March 1, 2009

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Post-game Quotes - Miami vs. Kent State

Geno Ford, Kent State Head Coach
On Michael Bramos and Carl Richburg: "He (Bramos) was great tonight, which wasn't really shocking. In the last couple of weeks his numbers were down, but he's required to expend so much effort because he guards really well too. He made a bunch of big plays. He always seems to have our number. We don't really have anyone on the defensive end that matches up well with him. He was the difference in the game, but that being said, Richburg was key with his decision-making. He didn't turn it over, played a great floor game. If we would have got one or two of those threes to fall he would have had just as big of an impact as Bramos."

On Kent State's Foul Trouble: "The fouls really hurt us, because it meant we had to back off the ball pressure a little bit. Miami was the more aggressive team-going to the rim, being strong in traffic-and they got to the foul line. We only shot 4-of-11 from the foul line, so it didn't really help us as much. Overall, Miami simply outplayed us, especially on the wings. They made us miss, and they made shots. (Tyler) Dierkers' 3-pointer at the end was just the nail in the coffin."

Charlie Coles, Miami Head Coach
On tonight's game: "I was so happy to win tonight. We've been having a rough time, losing games and losing Eric Pollitz. He's very hard to replace, a very unselfish player. It just felt good to win and lift morale for these guys who have worked so hard all season. A lot of guys contributed, and we responded and played well." "I thought we could get open shots, which we haven't had too often. I thought our ball movement was good and the mismatches helped, especially with Bramos. I would hate to think what the game would have been like had (Al) Fisher and (Chris) Singletary not been in foul trouble. They're just tremendous players and having them in foul trouble really helped us tonight."

On Bowling Green on Thursday: "We've got to play smarter and guard better. BG has some threats, like Nate Miller, Brian Moten, Joe Jakubowski, Darryl Clements. They're all good players. We've got to get ready to play, because they'll be ready for us, so we have to be ready for them."

On Carl Richburg: "Carl helped us shoot better I think, he penetrated well. Hopefully that will give us better scoring opportunities down the stretch and give us some fast breaks. He just needs to hit some shots. He had nine assists and only two turnovers, which was great for him."

Michael Bramos
On his performance: "We just did what we needed to do to win. It was a big game for us that we felt we had to win. We've had our backs against the wall losing three straight, but it's still anyone's game. Tonight I just took the opportunities they gave me. Our whole team made contributions down the stretch. I think this was definitely one of the biggest wins for us all season."

"Going into the second half, we knew we had to dig down. We got blown out in the second half the last two games and we know that games are won in the last four minutes. We're not going to score a lot of points, so we had to step up on defense and take advantage of the shots we get."

Tyler Dierkers
On his 3-pointer and on Carl Richburg: "I was just confident. Carl gave me a good look; he gave everyone good looks all night. Mike (Bramos) carried us tonight, but down the stretch we knew that other guys had to step up and make plays. Carl was huge for us tonight. I think he'll definitely be able to handle things the rest of the way. He's a big reason that we won tonight."

On matchups: "I felt good about our matchups overall, but not having Eric (Pollitz) out there hurt a little since he's our best defender. I think (Antonio) Ballard did a great job on Singletary; (Jordan) Mincy gave us a little trouble, but that's a credit to him, and their big guys gave us trouble too. But overall I felt confident and in the end we got it done."