Deke Routheaux Ball Quotations

We played well against a good team. We were missing some of our bigger players, so we struggled on the boards, but we moved the ball well and hustled.

We've got seven kids averaging between 8.4 and 16. That's a good indication that they know how to give the ball up and spread it around. We're not the kind of team you can shut down by shutting down one player.

The second half, I told them they have to defend every possession. Don't rest on defense and don't get impatient on offense. If you get behind, you have to be more patient than if you're ahead. We made a conscious effort to work the ball inside, where we had an advantage. Hagen hit those three threes and everybody loosened up.

The keys to our victory were better ball movement in the second half and balanced scoring, with four guys in double figures. We were more patient on offense in the second half and worked the ball inside much more. The net result is we shot 53 percent for the second half.

All we needed to do was make our free throws. We had some mental lapses with the ball down the stretch and missed six of our last seven attempts at the line.