POSTGAME QUOTE SHEET:
WICHITA STATE 68, ORAL ROBERTS 59
NOV. 23, 2019 | WICHITA, KAN. /CHARLES KOCH ARENA
GREGG MARSHALL, JAMARIUS BURTON, JAIME ECHENIQUE, ERIK STEVENSON
 

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Head Coach GREGG MARSHALL on...

...Opening Statement

"It feels great to be 5-0, I'll start there. Obviously, a lot better than 4-1 or 3-2. I wanna commend Oral Roberts. I thought they played a heck of a game. A really tough team. They've done a wonderful job of stocking their roster with good players and big guys. For us, I gotta try to figure out what we can do to get better. Obviously make some free throws. We were 7-for-12. Get to the line more and get some of our guys playing a little better. Those are simple answers. Defense carried the day; 32 percent is what we gave up and 13 percent from three. That's got to be in your back pocket because on nights where you give up 13 offensive rebounds and on nights where the ball doesn't go down you can still win."

... Jaime Echenique's return

"It's great. First of all, I love the kid. He's so fun to be around and he's such a wonderful young person. He has a tough break. He was playing some great basketball before he broke the hand. Today is the four-week mark exactly. He wanted to go. He didn't want his first minutes [to be] in Cancun. He wanted to get a little prep, and we needed him. He doesn't have the same problems that some of the other guys had trying to contain Elijah Lufile (Oral Robert's center) down on the glass on the offensive end." 

...how the group handles adversity

"I think in those situations I think it's pretty evident I go with the experienced guys. Guys that are a little older, guys that have been in that situation before. That's just human nature. You notice the bench contracts a little bit in those situations because I wanna go with experience and we can't have errors that could cost you a game at that point."

...going to Cancun

"I'm sure they're thinking "Hey, we get to go to the beach. Do I need to take my books?" And they do, the answer is yes. We're going to have some study hall, we're going to lift weights, we're going to be gone for a week. Looking forward to some sun and fun, and hopefully, we can bring back a title."
 

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Sophomore Jamarius Burton on...

...what Jaime Echenique brings to the court

"He's a very experienced guy. He's played in big games and in big moments, so just to have him back, I feel like we can make more strides."

... ORU cutting the lead down near the end
"They just executed their stuff. They made some tough shots and got some timely offensive rebounds. Hats off to them. They did a great job. What kept us in the game towards the end was our defense. We continued to lock in, communicate, and just take great shots down the stretch. Teams make runs, so we just have to lean on one another and grind it out. We might not blow everybody out, but if we can grind it out and continue to play hard it shows that we can get the win."
 

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Senior Jaime Echenique on...

... his first game back

"I've been talking to my family a lot about what this situation was and how it was a minor step back. It wasn't the way I wanted to start but I'm really close to God and I'm going to respect the decisions he makes. It's amazing to get back. The crowd was amazing."

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Sophomore Erik Stevenson on...

...what Jaime Echenique brings to the court

"He gives us a little more shot-blocking. He's a rim protector that we need and he's just another guy on the offensive end that can post up on the block, especially when he gets back into his rhythm. It's good to just have another experienced guy."

... the team being 5-0 heading to Cancun

"It's a lot different than last year. We were searching for our fifth win sometime in February it felt like. I think it was good for us to have a game like this right before Cancun. These first four games we've put it on teams pretty well, other than that second matchup. I think it was good we had a good lead in the second half, they battled back, and we showed that we can handle some adversity. Last year, we'd get a lead and they'd cut it back down to three. They'd cut it down to three and we'd end up losing the game. It was just a whole different feel. They cut it to three and last year I was looking around, but they didn't know what to do either. Coach can only do so much; we have to go out there and make plays and be poised. I have a feeling this year that we know what to do, we can handle this and that we'll come out on top.