March 1, 2009

Recap |  Final Stats |  Notes

Santa Clara head coach Kerry Keating
"I am really happy for these guys - especially on senior day for John Bryant and Calvin Johnson. It certainly wasn't easy. No game that we have played with Portland is easy. They have all been close. They play physical, they play strong and you have to be on top your game defensively. I give a lot of credit to them because they have had a great year. They won't be an easy out in the tournament. We will be one of four teams ending the regular season on a winning note on our conference and that's good.

"The biggest key to their success is that Campbell and Stohl have really shot well. They shoot 46% in conference. That's really hard to do when you play against team's night in and night out who are trying to get you off of that.

"In the first half the reason we had some breakdowns is fatigue. It's hard with less than 48 hours to get a predominantly young team to forget about that. We played as well as we could have. The fatigue rubbed off and early on we weren't getting enough pressure on them.

"We have been shooting free throws well. They know when they are down the easiest way to get back is to stop the clock and get to the free throw line."

Portland head coach Eric Reveno
"I'm pleased with our guys' efforts. We wanted to come out with some toughness. On offense it was about poise with the ball. We moved the ball well for the most part. We were not converting free throws, and that will give us something to work on.

"I give Santa Clara credit, they did a very good job on Jared Stohl. We did miss some shots, but we also had some good stretches. I knew that they were well prepared. TJ Williams has been tremendous for us, and we should've gotten him out of the game earlier before his fourth foul."

(on John Bryant) "If he didn't play, we would've had a great shot at winning this game; he's very good. He uses his size as well as anyone I've seen. He has good hands and did a very nice job and it was our inability that we were unable to get the fifth foul on him. He was ultimately the difference maker."

Santa Clara Player Quotes

John Bryant
Describing this game: It was really cool. It was really physical and definitely draining. They (Portland) had a lot of big bodies on the floor the entire game and there was a lot of banging around in the post, which is kind of how I like it, but it was draining.

John's slow first half: I went into half time thinking that I wasn't going to lose this game. It's senior day and I cannot lose this game. Coach told me to get low, get in position and get in the ball in the lane. It was really physical, they were pushing me around so when I got the ball I was looking for some one else to pass to instead of just throwing up a shot. I was fatigued trying to get in position and stay in it. I had to fight past it mentally and make something happen.

John playing 41 minutes: It just shows that our work pays off. I don't know how many minutes I was playing as a freshman, but it definitely wasn't a lot. It's conditioning. It's hard to be on the floor that long, especially for a big guy. I've wanted to work on my conditioning and I have been. I've been able to help my team a lot by playing a lot of minutes.

What will you remember most about this game: The win. It's the last game I'll ever play at the Leavey Center and it's great to end on a high note. We've been through lots of ups and downs this season and in this game, but I love it.

Calvin Johnson
Describing this game: It was an experience for our team. It was another close game but we finally came out on top. We've been learning how to close in on close games all year and how to work hard to come out on top, and it finally paid off.

What will you remember most about this game: The crowd. We really appreciate a good crowd. We love their energy, they make us play a lot better. We use the energy the crowd brings and we appreciate that these guys come to every game, not just big games like Gonzaga or Saint Mary's. We just wanted to show the student body that we appreciate them coming to the game.