Dec. 21, 2008
Coach Herb Sendek
Thoughts on the game:
"More important than whether we played man or zone was we played with more passion. We turned up the amps. Whether you play man or zone, that's required. On the one hand, it reinforces my belief that this team has great grit and tremendous heart. On the other hand, it reminded us that we still have a lot of work to do. My heart goes out to BYU because they played a heck of a basketball game."
On the Cougars offensive prowess in the game, shooting 50 percent from the field:
"BYU, to me, is as good as any team I've seen in college basketball on offense. They are the real deal on offense. They are hard to guard. I was mesmerized watching them on tape, and after seeing them in person, my feelings are only confirmed."
On the last-second shot by BYU, which at first was ruled good, but then was overturned:
"I had no idea if it was good or not. Fortunately for us, it came after the buzzer, but not by much. There's no way I could discern what happened from my vantage point at that speed, but from what I've been told, it was clearly the right call. That was a hard fought game that could have gone either way."
On the play of James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph, who scored 30 and 22 points, respectively:
"Guys like James and Jeff stepped up. They were really aggressive on offense and made plays. These guys are the difference makers. At that time their constitution and determination were really special. That's not to take anything away from BYU. If for nothing, they would have won today's game. It was that close."
Senior Jeff Pendergraph
Thoughts on the last-second shot by BYU:
"There was no way Abouo just made this. This better not turn into a Cinderella story, that's for sure. They're not making a movie out of this game."
On winning back-to-back games by just one point:
"We don't get frustrated at crunch time. I think that's why when were in these situations, we came up on top. James and I turn it up. Everybody turns it up. That what makes our team so good; when we're down, we realize what we need to do to get the win."
Sophomore James Harden
Thoughts on the last-second shot by BYU:
"It was a heartbreaker. We fought so hard to come back, and then on a shot like that to end it, it was depressing. After the refs changed their minds though, it felt like the greatest feeling of my life."
On his many trips to the free-throw line, especially in the last part of the second half (he finished 16-of-21 from the charity stripe):
"We were down, I was just looking to attack more and make a play. We were down 10 and we needed something."
On playing basketball where the Cardinals play, at University of Phoenix stadium:
"It was great. It was a big environment and we had a lot of fans. We've never been in the NCAA tournament, but it felt like the [NCAA] tournament. It was a great opportunity for us to play in such a big stage like this, and I thought we played pretty well."
Assistant Coach Scott Pera
On what he said to the team after such a close win:
"My comment after the game was, '95 percent of college-basketball teams lose that game. There were so many negatives, but there was one pretty big positive. We won. How do you think Syracuse feels right now (after losing this week on a 60-foot bomb against Cleveland State)? I'd much rather discuss negatives after winning than after losing."