California Head Coach Cuonzo Martin

Opening statement…
"Credit to Bakersfield. The first 5 or 10 minutes were really my biggest concern when you play in games like this and you come up short to make an NCAA tournament. Those first 5 or 10 minutes to get over than energy hump, and we just couldn't do it. They set the tone and had a great tone going into the half but I thought our guys did a great job in the second half battling back and competing."
 
On not having Ivan and Jabari…
"Obviously it affects you a big deal because those two guys are your first and second leading scorers so your offense has to flow through those guys. Again, they had nothing to do with the effort in the first half. Whether they're playing or not you still have to have the energy. We might have lacked in the area of scoring, but we should have been better defensively in the first half."
 
On how he characterizes this team, post-season…           
"Good team. Good team, wonderful guys, exceptional in the classroom and in the community. I enjoy being around them and they work hard. When you finish in this league as the best defensive team in this league --with the caliber of having three potential teams that can win it all -- for our guys that's impressive, and that's not an easy thing to do. They brought their hard hats every day, and they defended normally the way we defend in the second half of this game. That's all we ask of as a staff: maximum effort. If you score the ball you score it, if you don't, give everything you've got and let the chips fall the way they may, and represent yourself and the university, and I thought they did that well in the second half. Just like the Oregon game, I just said, 'Stack it up guys,' because there's nothing to talk about because the effort was there. As long as the effort was there then we'll be fine."
 

California Senior Guard Grant Mullins

 
On if not having Ivan and Jabari affected the energy of the team …
 
"No, we were well prepared for that game and we come into every game with the same mentality. Obviously some guys have to pick up some slack but in terms of energy levels, I don't think not having those guys made a huge difference. We're all there for each other and the guys on the bench are all into it. We just came out a little bit flat tonight."
                                                             
On him not shooting as much this game…
 
"I think it's just how the game went. When you have Jabari and Ivan in there it kind of frees me up to get some open shots, so today I had to create off the dribble a little bit more and they sucked in so I made passes, and that's how the game goes sometimes."
 
On looking back on his one year at Cal…
 
"Very positive. My teammates and the coaches -- just all really good people. I've enjoyed myself on and off the court. As far as highlights, we've had a couple good wins here and there but just seeing these guys everyday was a highlight in itself."
 

California Sophomore Guard Don Coleman

 
On his mentality throughout the game…
                                                                                                                                           
"We were down big in the first half, and coach just told us to pick up our energy. I thought we came out with low energy in the first half just because it's not the NCAA tournament. So in the second half I had the mindset of picking my team up and just getting to the basket whenever I culd."
 

CSU Bakersfield Head Coach Rod Barnes

 
On how team played in the first half and what the win means to the program:
 
"Well, this is a huge win for our program. First of all we thank God for the opportunity just to play and coach this game that we love so much. Being postseason, these guys have worked extremely hard to get us to this point. Tonight was one of those nights where we haven't been scoring the ball really well if you've followed us on the last five or six games, but tonight in the first half we probably scored it as well as we have all season. And that is one of the things we have been talking to our guys about that -- one day it's going to turn around because they've worked extremely hard. Tonight was one of those nights where we kind of got going at the right time, and we thought going into the game that whatever team could get a spurt, because both teams are good defensively, that that team would have an advantage. We got that advantage but give them credit, they fought back. The hole we had dug for them was hard to overcome."
 
On if Dedrick and Durham taking whatever shots they could opened the offense…
 
"It was. There was a couple things that happened. Obviously we weren't coming off a four-overtime game, and tonight when things got started both teams kind of scored but then Dedrick and Damien hit some shots that gave us some confidence but also gave us a cushion where we could play a little more free than we could have if the game was a little but closer so I told our just to just keep working and eventually it'll turn around. Dedrick here is in the gym every morning and I tell him that it's going to turn around. It's the laws of life, if you keep working at something you're going to get better at it. He's always been able to shoot the ball, but tonight he showed up at a big time in a big game for us."
 

CSU Bakersfield Senior Guard Dedrick Basile

 
On shooting so freely and if it was the case of nothing else to lose…
 
"No, I just believe that our team wanted it so bad, we just went out there and executed the plays. When I was on fire my teammates just kept finding me and when Damien is on fire we kept finding him and that is just the makeup of this team. We aren't selfish and whenever someone is on fire we ride the hot hand and play solid defense."