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ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 9, 2017Jeff NeubauerJoseph ChartounyJavontae HawkinsPittsburgh, Pennsylvania GEORGE MASON 82, Fordham 71 JEFF NEUBAUER: Again, I thought it was a great March basketball game, both teams played very well. And I give George Mason a lot of credit down the stretch. They made a couple big shots. These two big guys to my right really played well today and gave us a chance to win. We were down by five at halftime and our guys fought and competed and took the game, and then we just weren't able to make free throws down the stretch. Q. What was the -- JAVONTAE HAWKINS: Just stay positive, we were down five at the half. As the leader of the team, just brought the guys together and stayed positive. It's a game of runs, so we just had to made a run, and we made a run the second half, had a chance to win. Q. What was working for your game, especially in the second half? You were on fire and you hit that long three fading away. What was going through your head at that point to get you guys ahead? JAVONTAE HAWKINS: Just the momentum on defense we had. That's what got my offensive game going. That's what got others going. The momentum we had on defense getting stops and just being scrappy on defense. Q. Down the stretch, how do you guys, you know, what went wrong in the last minute or so? JOSEPH CHARTOUNY: I think the problem was we just allowed them to do whatever they want every time they were driving. They were either getting calls or finishing at the rim. So yeah, that's it. Q. You mentioned the free throws down the stretch, the two front ends missed by Antwoine but was there anything else down the stretch, the final 30 seconds? JEFF NEUBAUER: Yeah, so defensively, I wouldn't have done anything different, other than the loose balls/loose rebounds. We didn't come up with them. Not only at the end of the game but throughout the game and you look at the rebound margin, that does -- sometimes a rebound margin didn't really tell the tale. In this game where we only got seven steals, it really is an important number. So we didn't get loose rebounds, loose balls down the stretch but when you miss two front ends and then Chris missed one, as well. So we left five points at the free throw line; those are costly. Q. How do you want your team to play that last second shot? You don't want to foul. You want to play tight enough defense that you keep them from getting it but you don't want to put them at the line, either, so what do you tell your team? JEFF NEUBAUER: Yeah, so they took the ball a long way in 3.5 seconds, however many seconds it was, they took the ball a long way. Meaning with a two-point lead there, we are not going to play zone, because a three beats you. In that situation on the basket out-of-bounds, we're going to play man every single time. And Livingston drove the ball from 29, 30 feet away, got all the way to the rim and dropped it off. So what it comes down to is guarding the ball better. Better one-on-one defense in that situation. But you have to give George Mason credit. They didn't just jack up some shot. They were really patient and attacking at the same time. Q. Just talked with Javontae, really willed you guys back in the second laugh to get you ahead. Just the one-year graduate transfer but you've known him for many more. Now that the season is unfortunately over, what did he bring to the program this career? JEFF NEUBAUER: Well, you look at how he and Joe played, as far as the talent level that they have; how they played today really sums up a lot about our program, a lot about Javontae. Those two guys are very good Atlantic 10 players, and it showed today. So that's the main thing he brought is not only athleticism but a level of talent where he was able to lead us in scoring and then also guard at the other end. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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