NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND -SAN FRANCISCO VS MURRAY ST.

March 17, 2022

Matt McMahon

KJ Williams

Trae Hannibal

Tevin Brown

Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Murray St. Racers

Media Conference

Murray State 92, San Francisco 87

MATT McMAHON: What a game. That's what the NCAA Tournament is all about and that's why it's the greatest event in the world. I'm proud of our guys. That game defined our team. That's just who they are. They find ways to win. Their toughness and will to win is incredibly special. I'm proud of them for their fight. We battled some foul trouble. Battled some cramps. Different guys stepped up.

Skipper Brown, when we needed him most, delivers a double-double tonight. Really happy for him. And then have to give a lot of credit to San Francisco. Really good basketball team. There's a reason they are Top-25 in all the metrics that matter, and you know, hats off to Bouyea for one of the great performances in this tournament.

Q. As Coach said, you've been in games like this with your backs against the wall. How much have you relied on that previous experience, especially tonight?

TEVIN BROWN: I mean, it really helps us a lot because being in those situations builds our character, and we know how to be calm and collected in those type of situations. So we just continue to play our game.

TRAE HANNIBAL: This team's chemistry helps a lot with everything that's gone on. It's a 40-minute game. That's all Coach Mac preach is go out there and play hard for 40 minutes, and whoever go out there with most effort and lot of fight is going to come out on top.

KJ WILLIAMS: Just to recap what they said, it just shows the character of our team and the fight that we have, and like Tevin said, stay calm and collected and go out and just play basketball.

Q. You scouted Bouyea, but what did you see up close?

TEVIN BROWN: One word: Pro. That man can do everything. He has extreme pace to his game and he's just all-around a very hard person to guard.

Q. Obviously getting ready for your game here tonight but do you know anything about Saint Peter's? Anything about them period, I guess.

TEVIN BROWN: We just focused on getting through tonight.

TRAE HANNIBAL: All we know is they are a tough team. Our mindset is get refueled and refocused back tonight, and tomorrow we'll focus on Saint Peter's and preparing the right way.

Q. Obviously there was so much talk going into this about possibly Murray versus Kentucky in the second round. What was your reaction when you saw that score before you were ready to play?

TEVIN BROWN: We were just preparing for our game. We don't really pay attention to everything that's going on involving what we have to do the night of the game.

TRAE HANNIBAL: Same.

KJ WILLIAMS: Yeah.

Q. Coach McMahon talked about the play of Skipper Brown tonight. Can you talk about the play you saw from him when he put in the best performance of the season?

KJ WILLIAMS: Skip came a long way with his performance tonight, and it shows that he been working on and off the court. He just showed that great character tonight and just game out and played tremendously.

TRAE HANNIBAL: I feel like third quarter of practice it really translated to the game tonight, and his focus was actually there mentally and physically. Hopefully we can continue to keep him on the same page and he can stay consistent. It was incredible.

TEVIN BROWN: Coach Mac always say, be ready when your number is called, and I feel like tonight he was definitely ready every time he was on the court for him to be able to produce the way he did tonight.

Q. Slow start in the first half, we are not used to that really out of you. What was it about the second half that got you going?

TEVIN BROWN: I mean, I just stayed to the game. I don't really try to rush anything or do anything. I let the game come to me, and my players, my teammates, did a good job of getting me open and finding me to get me the ball.

Q. We've seen these comebacks from you all year and the script got flipped on you there, 69-60, the overtime, what did you see from your guys when they came over to play for those final five minutes how much regrouping did you have to do in that moment?

MATT McMAHON: Well, I know you've watched a lot of games, too, and how often do you see that? The game ended on an 8-0 run. We didn't make some plays. They had all the momentum, and you see the team that gave up the lead just fold up shop in overtime and call it a season.

We trailed in overtime a couple times, and I thought our offensive execution was really good there in the overtime period. I believe we were 7-of-9 from the floor. We were able to get the ball to KJ at some angles in the post where he was able to finish and then Skipper Brown's activity and plays around the basket were huge for us.

Really, just more of the same. We've been in that situation. We've come back five times this year from down double-figures. We've lost the lead. The goal at the end of the day is to win, and these guys have an incredible will to win.

Q. That overtime started with something like 16 straight points. How were you able to get that one stop to put you guys over the hump?

MATT McMAHON: Bouyea's performance was unbelievable. I believe when we had it at five, we forced him into a really tough three that he had been making throughout the game but that one came up short and we were able to secure the rebound and then make our free throws to seal the game there.

But just can't say enough about our players and the toughness that they showed. I thought Tevin in the second half, in overtime, terrific. Does a little bit of everything, 17 points, eight, rebounds. Juice, I owe him an apology. He only rested 18 seconds tonight because of the foul trouble. Had nine assists, 15 points, five rebounds.

But again, I have to give a lot of credit to San Francisco. No one could get a stop. It was just survival of the fittest in the final five minutes.

Q. Many times I've seen teams give up a lead in the second half. And then they go to overtime and just cannot hold it together. How did you hold it together tonight?

MATT McMAHON: It's almost as if you were listening to my opening statement tonight. I agree with you; you see the momentum shift in that moment. And San Francisco has got a really good team. So we knew it would be a battle.

But again I just keep coming back to the mental toughness, the togetherness of our team, and just that unbelievable passion and desire to find ways to win.

I say it all the time: Nobody in America has won more games than Murray State. Everybody in America has lost more games than Murray State, and that's a credit to our players.

Q. Indiscernible.

MATT McMAHON: Changed our perimeter depth. I'm really proud of Dionte. He had not played a lot of minutes of late. He's a guy that started games for us a year ago. He's a really good player and we always talk about staying ready when your opportunity comes. I thought he gave us some good minutes.

I thought Juice Hill had to be a Warrior and just battle through the fatigue and play the entire game. Because that was tough on us the first half with Carter out injured, Tevin in foul trouble, DaQuan in foul trouble and Trae in foul trouble.

Again, had to find another way to win a game.

Q. Trae was unbelievably big for you guys in the first half. He had to be really your go-to guy with the guys in foul trouble.

MATT McMAHON: He's done that for us a lot this year. We talk about him all the time. He's a middle linebacker out there playing guard for us. He's really been a Swiss Army knife-type player. He's played the 1 through 4 for us all season long.

I thought his ability to get to the basket and finish plays was just huge for us tonight. He was really good on the glass, and I believe at first glance I believe he drew seven fouls just with his ability to attack the basket. He's a warrior and really stepped forward when we needed him most tonight.

Q. Tevin being patient in the second half and hitting a bunch of big threes.

MATT McMAHON: He did. That was rare in the first half for him. We're one of the top 40 in the country in fewest fouls. So we have not been in a lot of foul trouble like that this year. And so usually we play Tevin about the whole game and tonight he got to rest some in the first half, so hopefully that will benefit him on Saturday.

I thought getting him out in transition to get a couple threes, we were able to draw a couple things up to get him some open looks, and then just that big-time play to get down Hill late there in the game to seal it up.

Q. I know it's 1:00 a.m. local time. Looking forward, Saint Peter's, obviously takes a lot to beat a No. 2-seed. What are your initial thoughts going up against them Saturday?

MATT McMAHON: We're very familiar with them. Very well-coached. Incredibly tough. One of the best defensive teams in all of college basketball. Not just my opinion. The numbers show that. I didn't get to see the game tonight but I'm assuming they must have had a heck of a performance.

So we know it will be a great challenge on Saturday but certainly looking forward to it. As I told our players after the game in the locker room, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the opportunity to win a game and go to the Sweet 16, I'm sure our players will recover quickly and be locked in and ready to go tomorrow as we start our preparation.