houston.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. Can you tell me what was it that clicked for you guys when you built the seven point lead? Did you change things or just start finding a rhythm?
DEANDRE' BEMBRY: Yeah, basically, we started finding a rhythm. More harder cuts. First half we was a little bit stagnant.

So, we started swinging the ball around, and we got some layups, some mid-range jump shots, and then we got a couple fast break layups as well. So it was a couple different things, but everybody just putting all their effort in.

Q. Can you put into words just how close you felt you were to pulling this off?
DEANDRE' BEMBRY: It was right there. Last turnover I had, you never know what could have happened. Isaiah could have hit a three, I could have made a layup, so I blame this loss on me, even though coach don't want me to say that. But I can't turn the ball over at the end of the game like that, especially being the leader of this team. I just feel sorry for the seniors that don't have a choice to come back.

But as you can see, it was a battle throughout the whole game, and we was right there. A possession away.

Q. Obviously DeAndre's taking this loss pretty hard. What would you tell him as far as it not being his fault?
LAMARR KIMBLE: It's definitely not his fault. It's a team sport. We came here as a team, and we won as a team, and we lose as a team. Everybody made mistakes during the game, so that last one is not his fault and we are sticking together.

Q. What did Oregon do that gave you guys the most fits? Was it their energy, their size, their speed, what was it?
DEANDRE' BEMBRY: I would definitely start off with the zone. They got a big guards in the front that got their hands on a lot of loose balls and that's what they do. It's really a good crazy matchup zone. You got to just find smart plays.

In the first half that's why we had eight turnovers, we didn't make smart plays.

Then in the second half, Lamarr, he got a couple layups for us going. I got a couple layups going to the rim. But the matchup zone definitely is a problem.

Q. On that last possession, were you trying to get a three yourself or were you hoping to kind of drive and kick and find somebody?
DEANDRE' BEMBRY: Well, the play was designed for me and Isaiah to just set a ball screen and me to go up for a layup or for Isaiah to pop out for a three. I just lost the ball.

Q. What was working for you and sort of part of the team concept when you came in off the bench and got some plays going?
LAMARR KIMBLE: Just staying aggressive, that's all. My teammates put me in a position to create and it all happened to fall for me today.

Q. And 58-51, turnovers, just sort of the same thing or just sort of lost the ball?
LAMARR KIMBLE: Yeah, that was my fault there. I slipped, and I lost it. It was a big possession of the game and it didn't go our way that time.

Q. Same question for DeAndre'. Can you try to put into words what it feels like to almost come back and pull that off?
LAMARR KIMBLE: It felt good. We were there, by the skin of our teeth we almost was able to pull out a victory against a very good team. But the chips didn't fall our way this time, and we still together as a team.

Q. Lamarr, as a Philadelphia kid, what has this run that you guys made this year kind of mean for you and for the program?
LAMARR KIMBLE: It's definitely unbelievable, especially for me and the program, definitely. We had the whole St. Joe's Hawks community behind us, everybody supported us, and it was fun. It will be one to remember for a long time.

THE MODERATOR: All right. We'll take questions for coach.

Q. Given the level of the opponent and the fact that this kind of felt like a road game and how close you took Oregon to the wire, was this the best performance you've had this season?
COACH MARTELLI: By far, no. Certainly stage. But I'll be honest with you, I took some solace coming in knowing how well we have played on the road and in neutral site settings. And now, it's different game the other night, but I asked the assistants, what was the crowd like.

And I give them a lot of credit, because they rose to the occasion too. They made it daunting. And when you have the year that Oregon has had, and you're a No. 1 seed, so be it. I'm not stomping my foot. I'm not upset with the committee, minus the fact that Saint Bonaventure belonged in the tournament. They disrespected Saint Bonaventure and the Atlantic 10.

This was the number that we drew, and we never talked about let's go battle and be on the road. It was -- we look at road games the same way. We play for the silence. And the silence comes when you have that game wrapped up, and you can see all their backs, and their walking out. We didn't get there tonight.

Q. Considering sort of the first half, the foul trouble, the jerry rigged lineup you had to go with and sort of the performance the first half. What was your mindset going in? Did you feel almost, lucky is the wrong word going in down five, but what was the feeling?
COACH MARTELLI: Well, it's interesting, because I thought going down five, I thought everybody would be like, oh, it's okay. But they had to know that that was not acceptable play in the first half. I mean, we were grabbing. We don't grab. We don't foul like that. But we were. I'm saying this out of love and respect for my team. We had some little boys play in the first half. We fell down, we banged into each other. So it got to them a little bit. It got to them a little bit.

But, saying that, it was, let's get a bucket, and I wanted to get the game tied to start the play with zone and man. Because playing them straight up, if we had played straight up for 40 minutes, it would have been a walk to the foul line, because we just couldn't guard them one-on-one well enough.

Q. What did you guys do well during, I think it was a 23-6 run, to get that seven point lead? What started working, you thought, and then what happened those final five minutes of those few possessions where they got back even with you?
COACH MARTELLI: What we did well is we started the play with the ball in the middle of the floor, instead of on the sidelines. And we were able to make some cuts and DeAndre' was right, like, our cuts in the first half were like we were trying to sneak up on somebody.

Well, in this game there was no sneaking up. You had to cut with a purpose, we cut with a purpose during that stretch. We -- even though they scored against the zone, their rhythm was a little bit off. And I'll have to go back and look at the film.

One of them hit a big three that kind of took, I think, the edge off for them, seeing the ball go in the basket.

Then, look, the last couple of minutes, it was a little bit of a moment. It was just a little bit of a moment. I think 58-51, we only had four turnovers in the second half. One was the long pass, DeAndre' tried to break their back with a long lead pass. And then we had three in that stretch. Just the moment. But there's no finger pointing. I'm not blaming anybody. There's one person that's responsible for this loss, and that's me.

Q. You mentioned a difficult matchup with Oregon. Where was the difficulty? Was it the size, the quickness, what was it that caused you guys --
COACH MARTELLI: DNA. The DNA. Like, whatever they got at birth, long, size, speed, they didn't get that when they got to Oregon. I'm not being disrespectful of anything at Oregon. They got that at DNA. They got that at birth. That's what it was. Just so I -- just, first of all, I want to thank everybody for how they covered my team. And the respect that you gave and the moments and the memories that you gave these young guys.

And the second thing is, being proud of Philadelphia, we want to extend congratulations to Jay Wright and Villanova. And I'm hopefully we'll see Oregon and Villanova in Houston.

So we're very, very proud to be a part of the Atlantic 10. We're proud to have come here to play basketball and to represent our school and our wonderful, wonderful conference. Thank you very much.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297

NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: SPOKANE

March 20, 2016

Phil Martelli

DeAndre' Bembry

Lamarr Kimble