03-16-2013, 11:28 AM
BALANCED RAMS TAKE DOWN SAINT JOSEPH'S, 82-79
![[Image: MBB-SaintJoesWin031513-Main.jpg?max_widt...height=450]](http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2012-13/MBB-SaintJoesWin031513-Main.jpg?max_width=800&max_height=450)
Quotable:
Head Coach Shaka Smart:
"It's a hard-fought game. St. Joe's, give them lot of credit. They really battled in the second half. They came at us, shot the ball extremely well, made threes. We obviously could have played better defense in the second half. That's what won us the game was the first half defense, which gave us a ten-point lead going into halftime. We shot 50 percent, but we did miss a lot of easy shots, open looks. We'll make those as we go. It's good to survive and advance."
"I was happy with the guys. I mean, we talk about having great spirit on our team, and that's where we're at, we have spirit. I think the teams that win this time of year are able to respond when things don't go their way. You know, what really helped us with that was our crowd. There was a phenomenal group of fans from VCU that traveled up here from New York. And I haven't had an official count, but it looked like we had as many or more than anyone else, and that just says a lot about our fans. That helped tonight, because like you said, there were some things that went bad, and we stayed tough."
Senior Troy Daniels:
"The young guys, we stepped up. Once the older guys, talking about guys, they came in the game and gave us a big push. We needed that. We're going into March. We need that, for the younger guys to step up, and they did."
"Just went out there playing loose. We have to play our basketball, and we just attack the ball. Coach gave us the green light, and we made the shots, and he didn't have a problem with it."
Freshman Melvin Johnson:
"I just tried to come in and do whatever a team needs. I didn't want to try to do too much extra to impress anybody in the crowd. But Coach give me a green light. I felt as though I had some great coaches. He ran my play a few times, and I just made some plays."
http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/...0316q3g69n
Quotable:
Head Coach Shaka Smart:
"It's a hard-fought game. St. Joe's, give them lot of credit. They really battled in the second half. They came at us, shot the ball extremely well, made threes. We obviously could have played better defense in the second half. That's what won us the game was the first half defense, which gave us a ten-point lead going into halftime. We shot 50 percent, but we did miss a lot of easy shots, open looks. We'll make those as we go. It's good to survive and advance."
"I was happy with the guys. I mean, we talk about having great spirit on our team, and that's where we're at, we have spirit. I think the teams that win this time of year are able to respond when things don't go their way. You know, what really helped us with that was our crowd. There was a phenomenal group of fans from VCU that traveled up here from New York. And I haven't had an official count, but it looked like we had as many or more than anyone else, and that just says a lot about our fans. That helped tonight, because like you said, there were some things that went bad, and we stayed tough."
Senior Troy Daniels:
"The young guys, we stepped up. Once the older guys, talking about guys, they came in the game and gave us a big push. We needed that. We're going into March. We need that, for the younger guys to step up, and they did."
"Just went out there playing loose. We have to play our basketball, and we just attack the ball. Coach gave us the green light, and we made the shots, and he didn't have a problem with it."
Freshman Melvin Johnson:
"I just tried to come in and do whatever a team needs. I didn't want to try to do too much extra to impress anybody in the crowd. But Coach give me a green light. I felt as though I had some great coaches. He ran my play a few times, and I just made some plays."
http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/...0316q3g69n