Jan. 18, 2006

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Marist coach Matt Brady: We have to make our own breaks out there. The ball isn't going to bounce our way just because we want it to. We have been hard running, some people don't like it, but we have to get mentally tough and still have a ways to go.

Ryan Stilphen on the team's confidence level and the crowd: We were very confident going into the game tonight. We feel we are a tough team even if our record didn't show it and we wanted to protect our gym. There was a really great turnout by students and people from Poughkeepsie and it was fun to play in that environment. Before the game we were looking at those new stands and all saying there would be no way we could fill those up; but I looked up 10 minutes in and it was full. We are happy to give people here a win.

Jared Jordan on lack of big celebration at the end/comments on expecting to win: This was a big win for us. I think we did have a lot of confidence going into tonight's game. We prepared very well, the scout team really prepared us well this week and we had a mindset that we would win.

Jared Jordan on how big is it to win, break Manhattan's 10-game streak: This win shows how tough our team is. We started off 0-4 in conference and have won three straight. They came in on a high note, with a lot of confidence and we played tough tonight. This was a huge win.

Jared Jordan on Manhattan's defense shutting down Jordan and Whittington offensively: Going into it, we expected those guys would be all over us and that's how we practiced it this week. Stilphen really made it easier and took a lot of pressure off of us by getting to the hoop. Tonight it didn't seem to matter that we were out of contention. I'm used to having the ball in my hands a lot, so it was different, but it was ok. I think we always have confidence, I'm not just saying it now that we won. Tonight we proved it, people made plays. Stilphen helped get CJ Anderson in foul trouble early and kept us in the game, basically won it for us.

Ryan Stilphen on prepping for Fairfield/Emotions tonight: Friday is a big game on national TV and its a chance to play in front of a bigger audience. We're still below .500 in the MAAC. Nobody's head is too big, we still have to play.

Manhattan coach Bobby Gonzalez (opening statement): You know anytime you are on 10 game streak, 6-0 in the league you are going to be on everybody's list. After being picked second behind Iona, to beating them and being undefeated in the league, we went from being the underdog to being the hunted. I expected Marist's best shot and I believe that we got it. I am disappointed that we got outrebounded by 20. Granted, CJ Anderson is our best rebounder and he was no factor because he was out of the game from the start. 68 points was our lowest scoring output during this streak. In the papers, Marist was favored to win by two today even though we came in on a streak. That shows how tough this league is.

Arturo Dubois (streak broken): This is not even about the streak, losing the game is hard. They played a great game, made all the hustle plays and got to all the loose balls. We thought about the streak but more so, came out and played every game like it was our last. Today, Marist wanted it more than us. They knew it was a big game, at home, they came and played their A game, that's what happens.

Gonzalez on playing at McCann and against Marist: We would have played better without that adversity, but that does not necessarily mean we win. They came in tough. I have only won twice here out of seven times and it was my two championship teams that did it. It has always been a tough game for us to play here at McCann.

Gonzalez on game strategy: We thought if we could take Jordan and Whittington out, we could win. We respected Smith and Stilphen, but I didn't expect them to play like that tonight. Stilphen really did it all, had a great game, a career game. And I never expected CJ to be that little of a factor for us either. The poor kid is just devastated. He was in quicksand, couldn't get anything going.

Gonzalez on his streak, commentary prior to the game: I told a lot of people that if we could get through this game we could extend our streak to maybe 12, 13 games; but I also thought this was the most losable game. I am not surprised we lost, I am disappointed. We never like to lose.

Some said that this was the biggest game of the year, but for us, every game is the biggest game. Marist played like they were desperate to win the game. We just didn't play our A game. Marist came out, played hard, and they beat us. We split, but lets see what happens if we play them again in Albany. I will not speculate on that though.

Gonzalez on Marist: I definitely think they are one of the top-four teams in the MAAC. When I saw they were picked fourth preseason, I agreed with that. They have one of the best backcourts and one of the best pure point guards in Jordan. Regardless of their record, they are one of the best teams in this league.