Jan. 16, 2002

Recap| Final Stats| Notes

Head Coach Stan Joplin:

"Obviously we're happy with the win, but I am disappointed with how we played. I don't think I've ever been associated with a game in my 20 years of basketball where you get outrebounded by 20 and you win by nine. It's mind-boggling. We played pretty good defensively but they were just playing volleyball on the boards."

"You have to give Northern Illinois credit because they just crashed the boards. But our guys just ran underneath the basket. It wasn't just the big guys. It was everybody. It was a total team effort. We have to a better job in this area."

On the Bowling Green game:

"It's going to be a war. We expect Bowling Green to come out ready to play. We're going to have to play a lot better than we did tonight or we're going to get blown out."

"It's going to be a real challenge for us and we be better be up for it."

Sophomore guard Terry Reynolds:

"We came out and started out fast, but then we lapsed a little bit and Northern gained some confidence. The second half we came and played harder and if we had played like that the whole game it might not have been as close."

"I just played within myself. I was aggressive on offense and I tried to get my teammates involved as best I could. The shots just went down for me and I was able to get to the free throw line. Keith (Triplett) started us off in the first half and got everybody else going and then we picked it up from there."

On the Bowling Green game: "Both teams will be up for it. We beat them twice last year and they'll probably feel like they have something to prove and want to pay us back. We're going to have to play hard the whole game."

"We know the importance of the game and the rivalry. The main thing will be come out with the win so we can be 4-1 in the MAC. It's going to be a hostile crowd and we will be ready to play."

Sophomore guard Keith Triplett:

"The beginning of the game I was feeling good. My jumper was falling and I was getting layups, free throws and I was playing my game. My teammates were getting me open and we came out with the win."

"I'm proud of my defense because I didn't play much in high school. I was all offense then and now I'm playing defense. Now I'm trying to get my offense together and play a total 40 minute game."

Sophomore forward Ricardo Thomas:

"I like to do whatever this team needs. I really tried to step it up in the second half and get everybody involved. When we get somebody going offensively, I like to keep getting them the ball and see if I can keep their streak going."

"We really didn't feel that good after the Ball State game, because there's really no moral victories in basketball. We really went back to the drawing board. We were disappointed with our actions tonight because we were outrebouned by 20."