Dec. 23, 2000

Recap| Box Score

Toledo Head Coach Stan Joplin:

"I told the players that the last play didn't beat us. They were a lot of other things that led up to that. We just have to coniinue to play a sound 40 minutes of basketball and we didn't do it. We missed some free throws, some checkouts."

"It happened so quick that I'm not really sure what happened. It was a tough shot he made. You have to give Xavier a lot of credit. They really did a nice job. We had a period that we didn't play very well and they took advantage of it. But we battled back."

"I thought our defense was pretty good and we did a decent job on the boards which was an area I was concerned about. We also handled their pressure well. I was happy with the way we came back. Our defense was consistent and then we started making some shots, got some energy and the crowd got back in the game."

"They're just like Fresno State and some of the other teams we've faced. They're very athletic and it was a good test for us. We'll play another team like that next Saturday against Cincinnati. It doesn't get any easier because they might be a little bigger than Fresno or Xavier. We need to get a win before we head into the MAC season."

Xavier Head Coach Skip Prosser:

"It was a game that we had to overcome a lot including serious foul trouble to win."

"It was poetic justice for Lionel Chalmers after he had lost his starting job. He put in extra time shooting with the coaches and it paid off. He hit a huge, huge shot for us."

Greg Stempin:

"We came out of the huddle and they made a late substitution. We came out and didn't know who everybody was gaurding and ended up with two guys on the ball. That left one guy open. Robierre came out and tried to challenge him as best as he could. Some of those shots are going to go in."

"We got down in the second half probably because we weren't being as aggressive as we needed to be on offense as we were in the first half. But we fought back and it's nice to know we can come back when we're down and we're not going to give up. They came down and hit a big shot and that's basketball. There's a lot of highs and lows and we just have to regroup and get ready for Cincinnati."

"Our defense was really strong tonight. We've got some work to do on offense, but it's good to know we can come back and we're not hanging our heads when we're down by eight points."

"I think playing a tough non-conference schedule will definitely get us ready for conference play. It's the toughest schedule for us since I've been here and it's a lot of fun playing the good teams that have been in an NCAA Tournament before and not playing a team you're supposed to beat or blowout. It will definitely help prepare us for the close games during the MAC season."

Terry Reynolds:

"I thought we were going to win the game after I made the free throws with three seconds left. But that's enough time to get a shot off. After I hit the first free throw, they called timout and we set out defense up. They made a sub and we got mixed up. They still made a tough shot and could've easily missed it just like they made it. We still got a hand in their face. It was a good game."

"They scouted us pretty good and everytime I tried to penetrate to get open for my teammates or myself they collapsed. I just have to adjust my game if they're going to play like that."

"Cincinnati is a great team and they play a lot like Xavier so we're prepared for them in that sense. We have time to prepare them when we come back from Christmas break. We just need to learn from this game and try to win the next one."