No. 1S Davidson 93, No. 3N Western Carolina 91 (2 OT)

March 5, 2012

 

Davidson Wildcats

Head Coach Bob McKillop

Statement on the game ... "My hat is off to Larry Hunter and the Western Carolina Catamounts. They had one of the greatest tournament runs in my tenure in the Southern Conference. They never quit. They had their backs against the wall and they were relentless with their willingness to fight to the end."

On the fight to gain momentum... "We tried too hard in the first half. They rushed things. The energy that Western Carolina had forced that but our guys really rushed in the first half. We came back in the second half and I thought we played with great resolve, with great patience and with the steadiness that we had all year long. To see the faces that they had when they came to the bench when the overtime occurred; they had just lost a twelve point lead in a matter of two minutes on some spectacular plays by Western. Some plays on our part that were not so spectacular but everyone can be part of that blame game. Yet they didn't relent. The resolve was still there."

On what keeps him in big tournament games... "I'm forever learning and these guys are forever teaching me. I've got a young staff that teaches me and young players that teach me. They keep me energized, inspired and educated all the time."

 

Junior forward Jake Cohen

On if he had ever played in a game with this amount of intensity... "No I haven't. That game means so much. I think both teams realized it and played with an intensity that was unmatched. You saw the amount of back and forth that happened. Western didn't back down and kept coming after us. It just seemed like we couldn't pull away. They hit a big shot whenever they needed it. I think a testament to our guys that we didn't get down when they hit some of those big shots. We stayed positive and kept attacking them back. It paid off down the stretch."

 

Sophomore forward De'Mon Brooks

On continuing to fight after Western's comeback... "It shows the character of our team. Hats off to Western Carolina because they came out and still fought and came back. When they made their run, it was all about ourselves. We knew that if we had each other's backs, we'd come out with a win."

 

Western Carolina Catamounts

Head Coach Larry Hunter
Opening Statement

"There were probably some breakdowns in some execution, but what a whale of a ballgame in terms of heart and competitive effort...Congratulations to Davidson, they have such a great ball club...They had to do what they had to. I told the guys in the last timeout that I didn't think we had a third overtime in us so I said we were going for the win...we got our best shooter a really good look, but it didn't go...I've been a college coach for 41 years now...I told the guys in the locker that I've never had a team spill their guts like that team did tonight...They gave me everything they had...we had breakdowns, but it wasn't because of what was in our chest."

On tournament

"I'd really like to thank the city of Asheville and the conference office, the tournament committee...we were treated with unbelievable class and we had a great experience...hopefully it was a success and we appreciate everything."

Harouna Mutombo

On game

"It was a tough game...our guys battled for 45-plus minutes and congratulations to Davidson and we spilled our guts out there."

On four games in four days

"At this time it's not really about fatigue...we knew it was going to be a tough...in our heart our guys didn't give up."

Trey Sumler

"Davidson is a tough team...They are a good team and they came ready to play tonight...congratulations to them"