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ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENT

March 12, 2011

Chris Mooney

ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY

Richmond Â– 58
Temple - 54

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by University of Richmond head coach Chris Mooney and student-athletes Kevin Anderson and Justin Harper. Opening statement from Coach Mooney.
COACH MOONEY: I'm extremely proud of our team and just how tough we were, how much resolve we showed. It seemed to me to be a replica of the game we had with Temple last year here. Incredibly tight. Great defense.
You know, extremely high effort on both ends. And fortunately we were able to come out on top today. I couldn't be more -- I don't want to say too much because growing up I would always make fun of the coaches who cried at the podium. So I don't want to get too emotional, but I'm extremely proud of my guys.
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Justin or Kevin?

Q. Kevin, Temple's big. They aren't real small, quick as you are. Did you sense an advantage, take advantage of the advantage?
KEVIN ANDERSON: We did a lot of ball screens. And Lavoy would come out and guard me or Jefferson would switch on me and guard me and I just tried to use my quickness, because that's a 6'11", 6'10" guy on me and I'm 6'. I tried to use my quickness to get to the rim as much as I could, maybe draw a foul. But even when I got to the rim it was still hard to finish because they're still so long.
I mean, I could get a couple of steps on them, but it's still hard to finish at the rim because they're so long.

Q. Justin, can you talk about withstanding that 7-0 run by Temple late in the game?
JUSTIN HARPER: It just shows how tough we are, our leadership, and just Coach Mooney and Kevin Anderson right here, we just have great leaders of our team and we're just trying to tell everybody to be calm at that point in the game. We played Temple in so many tight games before and we know they're going to make some good runs late in the game like that because they're such a great team. We just did a great job tonight of keeping our composure.

Q. Kevin or Justin, to get back to the final, on a chance to get an automatic bid, taking that next step, how big is that for you guys?
KEVIN ANDERSON: Last year played Temple, came up short. I mean, it was a tough game tonight. We're so happy to get back there. We're not -- I mean, we're satisfied with the win, but we don't want to just leave empty handed as seniors and leaders on this team. This is one of our goals to get back to the championship and win it all, because that's the best way we feel to go out as champions of the Atlantic 10.

Q. Kevin, you guys really did a number, it seems like, on Fernandez shooting the basketball tonight. What was key? What kind of preparation did you make in terms of dealing with him and his penetration, his ability to assist?
KEVIN ANDERSON: Fernandez is a great guard. I mean, he's crafty. He's quick. He can make all type of stab shots. He can shoot 3s. So we just tried to make it tough on him whatever shot he took. If he got to the line, we wanted to make sure we challenged it no matter what. We don't want to give him too many open looks because he's going to knock them down. Even challenge shots he'll knock them down. Wanted to make it as tough as possible every shot he took, make sure a hand was in his face.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach.

Q. What kind of plus is it to have a senior guard like that in a tight game, with a lot on the line?
COACH MOONEY: Well, it's everything. Kevin's obviously an extraordinary player. Not only is he incredibly talented but he's very, very poised. He kind of went through -- before their 7-0 run he was dominating the game, then he missed a couple of shots. But it's the same expression on his face, the same poise and leadership at both ends, and it's just exceptional to see.
And I think we have another really good guard in Cedrick Lindsay, who played great today, and for K to be kind of showing that example and being out there with him, it's just tremendous.
I couldn't express to you how much he's meant to our program.

Q. This game, ten different lead changes, what do you think it came down to in the end; why did you guys pull away?
COACH MOONEY: I thought both teams played really great defense. I don't know how many points were scored in the last four minutes, but it wasn't many. I thought ours was just a little bit better. It was really difficult for them to score.
In the first half, I think they made -- on three straight possessions they made 3s, and it just seemed like up there they shot the ball well in Philadelphia. So it seemed like it was going to be difficult. And I thought we really talked about how our defense could get better.
We executed it, and then as the game wore on, and it was getting to be longer and longer possessions, that seemed to benefit us defensively. That's not always the case, but that was today.
And I thought for once Juan, he didn't have a great game, had good stats, but he didn't shoot the ball well against us. And that was big. I thought we challenged shots very well and we rebounded very well.

Q. That stretch in the first half you're talking about where they had the three 3s in a row with Lavoy on the bench and they're just swinging it really good, at the other end what were you guys trying to do? You didn't seem to get it inside as much as you'd been hoping to open with Allen out.
COACH MOONEY: We were trying to get them outside. They don't have any small guys. Even though their big guys were in foul trouble, they don't have any really small guys. So we were trying to throw it in as much as we could. And I credit their physicality.
They're just such a nearly perfect defensive team in terms of their positioning, and we weren't able to do it as easily as we would have liked.
We were trying to throw the ball inside, and, of course, as we've done a lot, we kind of called Kevin's number down the stretch there. And he delivered again.

Q. Obviously you want to take care of it, I'm sure win tomorrow, but by most accounts with this win, you're going to wrap up an at-large bid. Are you convinced of that? And is that something that you expressed to your team before the game, hey, we need to win this game to get in?
COACH MOONEY: No, I didn't say we need to win this game to get in. But I would have to assume that we're in. The NCAA -- it's really, really difficult to make it unless you're one -- in the power conferences. It's difficult to make it. And I've said all year I really think we could do something. But getting in is really the hard part.
So I think we have some really good wins. And 26 of them, I think we are. But we just talked about with our team coming in and having the opportunity to play Temple again, we thought we played really poorly. To be honest, we would be preparing for this game since the Philadelphia game. We had a couple of bye weeks and we prepared for some of the things Temple might do against us when we had kind of an off day where we didn't have to prepare for the next game.
So it was important to us, just like last night against Rhode Island. It was important to us to play well against a team we didn't think we gave our best shot.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.

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