Feb. 21, 2009

Recap | Final Stats | Notes

South Carolina Head Coach Darrin Horn
Opening Statement…
It was another great college basketball game at the Colonial Life Arena. I guess we’re not going to be boring for anyone. Arkansas really fought. They faced a lot of adversity but they continued to fight and play hard. The positive we take from this game is that we found a way to win in a game that didn’t have a lot of flow. We had a lot of guys step up tonight, not just making shots but making plays.

On Dominique Archie’s put backs….
That’s what I was getting at earlier. We had a lot of guys step up and do big things. His put backs were really big, and Mike (Holmes) had some too.

On Archie stepping up when he wasn’t having a great game…
I think the thing our team is continuing to learn is that’s what it takes to win. Dominique was not very good tonight, but he kept fighting and playing hard. He made some plays like that that really mattered. That’s what it takes because you’re not going to play great every game. You find a way to get things done and he exemplified that tonight.

South Carolina Player Quotes
Junior Point Guard Devan Downey
On the win…
That was a big win. Arkansas is a really good ball club. They beat Texas when they were No. 5 in the country, and they beat the team that might be the number one team in the country (Oklahoma). We didn’t play our best, but that was still a good win against a really good team.

On his offensive performance…
These last few games I have been pressing so much on the offensive end, and I went back and looked at the tape and saw what I need to do better. I told myself that I need to calm down and let the game come to me and that is what I did tonight.

Junior forward Evka Baniulis
On his rebounding effort versus Arkansas…
I just happened to be in the right place at the right time tonight, and the ball just fell into my hands. I was really aggressive and it really paid off.

On his offensive performance…
I just hit my shot, and tried to play my role tonight. I just tried to stay space out on the 3-point line, and Devan (Downey) did a good job of finding me tonight. I just really focused on a lot of the little things tonight, like rebounding, and it really paid off.