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

March 22, 2019

San Jose, California

Liberty - 80, Mississippi State - 76

MODERATOR: Okay. We welcome Liberty to the dais. We have Myo Baxter-Bell, Caleb Homesley and coach Ritchie McKay.

RITCHIE MCKAY: Man, really feel blessed to get a chance to do life with these guys, the two on my left tonight, they are day one guys. They've been with us ever since we took the job.

And really great sense of satisfaction and appreciation for the resiliency we showed against a really quality opponent. That team is as good of a team as we've played all year long, and I was really proud of our group for the way they hung in there.

MODERATOR: We'll open it up to questions.

Q. Caleb, can you pinpoint any time previously in any games or at some point tonight where you knew that your shot was going to fall like it did there during a stretch where you hit 7 of 8 and scored 14 of 16 points to get the team the lead?
CALEB HOMESLEY: Yeah. I think that I just played confident. I think any shot that I take is going to go in. It just happened tonight that they were falling. But I just want to say thank you to the guys that were playing with me on the court. I thought they set me up into certain positions where I could score the ball, and I thought the coaches did a really good job of calling plays whenever I got hot. I'm really thankful for the guys that put me in the spots to score.

Q. I'm sure you guys know the stat that 75 points is kind of the magic number. They beat that tonight. What was it about your offense that was able to maybe pick up the slack there when you fell behind?
MYO BAXTER-BELL: I would just say ball movement, and we're a very unselfish team. We don't care who shoots it. Any shot somebody takes is a shot that the team earns. I thought we did a good job sharing the ball, moving the pieces, and we got some good looks that we wanted.

Q. Caleb, they were up by 10 midway through the second half. What's going through your all's minds and what were you able to do to stick with it and be able to come back?
CALEB HOMESLEY: We have a really good group of guys, high character, and everybody on the team believed we were going to come back. It was just a matter of time that we were going to make a run. They made a pretty big run. We couldn't get the stops that we needed. I thought we kept playing Liberty basketball on both ends of the court, and, like I said, all of our guys believed that we were going to come back.

Q. Caleb, when is the last time you scored 30 points, and at what point did you think this might be my night?
CALEB HOMESLEY: It's been a while, but like I said, I'm just thankful for the places that I was in. Like I said, my guys were just setting me up. It could have been anybody any given night, but tonight it was me.

Q. Myo, for you, you brought that spark off the bench in the first half when the team only hit two points in the first seven trips. It's been that way this year. Bench brings the production. What did you see out there that you knew you could be effective not only scoring but also distributing the ball?
MYO BAXTER-BELL: Just coming off the bench with the energy, seeing what we lacked, sitting there the first three minutes, four minutes. So, I mean, Scottie is a really good player and he felt like he didn't get off to a good start, but that's what teammates are for. We pick each other up. When I'm not off to a good start off, Scottie is there. When he's not off, pick each other up and we keep going and we just keep pulling away. It was a great team effort.

Q. Caleb, what does this win mean for you guys as a program?
CALEB HOMESLEY: I think it means something, first NCAA Tournament win. But I don't think that we're done yet. I think our guys believe that whenever we step into a venue that we're going to win the game.

Q. For being a little ways from home, seemed like you had a lot of support tonight. What did that mean to you guys?
CALEB HOMESLEY: It was big, huge. We love whenever our fans travel, and we love the fans we have.

Q. Myo, their size on the post, how much did that affect what you and Scottie were able to do? You two are normally very efficient down low. How much did their size affect what you guys were able to do?
MYO BAXTER-BELL: It obviously is going to affect us, their length and physicality, but you just pick your spots and know when to attack, know when to draw the help and kick it out. It was just a matter of picking our spots and being smart.

MODERATOR: Thank you, fellas. We'll turn it over to Coach McKay.

Q. Caleb was pretty nonchalant about 30 points. How about from your perspective?
RITCHIE MCKAY: I thought it was special. I'm not as chalant about it. (Laughs). He took over. He's done that on occasion for us. He's had spurts. UCLA comes to mind. When he starts to feel good about his shot, he's such a dangerous offensive player because he can score at all three levels, but he's also a tremendous passer. He has great vision.

So I just think he was feeling it tonight, and, like he said, his teammates did a good job of getting him the ball. And we also set some screens that were important to the cause.

Q. The timeout you took down 10 with about six and change left seemed reminiscent to the Jacksonville game at Jacksonville when you were down 10, took a timeout, then all of a sudden those guys responded. What did you say in that huddle and all of a sudden things started clicking?
RITCHIE MCKAY: I said if we come back, we'll go to In-N-Out burger. (Laughs). No, you know, again, our guys are a group that we're trying to be about what you do every day, and I think we felt like we could come back if we started valuing each possession. There's no ten-point plays.

So I just think it shows the character of our group. I think we're connected. And again, to beat a team that is of that quality, it's a hard thing to do. So especially the way they were going in that middle part of the second half.

Q. When you're building a program like this, what does a win on this stage do for you guys?
RITCHIE MCKAY: You know, I've never won the NCAA Tournament as a head coach. So I'll tell you in a little while.

I think for our guys, it's just validation that the things that we've asked of them, the things that we decided as a group, not just our leadership but our players that we were going to be committed to, I think it's the life behind the message, if you will, that if you do things the right way and if you just keep pursuing it as opposed to being just about the outcome, I think really good things can happen.

So moving forward, Liberty is such a special place. We've been able to recruit really, really good -- I'm sorry. Really, really well. And I think that'll continue because a win like this gives you a little bit more visibility.

Q. As you know, this is the third straight upset here today. What is it about San Jose and its water?
RITCHIE MCKAY: (Laughs). I watched the Irvine game, was really impressed with them. And I know Kansas State is a little down without Dean, but that was a great win. And then we were here for the Oregon-Wisconsin game. But Oregon is not a 12 seed. They're really good. I think that's their ninth win in a row. I'm just glad we don't have to play either of them. But then again, in about five minutes I'm going to be sorry we gotta play one of these teams, too.

I think San Jose has had a really fun regional. So let's see if we can keep it going.

Q. Guys were 6 and 6 from the free throw line down the stretch, I think 8 of 10 in the last minute. Free throw efficiency-wise, you're one of the best in the nation. Does it show just how good of a shooting team is that down the stretch in pressure that these guys are confident and can hit some free throws when they need to?
RITCHIE MCKAY: Yeah, I think that's -- we've been consistent from the line. I'm not sure about year two, but the last two years, I think we've been in the Top 10. Our guys, they concentrate when they get up there. We shoot them in practice, and I just don't think they're overwhelmed by the circumstances or that monster of unbelief that creeps up on some of us. I think our guys are just -- we're just about the process, and I think that helps a little bit.

Q. You mentioned they're both day one guys. What's the backstory about how Caleb ended up at Liberty?
RITCHIE MCKAY: Caleb was signed by the previous staff. Coach Layer and his staff did a great job of getting him. But he hurt his knee his senior year, so he didn't play one game. We had no idea if he was any good or not. As a matter of fact, I want to say about the first six weeks -- he'll tell you this story -- I told him Division II isn't a bad level. I've played Division II, and if you don't work harder than you're working, you're going to end up at a different level, because your talent isn't living up to your ability. And he flipped the script. He's been a part-time starter for us, and now I think he's a pro.

Myo Baxter-Bell had an issue with his academic slate, and he didn't have much going, and we knew how good of a player he was, but he was even a better person. And Kyle Getter, who is now at Virginia, did a great job of recruiting him, and we got him.

And that kid, he's a neat guy. I love him to death. So those two and Lovell Cabbil are day one guys, and Zach Farquhar also. He was a manager to start, and about a week into it we put him on scholarship. That's how much of a contribution he's made. So love those guys, and I'm really happy for them that they get a chance to experience this.

Q. Asked yesterday about the magnitude of this moment and how those guys have used this year, these games to be in position to win. Down 10, did you sense in that hole that the magnitude was not too big for them to still stay composed and get back into it?
RITCHIE MCKAY: Did you already have your story written six minutes ago? Like was it -- you sure? Okay. Yeah, I'm proud of them. Like we actually reference in the locker room at halftime all the games that we played against the Power 5s. I think it was Vanderbilt, Georgetown, Alabama, and UCLA. It's a one-possession game at halftime, and those teams, other than UCLA, would get away from us.

We actually -- the best team we played all year prior to tonight was Virginia Tech in that charity game. Not saying that Mississippi State is better than them. I just think Virginia Tech is a special team. So I do think the nonconference schedule, yeah, it prepared us for this assignment, and again, we're really, really blessed to have an opportunity to continue to play.

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