Post-Game Quotes
Arkansas vs. Ole Miss
Feb. 17, 2007
Arkansas Head Coach Stan Heath
“This win today was for Coach (Frank) Broyles. We played with the passion and effort that Broyles talks about. We cranked up our defense in the second half and made every shot uncomfortable for Ole Miss. We could have come out today and folded (looking back on the past losses) but we didn’t. I’m really proud of this team.”
Arkansas Players
Forward Sonny Weems
“We executed it well tonight. It is very hard on the road in the SEC so it’s great to get this home win. Gary (Ervin) and Sean (McCurdy) did a great job of getting Patrick (Beverley) and me the ball. It all starts with the point guards. Coach (Heath) told us to take pride in our defense in the second half and we did.”
Guard Patrick Beverley
“I tried to take positive and good shots tonight. I tried to not rush any of my shots today. This is one game and we have to take it one game at a time. Next we have an away game at Auburn and we have to try to get a win there. At halftime, Coach (Heath) told us that we had our backs against the wall and everyone knew that. We didn’t want to lose another home game so we took care of the ball.”
Forward Darian Townes
“Charles’ (Thomas) three at the start of the game gave us a lot of momentum. Ole Miss is a good team. We came into the second half as a totally different team. Coach (Heath) told us that we can’t let Ole Miss come out strong after the half and we can’t let the momentum shift.”
Ole Miss Head Coach Andy Kennedy
“I thought we did a decent job off the glass, but we have to be better with our giveaway-takeaway. Our press didn’t work well in the second half. We started the game very lax, and they were hot. I thought ‘Surely (their hot shooting) won’t continue,’ and thankfully it didn’t. If we have momentary lapses, the game will get away from you, like it did. We really rushed when they had us down 10, 12, 14 points and we took some really bad shots. That helped lead to our demise. We’re still 6-6 in a tie for first, so we’re still very much in control of our own destiny. It’s going to be a very entertaining SEC Tournament. The separation is very small from spots two through twelve.”
(on Arkansas’ play)
“If they play like they did tonight, they can play with anyone in the country. They’re a very talented group. Beverley is a very good player. He’s really savvy with the ball.”
Ole Miss Players
Guard Todd Abernathy:
“They just whooped us. Everything was falling for them. They shot extremely well and their big guys are good screeners. We just let it get away from us in the second half. We started getting sloppy and turning the ball over. It’s definitely humbling to lose like this. We just have to learn from it.”
