Recap | Box Score | Notes | USATSI Photo Gallery

BAYLOR POSTGAME QUOTES

Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew

Opening Statementà ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"That's how we wanted to go into Christmas, with a good feeling. In college basketball, it is hard to be on point every night with the parity in competition. That's why there are only six undefeated teams. I think Ish and our upperclassmen have done a tremendous job making sure we are focused and on point. A couple nights ago, Texas Southern had a good chance to beat LSU in Baton Rouge. We did a good job in the second half preventing them from cutting into the lead to the point where we were in danger."

On the high shooting percentage...
"I think it was unselfish, high percentage shots. That is part of the reason that we were able to be effective. I think at the same time we did a great job taking care of the basketball with eight turnovers. We are a really efficient shooting team and defensively we are very good, so as long as we keep our turnovers low, it gives us a chance to get our defense set up and get shots up."

On guard play...
"We are so efficient inside, so we don't want to take threes unless they are the right ones. Manu got going a little bit in the second half. The guards were really unselfish with Manu's seven assists, Ish's five assists, Jake's four assists, and Al's two assists. They did a really good job getting the ball inside to the big guys."

On Texas Southern...
"I thought they made some plays. This team is one that is used to being in the NCAA tournament and used to winning their conference. Mike Davis always does a great job making sure they are prepared. Any game before Christmas is a dangerous one, but especially when it is against a team that has beaten Kansas State, Michigan State and had success against high-majors this time of the year. For us to be on point and get a 26-point win, I thought we did a lot of things well."

Junior Manu Lecomte

On the bench performance...
"Our bench did a great job, turning the ball over [from TSU] three times in the first half. My teammates did a great job picking me up. King did a great job picking me up off the bench. That's how we stayed in the game."

On the importance of this game...
"It means a lot. We needed that win to stay undefeated before the break. As Ish said in the locker room, it's a new season. We have to come back and be ready for conference play."

Junior Terry Maston

On the depth in the post...
"Derrick Griffin was playing a lot of minutes, so we hit him with a lot of different fours and fives, Nuni and I, even Jonathan Davis at the end."

TEXAS SOUTHERN POSTGAME QUOTES

Texas Southern Head Coach Mike Davis

On the loss à ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"You hate to say that they're the best team, because somebody will get upset at you if you say things like that, but they're the best team that we've played. I thought last year - this is my opinion - their talent was better. The team this year is unbelievable. I think Coach Drew is doing an unbelievable job coaching these guys. This year, they counter everything you do. We came out in the second half, if we were shooting 69 percent from the field they would shoot 75 percent. Every time we tried to force them to do something, they made the shot. The shot blocker (Jo Lual-Acuil Jr.) changes the game for them. I thought Rico Gathers was really good last year, but now you've got to go in there and find something. Johnathan Motley is already long. They have a big time shot blocker in there. You're really hesitant about going in there for the layups."

On the matchup with Baylor à ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"The way that Baylor plays the zone - it takes you awhile to adjust, because it's hard to handle. They make you play slow and, not afraid, but real cautious about certain things. I really like this team, and I wish them well. I think Coach Drew has done an amazing job with them."

On key takeaways à ¢Ã¢' ¬ ¦
"I'm looking more for our guys to play with great effort - play to exhaustion and still be able to execute. Well, this year I would give us a C+. Now, if we go into our conference and continue going in that direction - now, I was pleased with the stretch of effort, even though we can't sustain it. Now we know that we have to go really, really hard if we're fortunate enough to make the NCAA tournament or the NIT tournament, because we're going to see these teams. Now, you're going to have to make an adjustment to that effort."