Game No. 10 Post-game Quotes - Saint Mary's vs. Providence


Coach Randy Bennett - On the second half: "We didn't stop (Providence) in the second half. They had 28 points at halftime and finished with 75. They played quick possessions and made the half a long one. On offense, we stalled out a little bit and made some bad decisions. We made some quick substitutions that made them play on their heels a little more. Like I said, this whole tournament has been a valuable experience for us. Providence is a good team. I think they will have a good year. Any time you can beat a team in the Big East is an accomplishment."

On the tournament: "This tournament has been really good for us. The experience we"ve gained playing against these good teams will help us down the road.

"I know any time you get wins over these teams, they count on your resume at the end of the year. To get a win against Providence and Cal State Fullerton, those are good accomplishments for our team at this point. Hopefully this experience will make us better. We are still far from being where we need to be. We are learning and guys are still learning new roles, so I think our players coming off the bench have to get some rust off of them and gain some confidence. Sometimes we drop off a little bit when we shouldn't because we have good players coming off the bench. We are deep, but we need to develop as a team so that we mesh when we bring in subs. You only get that by playing games and we played three good teams down here in this tournament. It will help us if we use it the right way."

Player Patrick Mills " On what he is thankful for: "I am thankful for a lot of things. First and foremost is being here amongst these guys and the coaching staff. I am thankful for being given the opportunity to develop and play at this level. It is a long journey and I believe this is the right track in achieving long-term goals."

On the team's defensive effort: "I think specifically with this team, we get a lot of our momentum off defense. When we are aggressive on defense that is when we are at our best. That allows us to go on fast breaks and that is what we are good at. We are a fast team that likes to run."

Player Diamon Simpson - On the second half: "I think (Providence) caught fire in the second half. They came out with a lot more energy and you could definitely tell that on the court, with both their defense and their offense."

On the tournament: "I think this experience is very valuable. All of the teams that are in this tournament are really competitive. I think we did really well and that first loss was a wake-up call for us. That loss really helped us."