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MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 12, 2014Spencer ButterfieldPreston MedlinStew MorrillLAS VEGAS, NEVADA Utah State – 73 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Utah State. Coach, just a few remarks about the game tonight. COACH MORRILL: I don't know how you make general remarks on a game like that. It was really kind of a game of runs. We started out really well. They answered the bell, got it even at half. I thought they were very good in the second half, very physical, playing hard. Got themselves, you know, a comfortable lead. I've been coaching a long time. I've never been a part of something like that. That was wild. Credit these guys. We had to foul just to get it into the one‑on‑one three times in a row. We just kept playing and good fortune came our way. These guys playing hard, we made a bunch of shots. About everything that could go right went right for us, and everything that could go wrong went wrong for them. Happy to still be playing. THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Spencer, you had nine points during that key 16‑3 run to end the game. What was going through your mind during that stretch? SPENCER BUTTERFIELD: I mean, it was just a lot of emotion at the end of the game. You know you just got to make certain plays to be in the game. Preston obviously found me open on the three on the one, and the rest were free throws. I was able to get open towards the end. The technical foul I think gave us the momentum going into it. Really came down to making free throws. We practice making free throws every day in practice. I was confident going to the free‑throw line. Q. Preston, what can you say about Spencer during that final stretch? PRESTON MEDLIN: Oh, yeah, he was great for us tonight. He made those threes. We needed someone to make up and make free throws, he did tonight. That was great for us. Without those free throws, we probably don't win this game. He brings a lot of energy every day. He did it tonight, and it was great for us. Q. How do you reset your mentality in those final minutes? PRESTON MEDLIN: I mean, I don't know. Something like that, you're almost going, when they call that timeout, we're going into two and a half minutes left. You're just thinking, Man, we have to stick in there, get a couple threes, at least make it close, see what happens. That's what we did. We made four threes at the very end and that was really big for us. We just kept fighting and kept playing. We ended up getting the win. SPENCER BUTTERFIELD:  Yeah, I think we just stayed really positive. Every timeout we were telling each other, We got this, we're going to make our run, stay patient, confidence in ourselves. It's a combined effort. There are so many plays at the end of the game. TeNale making a three, Preston making a three right off the bat, Jalen getting a steal, a three, some free throws. Just a combined effort. I thought the coaches were really positive towards the end. That obviously carries over to us as players. Positive reinforcement like that. Then you kind of get that positive emotion going into the end of the game and you never know what can happen after that. Q. Can you talk about Jalen Moore coming up big in the end of the game. PRESTON MEDLIN: Obviously Jalen, he got that big steal for us. Even on Spencer's three, he went in there, got a couple rebounds for us. Those were huge plays. I feel like without those plays we wouldn't have won. That carries over to everybody on the team when a guy is hustling and rebounding, a guy still believes. He did that for us tonight. That was really helpful. SPENCER BUTTERFIELD: He gets better and better every day in practice. He's never one of those guys that slacks off. I think that carried over to tonight. He never gave up. He's very mature for a freshman. He's able to make some huge plays for us down the stretch. It's good to have him on our team. Q. What happened on the technical? SPENCER BUTTERFIELD: Just a little altercation. I don't know exactly what words were exchanged really. I just know that Bejarano got a little frustrated. With the run, he was probably a little surprised, shocked, a little emotional at that time. The ref saw it, we were able to capitalize on that with free throws. Q. It was a really physical game, especially in the second half. How do you think that played into you guys coming back and winning it? SPENCER BUTTERFIELD: Yeah, it was definitely a physical game. That's the way Colorado State plays. You got to give them all the credit in the world. They were playing really well the second half. Took us out of some things we were doing offensively. The main thing is we have to stay positive and trust our offense and trust our system. We have a great system in place. We were able to execute down the stretch. If you execute and screen right, do the little things, then you can overcome that physicality. PRESTON MEDLIN: They were obviously a very physical team. It was a very physical game tonight. That's what happens in the tournament. Everybody is trying to win, so everybody is playing a little harder. They know if they lose they're going home. I feel both teams played like that tonight. I feel like that's what made it physical more. Yeah, it was a physical game, but I think we liked it. Obviously we liked the outcome. Q. How are you feeling about gearing up for SanDiego State a third time? PRESTON MEDLIN: Yeah, obviously they're a great team. They're a top‑10 team in the country. We just got to go focused in, try to limit our turnovers. That's what they like to do. Just play smart and play as a team. When it comes down to the end tomorrow, hopefully we can get a win like tonight. SPENCER BUTTERFIELD: SanDiego State is a great team. We've played them twice now. They've beaten us both times. We have confidence going in we know we can play with them. Obviously up at our place we were right there, took them into overtime. A couple things go our way like they did tonight, then we could have come away with a win there. I think we'll have that confidence going into the game. It's hard to beat a team three times. Hopefully we can prepare and get ready for them tomorrow. THE MODERATOR: We'll continue with questions for coach. Q. Could you talk about Spencer, what you saw out of him tonight, especially down the stretch. COACH MORRILL: Well, I felt very comfortable with him at the line. Spencer has made big shots for us his whole career. If you've got a shot that's a big shot in a game, he's a guy you want shooting it. Fortunately for us, a lot of guys made big shots. About everybody had to. Like I said, you know each individual play that happened, but it also was like a blur, how fast things were going on. We're having to foul, get the thing to one and one, doubling all over. So many things had to go right. Those are really hard to lose, really hard to lose, really fun to win. You feel fortunate. But Spencer, he's a big shot guy. He has been his whole career. Q. How do you manage the last two minutes with no timeout? COACH MORRILL: I usually have more than that left at the end of the game. The nature of the game... I mean, the technical foul, things are happening that we're able to get some things across to our guys. Free throws. It wasn't a deafening crowd so they could hear us. We were just fortunate that they were able to communicate with us on some things. Like I say, I mean, so many things had to go right. You get fortunate sometimes. Our guys made the good fortune, but some things just had to go right. Q. Seemed like TeNale Roland was a spark at the end. Talk about his play tonight. COACH MORRILL: TeNale is very confident right now. You sometimes see that at the end of a player's career where they really settle in and feel good about how they're playing, know that time is ticking, they don't have a lot of time left. He practiced very well. He's been really positive. I think that's helped him. He's got so many minutes because he's playing so well. He's staying out there longer. He was actually telling our bench to call his number. He was wanting to get shots. I like that and I don't like that. It's one of those deals. But he was right, we were calling some plays for him. When he wasn't getting shots, he was making plays. He did a great job. Q. Colorado State takes the most free throws in the nation. What was it like sweating out those attempts they were taking at the line? COACH MORRILL: Well, they drive the ball so hard, it's hard not to foul them. I mean, you're trying to get help with your players in the gaps because they haven't been a great three‑point shooting team. If they can drive the ball that hard and make a bunch of threes, it's dang near impossible. We were able to get in the gaps. They didn't get to the line as much as they sometimes do. Then fortunately they missed some. But you stress all the time, Play defense without fouling. Easier said than done. I think we did a decent job of that tonight. Q. I know it's only 20 hours till the next game, but you played SanDiego State twice and darn near got them at home. What were the differences in the two games and what do you have to do tomorrow to give yourselves a chance? COACH MORRILL: We couldn't score in SanDiego. I mean, let's be honest. We couldn't score. They are so athletic and so good defensively. Fortunately in Logan we were able to get some things off our actions and get some looks and make some shots. We're not in SanDiego tomorrow and we're not in Logan. Obviously they're a really, really good basketball team, especially on the defensive end. I think their offense is underrated. I mean, they've obviously been a good enough team offensively to win a ton of basketball games. Our ability to get shots is one thing. We turned it over too many times both times we played them. They do that to a lot of people. They cause a lot of turnovers. If we can get attempts and get good attempts and not turn it over so much, that will go a long way in helping us. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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