Dec. 30, 2008

Recap | Box Score

Post-Game Quotes
Loyola vs. Alcorn State
December 30, 2008

Loyola Head Coach Jim Whitesell
Opening statement
"We talked to our guys about rebounds and transition. I thought Darrin Williams really did a nice job on the boards early in the game. We talked to him about how when he rebounds well, he generally plays well, but when he doesn't, his minutes usually get cut. We were really happy with him and obviously Walt Gibler, I thought, played very well. When given the opportunity, he's done a nice job. You can see him getting better and better every time out there. I really liked the way our guys shared the ball. I thought Justin Cerasoli, in the second half, had three or four assists in a four or five minute sequence, so he really did a nice job moving the basketball. I think sometimes when you get that lead, it gets a little loose and I thought our guys overall did a nice job with it. Alcorn has played a tough schedule - they've played at LSU, at DePaul and that's not fun. Sometimes your confidence can erode. I know when we played in that preseason NIT, it was very challenging and sometimes you doubt yourself a little bit."

On improving from a rough start to the season
"I like the way we've bounced back. We have worked really hard to get above .500 playing this schedule. We need to make sure we don't take anything for granted because we did that in the first game and that got us a big `L'. I think that was one thing our guys learned from that experience. I think the non-conference has been good after the NIT. I think the NIT gave us unbelievably good competition every night. Obviously, we went 1-3 and played a pretty tough schedule. Getting Leon Young back has helped. He's a guy who can score, who can rebound, he's got experience, he knows how to play. He's really given us a nice bump and we've done a good job since he's come back."

On getting the reserves into the game
"We had that first five minutes in the second half where we really made a jump. From that 10-minute mark on down in the second half, it became evident that we could get a lot of guys in and rest some of the guys. A kid like Geoff McCammon, the two times we've played him the last two games, has come out and played very well. I thought Hicks played well, as well as John Benkoske. I thought Ryan Sterling certainly gave us a nice little bump there. I thought those guys really played very unselfishly. That was nice to see because sometimes those guys aren't getting the time they deserve or sometimes they're the odd man out, so it's always good for everyone. Plus, you never know, I think a good example is Walt Gibler. An injury comers up and Walt gives us 19 points. So I always tell our guys you're not that far away from playing, you just got to stay with the cause. Sometimes it's hard not to get down because you're not getting minutes. With the conference coming up, we're going to have to bring our "A" game and play really, really well."

Loyola senior guard J.R. Blount
On expectations for Alcorn State
"We knew a pretty good deal about them. We came out and executed. We knew that (Troy) Jackson was a good player and that they like to stay around for rebounds. So we just wanted to execute and make sure we had outlets and push the ball and we were able to do that. We had guys making shots like Walt (Gibler) and it was an all-around team effort. We just kept going from our SIU-Edwardsville game. We had 23 assists in that game and tonight we had 26, so we just want to keep that up. We know that if we pass the ball around, that people are going to be able to make shots. Tonight it was Walt, the next night it could be anybody else. Walt was able to knock some shots down in the zone and that kind of really opened it up."

On resuming Horizon League play this weekend
"We know we have some tough ones coming up with Milwaukee and Green Bay, but we play them at home and we want to make sure we take care of business and keep the streak rolling."

Loyola freshman forward Walt Gibler
On the win over Alcorn State and his thoughts on Horizon League play
"I think it was a great team effort. We played as a team tonight. I think we had 26 assists, which really shows our team was looking for each other. I think we have the same approach for every game. We prepare for each game like it's the biggest game on our schedule, so I'm looking forward to League games just as much as I was looking forward to our non-League schedule."