Feb. 13, 2014
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
WKU HEAD COACH Ray Harper
On the game:
"I thought we played well at times and did some really good things. I don't know what else you could do on some of those threes down the stretch. Give them credit; they made some tough shots late. Other than that, they didn't really make a lot of threes during the course of the game. I thought we did a good job defending them and sometimes when you're down and you're just throwing shots up, they seem to go in and they did there at the end of the game for Troy."
On Payton Hulsey:
He was our leading rebounder. I thought he was more aggressive. He played a lot of minutes. That's a good matchup for him at the `four.' They don't play a traditional four. Their four man is more of a pick-and-pop, so for Peyton, that's an easy guy to defend. Give him credit, I thought he played well. I thought O'Karo (Akamune) gave us good minutes once again."
On getting good bench play:
"I think we're a tougher team to beat when we get everybody playing well. I was happy with the way George (Fant) and T.J. (Price) played tonight. George got us going early. T.J. came out in the second half and I thought there was a stretch there in the second half there where he kind of carried us, but turnovers are still an issue and we have to find a way to get those down."
TROY HEAD COACH PHIL CUNNINGHAM
On the game:
"I'm proud of the way our guys battled back and got back in the game, but we're disappointed we got down like we did. We just never could make a timely shot when we were trying to make a run. I thought WKU was really good tonight. T.J. Price was really good. He hits, as it turns out, the shot of the game when he hits that running bank shot right there as the shot clock expired. The guy who is making them so good right now is `O' (O'Karo Akamune). He is making them so good because he's so athletic. What happens is everybody concentrates on George (Fant). They either double George in the post, or they're constantly trying to help on screening action and nobody is blocking (Akamune) out. He's killing folks, and he got us tonight and made some big plays."
On getting better for tournament time:
"We just want to get there. We have six seniors and the word I use down in Troy a lot is their collective character. It's been unbelievable. They come to work every day. This game was a great indication of how they never give up in any situation. They just kept fighting and scratching and came back and made it a game there. You all don't see it much, but we see it every day from them. I want to see them get to New Orleans because this is the first year they have done the thing where everybody doesn't make it, and man, they deserve to go. Everybody is going to say that but these guys really deserve to go, but we have some work to do to try to get down there."
SENIOR FORWARD O'Karo Akamune
On if tonight's game was closer to `WKU Basketball':
"We're continuing to improve each game as we get closer to the conference (tournament). We came together and played hard. We gave it our all today."
On his mindset coming into the game:
"When I get into the game, I try to clear my mind. I try to give God all of the glory. When I'm playing, I'm not really thinking. I just run up and down the court and try to give out all of the energy I have in me. So a lot of hustle plays, a lot of rebounds, a lot of put-backs come from energy."
FRESHMAN GUARD Payton Hulsey
On rebounding:
"Rebounding is a big part of the game, and if you win the rebounding battle then you have a good chance to win the game."
