March 9, 2008
Recap | Final Stats
SAN DIEGO HEAD COACH Bill Grier
Opening Statement:
Coming into tonight's game we knew that Pepperdine has given us trouble during the season so we focused on two keys: first was to take care of the ball, and second was to rebound.
On the play of Rob Jones and De'Jon Jackson:
Rob Jones and De'Jon Jackson played a heck of a game. Rob Jones has had a great year and is sort of our unsung hero; he is a great defender and a great finisher and tonight he did both.
On the Pilots' play in the second half:
Tomorrow is all about moving on to face a great, well-rested basketball team. Saint Mary's is a really good team. They have been in the Top 25 for eight to 10 weeks and Randy (Bennett) has done such a great job with that team. They are great complementary players and always find each other to make plays.
SAN DIEGO FRESHMAN FORWARD Rob Jones
On his freshman season:
This has been a roller coaster year for me and tonight was all about staying on my game. This whole season has been about staying on my game and tonight that really helped.
On playing Saint Mary's:
Last time at home against Saint Mary's we picked up a win and tomorrow we will focus on our defense. We hope to come out loose and ready to play.
SAN DIEGO SOPHOMORE GUARD De'Jon Jackson
On the home crowd:
Tonight we had a great student turnout from bottom to top. We feed off the fans and get pumped up from the court; they're great and we hope to see even more tomorrow.
PEPPERDINE INTERIM HEAD COACH ERIC BRIDGELAND
Opening statement:
I'm proud of our team. I've never been more proud of a group that I have been associated with than the ones we have. Extraordinary men on a beautiful journey, with more adversity in two months than the team had faced in four years and they never quit.
On the difference between this game and the prior two against San Diego:
We did an excellent job on the glass when we played here a week ago. We held them to three offensive rebounds and that was one of the keys. They just punished us tonight and we lost our physicality. We had grown an identity to be really physical on the glass and run and we were tired and that showed.
