St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening Statement…
“We continue to learn each and every day about this team. I saw a trait tonight that I really liked. Even as we were down there at the end, I thought we stayed the course of standing up defensively, and then we made plays on the offensive end. We talk about making plays and it’s not just the offensive plays but the defensive plays as well. It’s good when you have guys that can go out and do the things we’ve been working on each and every day. I thought we did that today. We didn’t shoot the ball great, and we turned the ball over, but you have to give credit to Temple. They shot the ball well. In the end, in this tournament setting, all you want to do is find a way to win. We had a lot of heroes tonight, including [Joel Soriano] and [Andre Curbelo]. I thought they were a big part of it. If you watched the game, you saw them impact it on the offensive and defensive end. We have to continue to get better.”
On Andre Curbelo…
“I think he’s a guy that can make plays, no question about it. I see it in practice. Last year, we didn’t make those plays. This year, we’ve got some guys in position that can make plays for us. You look at the free throw line, we made some going down the stretch. It’s all about making good decisions, and that’s what he does.”
On winning a close game…
“I think it was very important [to win a close game]. It shows that we’re getting better. Adversity hit us; we were away from the familiar confines of Carnesecca Arena. I wanted to see how we react to it. Temple came out and hit us in the mouth early on. We didn’t hit a three-point shot early on, but we continue to be a second-half team. If there’s a half you want to win, you want to win that second half. Even when it looked gloomy, when they came out and hit a [late] three on us, we called a timeout and said, ‘let’s execute, guys.’ Let’s give our guys credit. I thought they stayed in the moment. It’s good to see us be able to make those plays. That’s the difference between winning and losing, making those plays.”
On facing Syracuse on Tuesday…
“It’s a championship game. We’re in a tournament and it’s the championship game. It’s the next big game on our schedule. It’s an in-state school. We’re fighting to win games and they’re fighting to win games. It should be a great atmosphere.”
Junior guard Andre Curbelo
On having the confidence to make two clutch layups late to lift the Red Storm to victory …
“This guy right here [Coach Anderson]. This guy right here to my left. I had a tough year, last year. I doubted myself at times, but coming home and having a great coaching staff and great teammates, they encourage me every single day. … Having a great coach and great teammates goes a long way. They encourage me, not just here [during the game], but off-the court. In practice, if I make a bad play, they tell me “next play.” They tell me I’ll get it back on defense or when we come back on offense. Having that support has given me confidence as the game goes by. I appreciate that from them, really, all credit to them.”
On what he saw on that go-ahead and-one layup with 1:15 remaining …
“It’s game time. Going back to my teammates in the huddle during the timeout, [they said] go win the game for us. I knew the play was for me. I had it in my mind, [my teammates] made me confident and they help a lot, they really do. All that was going through my mind was, ‘it’s game time, it’s winning time’, I’m just going to get it and I did.”
Senior center Joel Soriano
On pulling out a win in a close game …
“Big credit to my teammates and the coaching staff. We had a lot of moments today where adversity hit us and I feel like we stayed together more than ever. Like I’ve said before, I love this team to death. We are more unified than anything. When we are together, I feel like nothing can break us.”
