Nov. 27, 2009

Recap | Final Stats

South Carolina Head Coach Darrin Horn
Opening Statement…
We knew when we scheduled this game that it would be tough. Regardless of the circumstances, they’re a good basketball team. We knew that it would be a challenge, without question. This is our first game having to play a little differently. We had to respond to that. I think we had to find a way to win and do what we needed to do down the stretch, and have different guys stepping up. Those kinds of things were really positive for us tonight. I am disappointed that we didn’t guard at all, at any point of the game. We were able to get a couple stops when we needed them. In the end for us, to win the game, that’s good. We’ve got to continue to build and move forward with it. Obviously scoring wasn’t an issue for us tonight.

On Devan Downey’s 34 points…
We needed him to step up tonight. We weren’t guarding anyone tonight and he was a large part of that. We needed the 34 from him tonight. We made an adjustment late to get him off the ball and into scoring position. We thought he’d be able to attack. He made plays; that’s what he does best. He was big for us tonight. It was big because it was at the right time. We put up 97; it would have been in the 60s without him. That’s what you want your seniors to do.

On Stephen Spinella…
He was another positive for us tonight. Stephen came in and did some things for us. He rebounded when he needed to and was pretty solid defensively. He shot the ball with confidence. After he missed his first two, he stepped up and made the third one. He really looked like he belonged out there. He did some good things for us tonight. He has been practicing well.