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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: SAN DIEGO

March 16, 2018

San Diego, California

West Virginia - 85, Murray State - 68

THE MODERATOR: For Murray State we have head coach Matt McMahon and student-athletes, Terrell Miller and Jonathan Stark. We will begin with an opening statement from Coach McMahon.

MATT McMAHON: I would say credit to West Virginia. They've got an excellent team. They were everything we thought they would be. Wish them the best moving forward. But I'm really proud of our team. It's been a special year for us. These two seniors up here with me, Terrell Miller and Jonathan Stark can't say enough good things about them and what they've done for Murray State in Murray, Kentucky. Our team has been a blast to coach and it's been one of the great privileges for me to be a part of this special group. I'm thankful for that opportunity.

Q. Terrell, can you talk about your offensive game today and maybe your game plan coming into this match-up against West Virginia and how you were able to execute it so efficiently?
TERRELL MILLER: Thanks to my teammates. They did a good job getting me the ball and they got me the ball in spots where they knew I could hit shots, and our guards did a great job of finding me on time and giving me the threes that I knew I could knock down. We work on that all year and it showed tonight.

Q. Jonathan, it's obviously a tough day for you. How challenging was their defense and what maybe specifically were they doing to keep you off your game offensively?
JONATHAN STARK: They're a solid defensive team, but I got a lot of wide-open looks. I just didn't knock the shots down. Credit to them. They did a great job of contesting some of my shots, so I got to do a better job of making shots.

Q. Obviously, this whole week you've been scouting this West Virginia defense. Did you expect them to be as physical as they were today?
TERRELL MILLER: They was probably a little bit physical as we thought. They were physical at the beginning of the game, but when the game started flowing it was just a regular basketball game. They just pressed us and we had to finish plays at the end. They are a tough team. Credit to them on the defensive end. They have guys that come off the bench and they come in and play hard and they have a nice team. They come in and play good.

Q. You guys were close to make it go in double digits until the second half in the end. What changed after they pulled away and what kept you from being able to get over the hump at the end?
TERRELL MILLER: Just felt like rebounds. We gave them a lot of second-chance shots and they was being a little more physical toward the end of the game and that's what changed the game toward the end of the game.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, gentlemen. We will continue with Coach McMahon.

Q. Matt, you talked about how tough it is to simulate what they do. Now that you saw it up close, how tough of a defense is that to face?
MATT McMAHON: Oh, it's everything we expected. I mean, they're a really good basketball team. I guess Virginia has been the most dominant team in the country throughout and West Virginia beat that team. I think it takes a cumulative affect on you. We weren't horrible against the press, and we talked about that all week. I thought we would be able to attack the press, but their half court defense is just so good. You can sit around and try and run different offense. It's not happening. You have to be able to make plays and when you draw help and kick you have to be able to knock down open shots and we didn't make enough of them this afternoon.

Q. Coach, maybe can you talk more about your two seniors and what they were able to give you over these last few weeks, especially in this big run, 13-straight wins, unfortunately comes to an end here against West Virginia?
MATT McMAHON: It's tough. It's a hard conversation to have, and I told them that in the locker room after the game. When you don't necessarily love your team, that conversation is real easy. You tell them to turn their uniform in and call it a year. But when you love your team and you have a special team and you have special young men as a part of your team, it's tough, because you never prepare your remarks. You never expect to lose.

So it's emotional in there because those two guys, you know, all you hear on TV is about all the crooks and the cheating and stuff in college basketball right now. Those two guys are what college basketball is all about. Jonathan Stark is what college basketball is all about. Jevon Carter from West Virginia, that's what college basketball is all about.

So I'm so proud of Terrell and Jonathan for what they've been able to do, to basically start our program over from scratch and to rebuild our roster in short order and it's because of those two guys, the work they've put in. They've built the foundation of what our program not only has been this year but what it will be moving forward. They've built the culture in the locker room of what our program is all about and for me, you know, it's one of the great Murray State teams and they're two of the best players every to put on that jersey at Murray State. I'm extremely proud of them and very thankful for the opportunity to get to coach them because they've been terrific. They've been terrific.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.

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