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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 14, 2013Fabyon HarrisBill KennedyElston TurnerNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE MISSOURI – 62 THE MODERATOR: We're ready to continue with Texas A&M. We'll ask Coach Kennedy for some general thoughts on the game then we'll take your questions just for the two student athletes and then excuse them and then finish up with Coach Kennedy. Coach, if you'd begin. COACH KENNEDY: Well, it was an ugly game which I thought was to our advantage in some ways, but you got to give Missouri credit. Their length and defense forced us into really not being able to make shots. We thought we had some opportunities to score. When we did, we couldn't put the ball in the hole but for Missouri's size was a factor that -- and their defensive effort. THE MODERATOR: All right. We'll take your questions for either of the student athletes. Q. Elston, how much was the struggles tonight a part of Missouri's defense on you and was your hand maybe hurting you a little bit more tonight? ELSTON TURNER: It was more of a combination of me just missing good looks and my hand kind of was kind of bothering me towards midway in the first half and for the rest of the game. THE MODERATOR: Hands up for student athletes. Last call. Okay. Fabyon, if you could give us your general thoughts on the game, please. FABYON HARRIS: My thoughts on the game is they played good defense on us but we had open shots and the ball just didn't go in tonight for us. THE MODERATOR: We'll excuse you. You can return to the locker room which I believe is open now. Thank you very much. We'll continue with questions for Coach Kennedy if you'll raise your hand and we'll get a microphone to you. Hands up. Q. Coach, you've kind of talked about it all year, this was kind of bugaboo, going through droughts and having shooting woes. Can you touch on that a little bit more tonight? COACH KENNEDY: Thought it wasn't our night. I thought last night took a lot out of us. We were slow to balls. We had some good looks. We didn't knock them down. Missouri is a good team, you know, they had a good game plan. They guarded our ball screens really well the first half. We got to the end of the shot clock too many times and ended up in the wrong guy's hands and their size was a big factor in that, you know, the -- besides Pressey, we thought we matched up, Fabyon did a great job on Pressey defensively and Fabyon did a good job offensively but their size gave us problems. Q. Coach, there was about a five minute stretch in the second half there where they held you guys without a field goal, you guys had a couple of foul shots. How debilitating of a stretch was it? COACH KENNEDY: When you don't score it makes it harder to play defense possession after possession, you know, you lose your defensive intensity and you got to, at some point, make shots and, again, I give Missouri a lot of credit but, you know, we had some chances in the first -- second half around the basket where our post guys just fumbled the ball out of bounds and I mean that's been the case at times when we haven't played well, when we haven't been able to score the easy ones when we get the opportunity to. Q. Billy, despite all the problems, especially early in the game, down toward the end of the first half you're only down 7 points. Did you feel, despite everything, that you're in pretty good shape? COACH KENNEDY: I really thought we were in good shape. I thought we would make some shots but our energy and our enthusiasm wasn't like it was last night, you know, and that was a concern and, you know, Elston, when he goes 3 for 17 it's going to be a tough day for us. We've had to ride him. He's had an unbelievable season. He only practiced one day in the last -- I think since the LSU game and that was the day before the Auburn game. So, you know, we had to overcome a lot of adversity and play against a good team. Frank has done a really good job in putting his team together around two good players in Pressey and Bowers and, you know, Missouri didn't play well. I mean it could have been worse. We were fortunate that the game was ugly and they didn't play it that well, also. Q. Coach, can you address any post season thoughts after this game? COACH KENNEDY: Well, you know I think it's a long shot that we get to the NIT. I'm proud of what our team has been able to accomplish but you got to win games late in the year and we come up -- I think we've come up a little bit short. THE MODERATOR: Other questions in hands up? All right. Thank you very much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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