Paul Jorgensen looks down court during Butler’s 83-76 win over Ole Miss on Nov. 16. Jorgesen scored a career-high 27 points in the game. Photo by Jimmy Lafakis.
CHRIS BROWN | ASST. SPORTS EDITOR | cbbrown@butler.edu
It certainly didn’t come easily, but a career-high 27 points from Paul Jorgensen and 17-point second half from Kamar Baldwin lifted the Butler’s men’s basketball team over Ole Miss 83-76 on Nov. 16 for their third win of the season. Here’s a quick look at 10 key quotes from after the game.
Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis:
On the game overall: “I thought it was a great college game for this time of the year. Both teams can probably look at it [and see] some defensive breakdowns. It was kind of a game of guards. Jorgensen just got them off to such a good start.”
On what put Butler over the top: “We just couldn’t keep them off the free throw line the last eight minutes. We just couldn’t keep them off the line. And they go 18-for-18, really that was the difference in the game [in the] second half.”
On Kamar Baldwin’s second half performance: “We guarded him from the field great. … He’s a damn good player and we couldn’t keep him out of the lane. He made some tremendous plays and just didn’t miss a free throw down the stretch.”
On how this Butler teams compare to a few years ago: “This team has the same makeup. Toughness, well-coached, good guard play. Their bigs play their tails off and [they’re] very physical.”
Butler head coach LaVall Jordan:
On Ole Miss: “They’re really good. Coach Davis is a great coach. He’s had a ton of success with … changing the defenses. It’s hard to simulate it in practice — their athleticism, their length — so that bothered us.”
Coach Jordan had plenty to say after tonight's win. pic.twitter.com/zJ6CCjApcb
— Butler Collegian Sports (@BUSportsWriters) November 17, 2018
On making adjustments: “Our guys responded. That was the part that I was proud of. We went back and forth. They took the lead in the second half. And we responded, coming out of the eight-minute media [timeout], and finished the game off. [We] had to step up to the foul line to win it. So [I’m] just proud of the individual investment that guys are seeing pay off.”
On the team’s goals in the game: “We just wanted to stay agressive, get right to the next thing, and keep the ball moving and I thought we did that. Find our guys inside, and Joey finished a couple inside there. … So we had a good balance, I thought.
On an area they need to improve in: Defensively, we had way too many gaps, too many driving lanes, too many gaps, so we’ll have to go back and watch the film and clean a lot of that up.”
Paul Jorgensen:
On his career game: “My teammates found me, and I just made open shots. So it was really all credit to them.”
Kamar Baldwin:
On his second-half performance: “I just had to stay aggressive, whether that was making plays for me, or getting our guys … the ball. I just had to stay aggressive no matter whether the shots were going in or not.”
On Jorgensen’s big game: “It’s great. It’s great. For him to come out there and shoot like that. … We’ve all seen it before on the team. He’s put in a lot of work during the summer with his shot, working on his ball handling, so for him to just come out there and make shots like that, it’s what we’ve been waiting on.”
