Feb. 11, 2006

Recap |  Final Stats |  Notes

Head Coach Stan Joplin

"We made the plays down the stretch that we needed to win. We wanted to pressure and contain and make them work for everything but in the first half John Floyd really played well along with Martin Samarco. They were winning a lot of the hustle points. In the second half, we hustled more and got some energy from the crowd and that helped us out."

(on winning all three games of homestand and having a week off)

"The time off should be a good break for us both basketball-wise and with our academics. Now we will have two games a week and our players can get their energy back and get motivated for our final five games before the MAC Tournament."

(on if the team is starting to peak now after a slow start to the MAC season)

"I think we're the one team in the league that can improve the most because we still have some guys not playing well. We aren't consistent yet and we still have a lot of room to improve. Our game against Kent State was a step in the right direction and tonight continues that. I knew January was going to be tough for us but we lost a lot of close games that we had a shot to win."

Junior forward Florentino Valencia

(on the physical play)

"The first game BG really outplayed us. They're a hard-nosed, tough team and they play as hard as they can. We had to match their intensity or top it."

(on having four players in double figures and distributing the ball around)

"We believe in each other and it doesn't matter who's open we're going to try to get it to that person. If I'm doubled in the post, I'm not going to force a bad shot I'm going to kick the ball out to my teammates."

Junior guard Justin Ingram

(on making his free throws after John Floyd's technical)

"I think it was real important. We were down two points at the time and he had just made a big shot. I made the two free throws to tie the game and we got the ball back and hit a three and that swung the momentum back to us."

(on the guards penetrating)

"We know that they're a great weak-side defensive team. We knew that if we could get into the middle they would help and we would kick it out for a wide-open jump shot. We tried to use our quickness to do that."

(on being able to wear Bowling Green down)

"I think we were able to do that. At BG, they came out aggressive and pushed us around. We tried to do the same thing here and take it too them. They were getting into foul trouble and that was big for us."

(on winning all three games of homestand)

"It was real big for us, because our goal is to win out. We knew that these three games at home were important because Savage Hall is one of the hardest places to play in the conference. We wanted to get some momentum going into the rest of the season."

Bowling Green Head Coach Dan Dakich

"I thought the difference in the game when when Kashif Payne and Anton Currie hit threes late in the shot clock. That kind of typified the second half. When Toledo needed to make plays they did. We didn't do that and I thought those two plays really made the difference."

(on Toledo playing more physical than the first matchup)

"I don't really think they were more physical. I did think that it was a physical game and both teams competed hard. We were in the lead for about 30 minutes and we didn't make the plays we needed to with Martin Samarco and Steven Wright out. They did what they needed to do to win."

BG junior guard John Floyd

(on the number of fouls in the game)

"We just have to play smarter and keep our hands of their guys when they're driving to the basket. It's something that we obviously have to continue to work on."

(on getting a technical and it changing the momentum in the game)

"It did swing the momentum. As a veteran guy I have to be smarter than that. It was a dumb mistake by me and it completely changed the game."

(on not being able to get a rhythm in the second half with the foul problems)

"It was tough. With Martin and Steve out a lot, they are our best cutters that get open the best. It seemed like everywhere we went there were two or three Toledo defenders there converging on us. I give them a lot of credit."