St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening Statement…
“There are all kinds of ways to win games and it was a defensive struggle for both teams tonight. New Hampshire came and out-scrapped us, especially in the first half. I thought in the second half we matched the intensity that they were bringing. We didn’t shoot the ball well and when you don’t shoot well, you have to rely on your defense. I thought we had enough in the tank and we were able to finish the game out the right way. It was a good team win and we had some good contributors off the bench. I thought AJ [Storr] was fantastic in the most minutes he’s played [this season]. He was very productive, which is a great sign, especially when two of our blue-collar type players were out [due to injuries]. Montez [Mathis] and O’Mar [Stanley] have been playing awfully well. It was the next man up and Dylan [Addae-Wusu] and Esahia [Nyiwe] gave us some good minutes. Those are the type of games that you have to win when you are not playing your best, but at the same time you can hang your hats on defense.”
On the team’s depth with two players out against New Hampshire…
“We wanted to get other guys involved, because we are going to need those guys. I told my guys that you always must be ready, and tonight we were able to do that. I thought that it paid off. We wore them out and made fatigue a factor in the game. They made some shots, and then they started missing some wide-open shots.”
On AJ Storr…
“We have to have someone that can come off the bench and give us a scoring punch. You can see his athletic ability. He is picking up on some things and that’s the natural progression for a guy with his talent. He’s been working and puts the time in, and I was happy to see his contributions tonight.”
On the team closing out the win in the second half…
“At halftime, it was a three-point game. I was proud of our guys. They found a way to the finish the game off.”
Senior center Joel Soriano
On the team’s shooting performance in the first half…
“We just couldn’t make a shot today. I felt like the rim had a lid on it. We just have to get better, get back in the gym and start working. You have to give credit to [New Hampshire]. They played excellent defense, but I’m glad our guys toughened up and came out with the win.”
On the defense…
“I feel like our defense was solid today, for the most part. We still had some spurts that we have to clean up. Overall, I think our defense was good today. We just have to convert on offense. That’s what Coach [Anderson] preaches. We just have to keep working.”
On adjustments made at the half…
“Coach came and got on us, [saying] that we weren’t playing hard enough. We also got on each other. We took it upon ourselves to say stuff that needed to be said in the locker room, and we came out with a different mindset.”
