SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 11, 2021

Iverson Molinar

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Postgame Press Conference

Mississippi State 74, Kentucky 73

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Iverson Molinar.

Q. Walk me through the last pretty much couple minutes to close out the game. Talk about your mindset and how you saw openings, you were aggressive enough to take this game home.

IVERSON MOLINAR: You said 'mindset'. Man, mindset from before the game, beginning of the game, was I had a lot to prove, I had a chip on my shoulder. I just want to show people that I can be tough out there, I can be mentally tough at the end of the games.

I just wanted to show my ability, wanted to show what I'm capable of.

Q. Those two free throws, when you got fouled, did you have to take a second to collect your breath and clear your mind? Those are the most critical free throws of the game. You made both of them.

IVERSON MOLINAR: I had a lot of confidence. I went to the line talking to myself, repeating to myself that I was going to make them. I just took my time. I was just confident at the end that it was going to go in, both of them were going to go in.

Q. You talked a lot earlier this year about games that got away from y'all down the stretch, learning from those mistakes to come back better, to be more productive. Is this a good example, would you say, of learning from the earlier mistakes this year of how to close out a game?

IVERSON MOLINAR: Yeah, we're definitely growing as a team. We're learning to close games at the end. Got a little out of hand at the end, about the 10-minute mark. Kentucky had momentum.

We overcame that adversity. We overcame adversity and fought for it. That's why I feel like we got a lot better at from the beginning of the year.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.