Jan. 13, 2007

Recap |  Box Score

Sophomore guard Kevin Lisch
"We just came out ready to play. Mentally we were ready, we were confident, that is pretty much all there is to it."

On early run... "We've really been focusing on coming out and getting a good start, because prior to this we've kind of struggled with that."

Junior guard Luke Meyer
On his 12 points ... "I think a lot of that has to do with the way we were shooting the ball from the outside. In the first half, they really tried to clog it in and we opened it up with our outside shooting. The guys did a good job of finding me in the middle, and I was able to get open and hit shots."

On team playing to potential... "We have a lot of talented guys on the team. At anytime somebody could step up for a little spurt, pick us up when one guy might be struggling. I think the key tonight was our defense, we played with great intensity on the defensive end and really forced them into some tough shots. Xavier is a quality team, they have a lot of size, and I think we did a good job defensively on them."

Sophomore guard Tommie Liddell
"It's a great win, we are going to enjoy it while it lasts. We have Temple next, so we don't want to soak up this win and think we can just come out every night and win. We have to bring our A-game every night."

If two-game losing streak to begin A-10 play was a wake-up call... "I think so, like we've said, teams have bad spurts to a season, and for us it was our first two games. These last two games, our defense really picked up. And once our defense is well, you see that we win games."

Saint Louis head coach Brad Soderberg
"I'm very pleased with two consecutive games of quality defense, that is the thing I was most concerned about after the two losses. I was not worried about our offense after those two losses, but I challenged my guys, I challenged my staff and I challenged myself to make this week a defensive week. We were either going to establish our defense or we were going to continue to suffer tough losses. I want to give my staff and my players credit for just regenerating the effort, dotting the I's and crossing the t's a bit better. These were two very, very important wins. I would hate to think what would happen if the alternative would have happened. Big win for us, there are a lot of guys I could compliment, but I just want to compliment the team in general. I said after the Duquesne loss, the key was for the coaches and the players to really glue together, bond together big time, and not let those two losses cause us to split apart. And I'm very proud of them for what they did this week."

On guarding Xavier's leading scorer, Stanley Burrell... "We had a hard decision to make because we thought about starting Dwayne on Lavender because Burrell is so much bigger. But I really like having Kevin as the on-ball defender, I think that is where he is at his best. Dwayne is a little bit better as an off-ball defender, he chases through screens really well. I trust Dwayne, he's a tough kid and he's used to winning. He's a keeper.."

On Tommie Liddell...He's an amazing young man. He has worked very hard and corrected the mechanics of his shot. As I said to Bob (Ramsey) on the radio, he is the best player I've seen in the Atlantic 10 through four games."

On taking control early...I went back to challenging them again. After the Rhode Island game, I really got into them about coming out fighting and competing. The only way we were going to dig ourselves out this hole was to go and fight our way out of that corner. The whole back against the wall thing really held true. I challenged them again tonight, and said if that was just a one time thing, then you guys aren't who I think you are. Then, man, they came out and smashed them early in the game. I'm just proud of my players, and I've said this many times, that is why you recruit good kids. Every season, something goes nuts, something goes goofy. If you don't have good kids, they'll break up, they'll start pointing fingers and going in different directions. These are good kids."

On limiting turnovers ... "I'm really happy that we only turned it over 10 times. We had three keys on the board tonight, and one of them was to take care of the basketball. After turning it over 17 times over Rhode Island, I was worried. But they responded, they did a great job of taking care of the ball."

On Luke Meyer ... "He is so reliable. Every night I know what he is going to do. He is going to defend a tough player, he's not going to take bad shots and he is just a steady player. After he made the one baseline jumper, his confidence went up. He is as strong as an ox, so when he gets in the lane, he can get the traditional 3-point play."

On if this was SLU's first complete game..."I was thinking that, I would say yes, but they shot a high percentage in the second half, which I'm not real fond of. That is being a little bit picky. I thought the key was that Lavender started hitting a couple of shots. Our game plan was to back of him and make him prove that he could hit it, and he started making them and that is why their field-goal percentage increased."

On winning streak against Xavier... "I have a ton of respect for coach Miller, I think he is one of the great young coaches in our country, and I really mean that. I've had a chance to get to know him. He is a very bright coach, really has a great imagination for offense. He recruits really well. I don't know, for some reason, maybe this and the Dayton game have become our rival if there is such a thing. I think our guys are a little more hyped for this game than they are for others. We just happened to play well on those nights."