Jan. 7, 2004

Recap| Box Score| Notes

Head Coach Stan Joplin

"Central Michigan never quit and that's what I expected from them. They kept battling even after we had a really good first half. I think we became a little complacent and shot the ball too quickly. Our defense we reacted too much instead of dictating things like we did in the first half. We didn't make them play defense and they definitely took advantage of it and I give Central a lot of credit."

(on Sammy Villegas having a double-double)

"Rebounding is something he can do because he's very athletic. That makes us a better rebounding team. He also played pretty good defensively. If he keeps improving in those areas, he'll be a pretty good player."

(on having to rebound after giving up 19-point lead)

"I think that shows the big difference between this year's team and last year's team. They knew they weren't playing well and we didn't give up."

Sophomore guard Sammy Villegas

(on not starting for the first time in his career)

"I was in the doghouse with Coach Joplin because I was late for a meeting on Monday morning. I asked him if I could start tonight but he said you have to learn from your mistakes and show the younger players if you make mistakes you have to pay."

"I think I played more aggressive coming off the bench. I was disappointed with myself and it was a challenge for me to prove myself. I came out and played good defense and tried to go to the boards hard."

(on CMU coming back from such a big deficit)

"Central Michigan is a team that never gives up. They were down 30 against Michigan and came back to within three points. They came back and took the lead but we just fought back and regained it."

"It's a great win for us after giving up that big lead and being able to recover to come back and win. "