Feb. 17, 2007

Recap |  Box Score

Sophomore guard Kevin Lisch
On breaking La Salle's second-half run
"What we haven't been able to do the last few games is respond when those other teams have been scoring on us. Today, we took a step forward in that direction and finished the game off pretty good."

"I think we were a little more focused, paid attention to little details and rebounded. Nothing real obvious, but I think it's a mindset."

Senior center Ian Vouyoukas
On go-ahead basket in second half
"Took a dribble to the right, faked him out and went to the left hand and happened to make it. It got the crowd in it."

Sophomore guard Tommie Liddell
On outlook going forward
"We have four games left, we can win these last four. We would be at the 20-win mark, which hasn't been done at SLU in a while. We have to build confidence off this game going into the next four."

"Everyday we have something to work on. Even if we feel like we played good, we go back to the tapes and coach finds something for us to work on. Our defense is something we can work on no matter what."

"Coach keeps pounding in our heads that we are going to win our last five games. We got one out of the way, the last four will be big for us. We just have to keep our focus and keep playing great defense."

Saint Louis head coach Brad Soderberg
Opening Statement
"I couldn't be more happier with the way we finished that game. From what I understand, they only scored two points in the last six-plus minutes. I wouldn't have bet on it from what I saw earlier in the game because they were scoring at a pretty high rate. I really want to give my players credit, they have not defended well the previous two games on the road. I didn't change anything down the stretch, they rallied themselves. If I would have had a mic in the huddle, you would have heard it yourself. They were bound and determined to not let this one get away from us. They deserve this win. They bonded together and refused to let La Salle score down the stretch. I don't know if you could, but I could sense a different level of intensity in the last six minutes than in the previous 34. Kudos to my guys on that."

On defensive adjustments
"In the first part of the second half, they were scoring big numbers. Brian (Bertucci), my assistant, said that at one point they had scored 16 points in nine possessions. I decided I was going to go with the zone to try to throw them a curve. I don't know if that did that great of a job except it forced them to stop their man-to-man offense. When we went back to the man, they were a little off-rhythm. Maybe that is the perfect example of the value of a zone, just to throw a change-up. Again, I don't want any credit to go to the changing of the defense, the credit goes to them. Our kids rallied. I saw something different. They came together and I feel really excited about that. I'm glad we won, of course, but it's the way we won that is different. They rallied themselves, that is a huge step."

On keeping Ian Vouyoukas and Tommie Liddell out of the starting lineup
"Ian didn't start because, and I'll tell you the exact story, our defense has been struggling. On the flight back from Rhode Island, I called my staff together and asked them to list who you think is our top six defenders. Ian wasn't on anyone's list. Ian was not the reason why we lost the two games on the road. He is a mainstay, he is a presence. We had the address our defense, and I'm not so sure we were much better without him in there. I had to try something. It was hard for Ian, but I wanted to make an attempt to change it up a little bit and see if it could help. Tommie was late for our pre-game talk."

On what he will take from this win
"What I'm most proud of is in the second half, we only turned the ball over one time. We were grinding out the win. We found ways to score by getting to the free-throw line, we were 13-for-14, and we were sound with the basketball."

On Ian's go-ahead basket
"He is still a good player. I would say he just has had a damaged confidence for a while. He is still a quality basketball player. We still have games left to play. We've got four guys that consistently can give us double-figure scoring."

On his thoughts for the lineup against Dayton
"I don't know. I'm going to go watch the tape. I'll see how Bryce did. There is a lot more to it than just one player. I suspect Ian will be back in the lineup, but I want to look at tape. We'll just keep chipping away."