WESTERN MICHIGAN at OHIO QUOTES

Guard David Kool

(Did you lose because you had tired legs and ran into a hot-shooting team on the road) "Yeah, I think so. First, you have to give the credit to Ohio. They came out and I think they executed what they wanted to, especially on the offensive end. They put us in ball screen situations and really did what they wanted to do. On top of that, we weren't in the right position at times. We seemed a step slow. I'm sure some if was tired legs and some of it was just mental fatigue. We just have to get back to being us.

"I think we all felt a little tired, but you have to put that behind yourself. It's a Division I basketball game that we're called upon to play. It's our job to go out there and play. We're young guys. We should be able to bounce back. We just didn't do that tonight. We're not going to blame it on the legs, you just have to give Ohio credit and say they were the better team tonight."

Guard Mike Douglas

(On Ohio's shooting) "They were just hitting tough shots. It's hard to play against it sometimes, but we've got to bounce back and play harder."

Head Coach Steve Hawkins

(On the game) "We ran into a blazing hot team tonight. They shot the ball incredibly well. We looked like we were playing in cement boots out there tonight. The combination was way too much for us to overcome. We didn't hit some shots early. The start didn't help us and I'm not talking about the score. There seemed to be four minutes without a whistle. The first media timeout didn't come until 13 minutes and that didn't help us after as long as we've traveled at the end of this stretch. (Ohio) played very, very well. They played with a sense of purpose. After we let them get going they gained confidence. It was just a snowball that we couldn't get stopped."

(On the end of this stretch of six games in 14 days) "The last time we were beat like this was at Illinois. We didn't have it at all tonight. This is our worst loss except for Illinois. Two things. One was how well Ohio played. Number two, I'm so happy to be done with this stretch of games. I'm personally tired and I could see it in our kids' eyes. 

"It's nothing but one day preps and you're always talking about the next game, the next team and always looking at them. You're worried about your own kids getting rest. All of a sudden the whole thing becomes a blur and you forget who the hell you are. That's what happened. In their heads, the whole thing is just a blur of mental fatigue. Instead of being where we're supposed to be and dealing with their personnel after that, we're dealing with their personnel the whole time. The whole thing came to a screeching halt tonight.

"I'll be happy to get home and take a couple of days off with these guys and get back to working on our own principles because we are facing teams we have faced before in divisional play."

(On the press working and using it more) "Spots here and there. It's always funny. You get a few e-mails about how the press worked and why don't you press more? Against Bowling Green we used the press, but you have to understand Bowling Green's mentality at that point. It's not like they needed points. They were protecting a lead so when they get it across half court, they are hanging onto the ball. They want time to tick so we can trap them again.

"We had to go to it earlier tonight and it helped us a little bit, but there was still way too much time left in the game and Ohio attacked it. At the end of a press against a good team you're going to have open shots if they break it. You've got to be careful when you use it. There's a reason it worked against Bowling Green. It had nothing to do with their players as much as it did with the timing and their mentality of protecting a lead."