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Eric Konkol Post Southern Miss

Opening Statement:

"I really liked our defensive energy to start the game, both in the full-court and half-court. It set the tone and type of tempo that we wanted. I really thought that not only our starters, but the reserves that came in and played really hard. We did not get into a scoring rhythm until a little later in the second half. Erik McCree really got it going. Dayon Griffin actually started it but McCree really made some shots. We were able to have some great moments in the second half as well and keep it going."

On Erik McCree:

"I have seen Erik rattle off a lot of shots in a row in practice, both in drills and in game situations. You can see it in him. He had a great few days of practice and was poised to have a nice game. I really challenged him defensively, but once that moment came, he and Alex had a really nice rhythm going together. Alex was drawing the defense and kicking it back to him. He really got it going. Everyone says that it is a heat check, but when he missed the last one, it was the end of the half."

On defensive intensity:

"It is what we have been asking for. We have been growing as the season has gone on, to be a team that can defend in the full court. We can apply pressure but when we get into half-court, try and defend the paint. We want to be tough to get by. I thought there were so moments tonight were we did that. We have to keep doing that possession to possession and try to string together an entire game."

On other players stepping up:

"We need more than one guy. We need more than just Alex and Eric. I know everyone is counting on them; they have had a lot of success. We had great contributions from a lot of other players tonight; there were several guys in double-figures. We cannot rely on Alex to shoot 60 percent from the field. He did shoot a great percentage from the free throw line and that is a great bonus too."

On expectations coming into the game:

"We expected to play really hard and that is all we can do. We have to take what they give us each possession, yet we want to be proactive with our full-court pressure, half-court defense and we knew they were going to try and pack the paint. We told the guys that we have to plan on making some three's. We have to be ready. This is where the passes are coming from, be ready to knock them down. It is good that we made some."

On turnovers:

"I was very happy with the improvement. It is something we had talked about a lot. Southern Miss is very good at packing the paint. They draw a lot of charges. We just focused these past few days on where the penetration can come from and what the read is. I thought the guys executed the game plan very well."