BOWLING GREEN at WESTERN MICHIGAN MAC TOURNAMENT QUOTES

WMU Head Coach Steve Hawkins

Thoughts on the game-

"It had a tournament intensity to it, there's no question about that. Bowling Green came out with a sense of purpose, and they made us pay for it right away. Our intensity picked up as we went on, but they executed better early on. It didn't help that they were just blazing hot. You watch them play on film and they're good. They were hitting some shots that you wouldn't be able to hit in a game of horse. I thought the big difference in the game was our offensive patience. We took care of the ball and didn't panic. We did some things defensively a lot better in the second half."

On pressing-

"It's a team that works very well in their comfort zone if you just play straight man to man. No matter how good of a team you are, if you let them get into a rythm it can be a real problem. We planned on using some traps as the game went on. We used it in time outs after some makes, but I think that it was good because it broke the pace. They basically had to work off of instinct. They still did a good job of breaking it. They found Thomas a lot and he was able to drive and hit some tough shots."

On Flenard Whitfield-

"He's a beast. He was just a beast today. The 19 points, the rebounds, he did a great job inside trying to neutralize their guys. He had the post game going, he was hitting jumpers. You just can't express what his value to this game was.

On Demetrius Ward-

"On top of that, we put him on Thomas, and he didn't get him completely stopped, but he really slowed him down at a time when he was rolling. When we played straight man to man, Demetrius did a pretty nice job on him."

On Mike Douglas and Alex Wolf-

"I told Mikey after the last game that I'd made a big mistake in the Ball State game because I'd left him on the bench too long. Alex was doing well, and I had Mikey on the bench during that stretch. When I went back to Mikey later for defensive purposes he had just sat too long. Mikey and Alex, it was kind of a double-headed monster. We even thought as a coaching staff if we should put David on Thomas and bring in Martelle for offense. The way Mikey and Alex were playing, we didn't have to go to that."

On playing against a zone-

"These last 5 MAC West games, we hadn't faced a zone for a single minute. As soon as the match-ups came out and we had Bowling Green, my first thought was not a good one. They have size, their zone, it's something that you have two days to prepare for. Their system, the way we defend it, is difficult for us to guard. When you get into tournament time, seeds, it just doesn't matter that much. When you get into system matchups, those things can decide. I was so happy for the way we got our win today. To me, offensive patience was the story of the game. It was the story against Central when we played them the last time, but in a negative way."

On CMU-

"Robin just asked me in the post game show, can we just enjoy the win? We played two very close games with them. Now it's a neutral floor. Those two guards cause us a lot of problems. Robbie Harman was third in the nation for 3 point shots per game. Bitzer is very similar to David for me. They've got inside, they have outside, they have some good athletes. They're going to make you play throughout the shot clock. It's going to be a lot like this, where it can come down to 50-50 balls. Anyone can lose a game on any given night. It's going to be survival of the fittest."

WMU Senior Guard David Kool

Thoughts on the game-

"That was one of the most exciting games I've been a part of. They put us down early and we came back. We went home early last year and we didn't want to. We wanted to survive and move on and that's what we did."

On Flenard-

"He was outstanding. He was rebounding for us and knocking down big shots. We need him to continue to step up and be that big option in the post. It's always fun to throw it down in the post and know you're going to get something big out of it and that's what he's done for us."

On playing CMU-

"We know it's going to be a tough game. We beat them here and they beat us there. It's just going to be who wants it more. They play the game the right way and so do we. We're looking forward to it, and I can't wait."

WMU Sophomore Guard Mike Douglas

On his end of the game free throws-

"I knocked down the free throws to help the seniors out. You don't really think about it at the end, if you do then you add pressure."

WMU Sophomore Guard Demetrius Ward

On defense-

"Coach told me to get in there and stick. I took it as a challenge. (Thomas) hit some tough shots early because he had space, so I tried to limit his space."

On playing against a zone-

"If you sneak from behind the zone they won't be able to see you, and you can create for other players."

On Flenard Whitfield-

"Flen played very good for us today. He got some key rebounds and never lost his head."

WMU Sophomore Forward Flenard Whitfield

On why he played well-

"I've been 100% tuned into the game. I've been going back and watching a lot of old films to see where I had success at."

On playing against a zone-

"I just saw a lot of open gaps in the zone and I attacked. Like Demetrius said, just sneak in and square up so you're ready for the pass."

On CMU-

"It can't get any sweeter than that. We have to come in and focus hard, and go at them."

Bowling Green Head Coach

"I trust God. Whatever he has to teach me, I thank him for the good and the bad. It seems like a broken record. I talk after games about the good things that we do, certain areas and parts of the game we do some really good things. Today we shot almost 60% from the floor. 73 points, 8-12 from three point range. Scott Thomas offensively was extremely efficient. Marc without a doubt had his best game of the year, he was a warrior. We gave up 19 second chance points. If you look at it, that's the difference in the game. You know you have to deal with David Kool, who to me is one of the most competetive young men in the league. And you have guys like Demetrius Ward who brings toughness and gets in there and gets the job done. A lot of times you can have some guys who are just going to do the bump and grind, and carries on over to the whole team. Those guys set the tone. You win games with competetive toughness. I wouldn't describe our team as having that. I think that you need it all the time. I commend our seniors. I'm just a competetive guy, and I don't like to lose 50-50 balls, second chance points. Hopefully it's something that our young guys can learn."

On Marc Larson-

"He came to work today. It was the best he's finished all year. He got tough rebounds. Everybody knows what kind of student Marc is, he's exceptional. Sometimes, whatever we do, we have to be passionate about it, and I don't know if Marc really appreciated the talent that he had as much as he could have. To me, games like this, he's got the athletic ability, the size and the skill to be this type of player. I respect him stepping up, he hadn't started a game in a while. I wanted guys I could go to war with, and we went to war."

Thoughts on Scott Thomas-

"Scott Thomas, as much as any player that I've ever been around over a two year period has grown more than anyone. You see something in a young guy. I saw Scotty's motor. He's kind of like Kool in that way. He's high energy and constantly going. His toughness elevated this year. He hasn't arrived yet, but he's made great leaps and he's learning how to play. He's a guy that has the will and the talent. He wants to be the leader of this team. When you want it and you have the talent and the work ethic, he just needs to be a leader on the court. He's a tougher guy than you think. He's been playing with a really injured toe since the Miami of Ohio game. He's a warrior in that sense, he's a competetive guy. He just needs a little strength and maturity."

On Luke Kraus-

"Toughness. Luke's a firey guy. I was really disappointed in our competetivness in Ohio. If I'm going to go to war, if I have one game to win, who do I want out there? Kraus earned it. He still has a lot to learn. He needs to develop in some areas. The way Marc played, I thought these two guys fought in a game that didn't have much of it. When you play tag, it's not who we are. You can't trade baskets, it can't be a tag match. You're always uncomfortable because you can't get the rebound or you can't make the shot."

On ending the season-

"We're dissapointed because we want to compete for championships. We're not discouraged. Our guys work really hard and we know where our inconsistancies are. You play some good games, you get some good wins, but you just don't get enough of them. Life is a marathon, it's one long season. This is not the only season."

BGSU Senior Center Marc Larson

Thoughts on the game-

"The past couple of weeks, it's set in that this is the end. There is no next year, or college after high school. This is it. If we didn't win today, my carrer is over. I figured I'd just go out there and throw it all on the line. I tried to play as hard as I could to try and effect the outcome."