Jan. 17, 2001

Recap| Box Score

Toledo Head Coach Stan Joplin

"I think Ball State played well and did a very nice job. Ball State made plays down the stretch and we didn't. As far as ourselves, we played absolutely stupid to be quite frank with you. We were up by nine in the second half and the passes and shots we took during that stretch was a pathetic display of basketball. We just didn't make any plays. Everything we've done to get to this point we did completely the opposite."

"I thought our defense was good but when we had to make plays we didn't. Our decisions offensively really cost us and we were too careless with the basketball. It shows you what can happen when you play selfish basketball. It would have been a shame had we won tonight, because we didn't deserve it. Ball State deserved it and came away with the victory. Hopefully, the players realize that you have to come out ready to play night in and night out. Just because our record is a little better than theirs doesn't mean anything in conference play."

On what he was looking for at the end of the game:

"We wanted Terry (Reynolds) to make a read and see what developed. We wanted him to make a decision and he usually has made a good one numerous times, but he didn't this time. We were hoping he might get fouled but that didn't happen."

On the loss possibly being a positive one that the team can build on:

"I hope that's the case. We'll just have to wait and see. This was an opportunity for us to put some distance between us and Ball State, but we didn't do it. Now we're back in the middle of the pack. We knew it was going to be tough, but you have to protect your homecourt better than we did tonight."

On the play of Rory Jones:

"Rory played well and it's nice to get a shot in the arm from him. He played really well in the second half and he's making things happen. He's also making pretty good decisions which I like."

Ball State Head Coach Tim Buckley

On his team's final sequence of the game:

"Really it was a situation where our play became broken. Patrick (Jackson) made a good read when the ball was kicked out to him. They over-closed on him and gave him a good angle to the baseline. He recognized that no one rotated over to help and he did a nice job of getting to the rim and finishing the play."

On his team's defense during Toledo's final sequence of the game:

"I think it was a combination of good defense and maybe they rushed a little bit. (Robierre) Cullars and (Greg) Stempin have come through and made big plays over the years. The game was at a frantic pace that late. We did a good job of keeping them on the driving line."

On Toledo's poor shooting performance:

"We knew that this was going to be a battle. Toledo has played in some big games this year and beaten some really good teams. I think that they didn't come out the way they wanted to start the game, which allowed us to get the lead."

On defending Greg Stempin:

"I don't think he got out of the gate early tonight. When he gets out of the gate early, watch out. He wasn't able to hit some early ones. We tried to change the tempo. We wanted to play some man-to-man and some zone. We struggle with our defense at times, but we buckled down and played well at the end."