Feb. 19, 2008

Recap | Final Stats

POST-GAME QUOTES -Akron at Miami, Feb. 19, 2008

Miami Coach Charlie Coles "You've got to give a lot of credit to Akron. They came in here and controlled the game. I thought their guard play was just tremendous. You can't replace a player like Jeremiah Wood for a season, but what you can do is get some other guys to elevate a little bit and to get smarter. They're really playing intelligent. Boy, they're a tough team to play against, and they did a great job. I was afraid of this game because I felt like they had a little something that we don't have at this point. They have a little mental toughness that we're still rasslin' with. They came up with key rebounds, we missed some assignments, and that was the difference. So, my hat goes off to them. It was a big, big victory for them."

Miami's Tim Pollitz (On his driving layup that was called an offensive foul) "I'm an honest type of guy. I don't know how far Dials was in the paint. He was pretty close underneath the rim. I thought I kind of slid, so it wasn't complete contact. I used my left hand and thought I laid it around him. But give credit to Akron. They were ready to play tonight. It was a tough call. It could have gone either way. You obviously know my opinion. I play for the white. The ref made the call, so I can't complain about it. It was a smart play on Dials' part, too."

Akron Coach Keith Dambrot "I told our guys the same thing that I'm going to tell you, and it's going to sound like it's heat of the moment. But to me, that was absolutely the best game that we've ever played since I've been the coach at Akron, for a variety of reasons. Before we were loaded. This team was not loaded. This team basically followed the plan, stayed within itself, gutted it out, and did all the things necessary for us to win the game. So, for those reasons, I thought it was the best game we've ever played. Including the Temple game in the NIT, some of our wins in the conference tournament, some of the great games we've played at home ... I thought this was the absolute best game that we've played."