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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: ORLANDOMarch 20, 2014Michael AlvaradoGeorge BeamonRhamel BrownSteve MasielloORLANDO, FLORIDA Louisville – 71 STEVE MASIELLO: Obviously it was a very tough game for us. That Louisville team is terrific. Coach Pitino just did a phenomenal job. Those kids play so hard. They're just a class act across the board. I thought it was two good teams playing tonight, and I thought their experience being here showed a little bit down the stretch. I couldn't be prouder of these three guys and what they've done for Manhattan basketball and what they've done for the program and where they've brought it, and it's all because of them. They are everything I could ever want in a student‑athlete, and I'll never have a senior class like this again, ever. You guys have no idea what they've done for me, and I'm going to miss them so much. But unfortunately there's only one team that gets to celebrate this time of year, and you know, I thought we came out, I thought we executed some things well. I thought Louisville bothered us. But I'm proud. I'm proud of my guys. I'm proud to coach these men. Q. Michael or Rhamel, coming into this game how confident were you if you could set a physical tone that you could hang around in this game maybe even until the end? RHAMEL BROWN: I mean, very confident coming into the game. We knew we could match the aggressiveness and their toughness and their strength in the front court, and in the backcourt, as well. We made some mistakes here and there, but that's in the past. You live and you learn. But we just know for the future what we can and what we can't do, but I think we definitely came out and stuck with them for a good amount of the game. MICHAEL ALVARADO: Coach just came into the game and said do what we do the last 30 games. That's what we tried to do today. Q. George, can you give me an idea just what you're feeling right now, the last game? Do you have some pride, obviously disappointment? GEORGE BEAMON: This loss definitely hurt. All my guys, I mean, at least we lost to a great Louisville team. They've got a great team over there. Great bunch of guys, coached by Coach Pitino. Russ Smith, those guys brought it, but it definitely hurts. Definitely don't want to feel this ever again, and we want to get our younger guys ready so they won't have to feel like this again. Q. The first half seemed like it was a track meet almost with the way you guys were pressing, second half much more grind it out. What did that change of pace do to you guys and how did you make that adjustment and stay in the game? RHAMEL BROWN: In the first half I think we sped them up a little bit and they did a good job of doing the same to us, and it was a really turnover‑prone game both ways. Second half we got a little more physical, a little more grind it out. We were able to get to the foul line a lot more, pull down some more rebounds as opposed to the first half, and I think that worked to our advantage for most of the half until we just made some crucial mistakes down at the end of the road. GEORGE BEAMON: First half I think it was both teams had some jitters, and second half we came into ourselves, both teams, and we started to grind it out, get into our play, get into our sets better, and that was why it was a more grind it out game, because we got into ourselves and they got into themselves. Q. Coach, towards the end of that game when it kind of became clear that Louisville was going to hold on in the final minute you could hear Coach Pitino saying it was hard for him because you out‑coached him today and your team out played his today. Could you take us through the emotion of coaching against your mentor today? STEVE MASIELLO: I didn't out‑coach him, my kids just played. It's emotional. It's emotional. You look down, and the guy who kind of made you who you are is your enemy for 40 minutes. So it's tough. You know, it's an honor to be on the other sideline, but it's about the kids, it's not about me. My kids played. Their kids played. I think it was two very good basketball teams. But it's tough. It hurts. You know, if I'm going to lose to anyone, I guess lose to him. Q. You said before the game that if these guys played like they did the past 32 games you were going to be happy with them no matter what. Could you have asked for anything more from an effort or defensive standpoint? STEVE MASIELLO: You know, again, I'd have to go back and watch the film. There are three plays that really stand out to me. When Emmy skipped it across court, we made a huge deal about people coming back to the basketball and we didn't come back to the basketball, and Luke made a great play, shot the gap and then Rhamel had a foul, got his fifth on that. So that play really stuck out to me. I thought there was a big rebound that we didn't get, and then I thought we left Luke one time in the zone. We just got caught up. We didn't match up properly, we didn't talk on the weak side, which I thought we played well for about 39, 38 minutes, but that's what happens when you play great teams. You give them that one opportunity, they make you pay, and that's why this team is a defending national champion and top five in the country. They saw a crack in the door, they took advantage of it and made a big three, which I believe put them up five, and I thought that really hurt us. But those three plays kind of all happened in a 90‑second period that caused some problems. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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