Dec. 16, 2006

Recap | Box Score

Post-Game Quotes
Loyola vs. Northern Iowa
Dec. 16, 2006

Northern Iowa Head coach Ben Jacobson

Opening Statement
"I thought Loyola played really hard. They played with a lot of toughness tonight. And that is no surprise to our coaching staff and players. (Loyola) has certainly shown that, not just this year, but the past couple of years so it's no surprise that they played that way. They deserve a ton of credit for the way that we played at times tonight. We did have some good moments but we did have some stretches where we didn't play as well as we had at times over the past couple of weeks."

Loyola Head coach Jim Whitesell

Opening Statement
"This was a big win for us. We played an excellent opponent and we're trying to get where they have been for the past couple of years so we have incredible respect for Northern Iowa. I liked the way our guys played. They always played hard even when they didn't play smart but we played with great effort tonight. I thought Blake (Schilb) was the catalyst early in the game. His will and energy along with us moving the basketball really helped us. Defensively, I don't think you're ever going to keep them in check but there were some times when we had some good defensive stops. Obviously, they missed some shots that they usually make but that's the way you win, too. Our guys knew that this was going to be a team that's probably going to be in the NCAA Tournament so we knew we had to get this quality win at home."

Loyola forward Blake Schilb

On free throw shooting
"I wanted to come out aggressively. Coach Whitesell said that they were plus 100 against their opponents in getting to the free throw line and we were plus 50. We had a little bit of trouble the last couple of games but I think we did a good job of coming out and being aggressive."

On defeating Northern Iowa for the first time ever
"It feels good, they've beaten us the last two times we have played them. We had a chip on our shoulder coming into the game anyway. This is definitely a good win. Northern Iowa is a quality team. This win couldn't come at a better time."

On bench play
"I think Darrin (Williams) did an excellent job coming in. He's been playing really well in practice lately so I think his confidence is up. For him to get into the game and have a few rebounds and blocks against a player like Eric Coleman is just going to help his confidence even more."

Loyola guard J.R. Blount

On Loyola's offensive performance
"We knew that if we came out and executed, we could get good shots. We had been getting good shots but they haven't been falling. We had good shooting percentages and that equals success and that's why we got the victory."

On Tom Levin
"I liked Tom's contribution tonight. It's not always about points but Tom does the little things: boxing out, getting rebounds and pushing people out of the block. He did that well. He was in at the end of the game even though he only played 16 minutes."