2020-21 Mississippi State Men’s Postgame Quotes Mississippi State vs. Saint Louis – Saturday, March 20, 2021 NIT Round of 16

Mississippi State Head Coach Ben Howland Q: What did you think about Cameron Matthews’ play defensively, and the Saint Louis press that gave your team trouble the last three minutes of the game? BH: “They really did eat us up [with the press]. It was my fault for trying to throw the long touchdown pass. We had former quarterback, D.J. Stewart Jr., in there. Even if it had been open, I think they were ready for it that time. You don’t force it unless it’s wide open. It’s something we haven’t practiced, so I shouldn’t have done it. That hurt us because they got a three [ shot] out of it.”

“They [Saint Louis] are a really good team. We beat an outstanding team today. They have seniors who have been through all the wars before that are their three best players. I thought our guys did a fantastic job defensively, especially in the first half, and we did some important things in the second half.”

“D.J. [Stewart Jr.] came alive offensively. He really played well and hit some big shots. Iverson [Molinar] did a great job in the first half and finished strong down the stretch. Cameron Matthews’ minutes were huge. He had three big rebounds in the first half. All of them were in traffic. He had a couple big plays defensively late in the game – he got the with 45 seconds left that really iced it for us. Then, he also had a tie up where we got the ball back on the floor [late in the second half]. He dove on the floor for the ball, got tied up and the possession arrow was our way. So, that was huge as well.”

Q: What did you think of your team defense in the first half, and what did Saint Louis do that allowed them to climb back into the game in the second half? BH: “Their [Saint Louis’] middle ball- really hurt us. They were getting us on slips, and we tried to change up how we were defending it multiple times. We tried to go under it a couple of times. D.J. [Stewart Jr.] said that the guy setting the screen was moving, so it made it hard to slide underneath. [Hasahn] French is really good. He had three assists, and I guarantee that every one of those assists led to a three. They had a couple of open threes that went our way for them to miss because they were 6-of-22 [from three].”

“We shot well today. We shot well from the line, from three and from the field. We outrebounded them. We had 14 assists on 25 baskets, which is a good number. Again, we beat a really good team. Their best player, [Jordan] Goodwin, was 5-of-16 [from the field]. He is really a good player and is All-League First Team in the A-10 [Atlantic 10] the last two years in a row. [Javonte] Perkins got it going from three. Overall, it was a great team win. We’re really excited to get this one to allow us to continue our season against Richmond on Thursday.”

Q: How important were Deivon Smith’s scoring contributions today? BH: “That three [in the second half] was a really big three because we were down one at the time [49-48] when he hit it. He did a good job attacking. He does the best job attacking the press with the ball in his hands.” “We started to play really good defensively down the stretch, and Cameron Matthews was doing such a good job. That’s why I stayed with it because we had the lead. I thought Deivon Smith’s minutes were important, and I thought Derek Fountain did a really good job. He was 4-of-5 [from the field] today, 10 points, three rebounds, one and three steals.”

“This postseason opportunity for us has already been a huge blessing. These young guys – Deivon Smith, Cameron Matthews and Derek Fountain – they are all playing major minutes in a really important game, win or go home. It’s really exciting for me what we’re getting out of this and excited for the opportunity to keep playing.”

Q: How valuable is it to have those extra practice opportunities for the young guys with your team not playing again until Thursday? BH: “It’s very important. We’ll really use those two practices on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tomorrow [Sunday], they will be completely off. Monday, we’ll lift. We’ll do some shooting without tape for about a half an hour, and that’ll be it. Late in the year, we want to keep our guys fresh. We did the same thing last week, and that helped. Today, we did a walkthrough instead of a live . I thought that helped too. We have guys that are logging a lot of minutes, and we’re trying to keep them fresh yet prepared.”

“[Assistant] Coach [Korey] McCray did a great job with the scouting for these guys today. Richmond is going to be incredibly difficult with how they play. Coach [Chris] Mooney played for at Princeton. They have a lot of the Princeton offense concepts, everybody can shoot three’s. It was very hard today to play our bigs. I thought Quinten Post gave us good minutes, as did Javian Davis, but it was really hard. They went small the second half, and we had to play Derek Fountain a lot of minutes today at the power forward position to matchup defensively. I thought Derek handled it really well for a guy who never plays power forward in practice.”

Q: What do you think Cameron Matthews’ ceiling is as a defender? BH: “I think he’s really good defensively right now because of his body and because of his quick feet. I love how aggressive he is. He has great, quick hands. He creates a lot with his hands. I love that he got that dunk. That dunk was sweet. You could see how excited our bench was.”

“Cameron [Matthews] has had an up-and-down season where he’s played a lot of minutes early, with not as many in the middle, but he kept himself ready the whole time for the opportunity. He really came through for his team and his teammates. He is always supportive of his team. Whether he’s in or out, he’s an unbelievable teammate. He’s a great kid. I couldn’t be happier for a young man.”

Guard D.J. Stewart Jr. Q: How did you hold off the second half rally by Saint Louis? DJS: “The guys just stayed together collectively. We played hard together, we played well together and we came out with the win.”

Q: How were you able to get good looks on the perimeter after being moved off the point? DS: “Most importantly, I try to get everybody involved. When I do get everybody involved and Coach [Howland] takes me off the ball, I change my mindset to be aggressive again. It comes pretty naturally for me [to be able to do that]. I don’t think about it too much, I just kind of do it.”

Q: What did it mean to step onto the floor against a good team and prove you want to take advantage of opportunities late in the season? DS: “We’re just happy to be able to continue to play the game we love.”

Q: What was Saint Louis doing with the press that gave you all trouble? DS: “We were just careless with the ball, [and we] turned the ball over. We just have to be smarter with the ball and take care of the ball.”

Guard/Forward Cameron Matthews Q: Did you realize in the moment how impactful you were on defense today? CM: “When I’m in [the game], I just try to do the best I can with the time I have. My role on the team is just to play defense and make plays.”

Q: How great is it to make a highlight play offensively with the dunk after a defensive stop? CM: “It feels good. I felt like I was back in high school again.”

Q: What were practices like leading up to this game, and how did it feel to get back on the floor today? CM: “Practices were good. We were just getting our mind ready to come out prepared and be ready to compete. We’re trying to win this NIT championship.”

Q: How beneficial are games this late in the season for your development as a young player? CM: “I just learn from the older guys, and they teach me new things every day.”

Q: How much was capitalizing on this NIT opportunity talked about in practice? CM: “We just wanted to come out and compete. We didn’t want to take it lightly because there are still good teams in the NIT. We just want to compete and showcase our skills [as a team].”

Q: Was your last deflection at the end of the game more instinctual or something you have developed over time? CM: “Defense just comes easy to me. It was pretty much just instinct. I just play off other peoples’ energy.”