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Baylor Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Scott Drew
Opening Statement à ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"This was a typical Big 12 game; two teams battling and coming down to the final possession. Coach Smith's done a great job with this group, and I think everyone knows how much they've improved from last year. We knew coming in it was going to be a hard fought game. We knew if we were blessed enough to win, it was going to come down to a couple of possessions. We didn't hit our free throws like we've been, and that hurt us. We didn't rebound as well as we've been. I think you've got to credit Texas Tech for that; they've done a great job on the glass the last couple games against us. But I'm really proud of us on how we held our composure when we really had a couple chances to pull away. They made a couple of runs. We didn't panic and allow them to ever get a lead we couldn't catch them."

On having confidence in Lester Medford taking the last shot à ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"That's how we drew it up. Coaches have to say that when things work alright, and we know when things don't work, it's our fault. With Lester, he wasn't feeling well coming into the game. We told him that great players always play the best when they're sick. I thought he really competed. He didn't get the assists he normally does. He turned it over a little more than he normally does, but he had a lot of confidence down the stretch. When he had the ball, we thought he was in a good rhythm."

On the success of the team's bench à ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"Well, that's the great thing about the bench is you look at it and some of our best basketball is played when they're in the game. It's nice to know that any given night you can get a good lift off the bench. You've got to have that depth, because we had a couple guys get in foul trouble; just pleased with that."

On Texas Tech's defense in the second half to get Baylor out of rhythm on offense à ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"I think first of all, Coach Smith always does a great job defensively. We shot 50 percent, but we turned it over 14 times and didn't get the normal assists that we did. So, I give them a lot of credit for that. I think we missed some shots and missed a layup. You miss a layup, you miss two free throws, I mean those are killers when they get the and-ones. It kind of feeds you, you're making buckets, you're making shots and that's where we started to score. Unfortunately, normally when you play better defense, you play better offense. We were pretty solid defensively the entire game. Lost a couple to [Devaugntah] Williams, but for the most part did a good job."

Guard Lester Medford
On the plan to take the last shotà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"Yeah, there were other options. It was just easier; he [Aaron Ross] backed up a lot. It was a tied game; I hadn't shot the ball well and felt like it was going to go in."

On how the game winning shot feltà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"It feels good, just because it's a tough game. We didn't play that well, but we found a way to get it done. I'm just so proud of my team, because they stayed with it."

On the Baylor's foul troubleà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"Yeah, you've just got to put a lot of trust in your teammates. That's why I said I was very proud of my team, because when I was out they held it down. They did their jobs, and that's what great teams do."

Guard Al Freeman
On the Baylor's defensive effortsà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"We just needed to get stops as a team. We wanted to focus on the defensive end. When you get stops, it allows you to run in transition and get easy shots. That was really what we wanted to do. Once we took the lead, it was just about taking the best shot each time down the floor. We just wanted to execute and get stops. That was the game plan, and that's just what we tried to focus on each possession."

On if this type of game was expectedà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"Oh, definitely. We know that any road game is going to be tough, no matter who you're playing against. We respect all our opponents. We know that when we come in to Texas Tech every year, it's a battle. They play very physical. They slow the game down, and they make it a grind out game. So, we knew what we were getting in to. We just knew that this game was going to be about execution and getting stops. The team that does that the best is going to win."

On their confidence playing on the roadà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"Oh, definitely. We took some tough L's on the road early in the year. We just came together and said your approach has got to change when we go on the road. We know it's going to be a battle. We know it's going to be a dogfight no matter who were playing. Everybody plays better at home. When we go in there we're going to have to get stops, play together, win out 50/50 balls. We were really just trying to do that. You know two games on the road have definitely given us confidence. We're just trying to continue it, try to keep getting wins and protect our home court. We get excited about our next game."