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12/28/2006 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2006
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Utah Head Coach Ray Giacoletti
"Our young kids battled their butts off to get us back in the game. I am happy with their efforts. We had a chance when we were up by one with the ball, and then we gave up that lay-up, of all things, on a run-out. You have got to be successful at your end or you don't win. It is just elementary things of the game; it isn't rocket science. They came in [Wilson and Siggers] and made 44 of the team's 59 points between the two. We have got to be able to do a better job at getting the ball to the post when he is open. They did a good job with their doubling. Our cuts and our fills were not very good tonight to get Luke options. We need to do a better job at finding the options for him instead of standing and watching. Weigh, Deane, and Drca gave us great minutes off of the bench, and that's what we're going to need."
Utah Center Luke Nevill
On the final play of the game: "They had two guys come and double me, so I just dribbled the ball back out again. Then the guy at the 3-point line came down, as well, and kind of swiped at the ball and just knocked it out of my hands. It was disappointing, but they were doing that the whole game and maybe we should have skipped it a few times. I was getting doubled the whole game and it was frustrating, but on the last play we wanted to run somebody to the basket and I just wasn't aggressive enough I guess."
Utah Forward Stephen Weigh
"We played together and there was a lot of energy, but towards the end of the game, it just seemed that everything went their way. We have lost [three] games by one point or less and we just need to get better down the stretch. That is just something that will come. We just need to keep working, and hopefully it will come.
On getting a career record in points: "It doesn't matter to me. All that matters to me is the team winning. I give a lot of credit to Chris Grant. The entire game he talked to me and told me to do the right thing every time I went out. I tip my hat off to him."
Albany Head Coach Will Brown
"When you talk about Utah you talk about a program that's so rich in tradition and history. Players that have come through this program from Van Horn to Bogut, to Andre Miller, and I'm sure their fighting to make sure Nevill stays another year. The big thing is, this team is very good in this building. They've beat Washington State, who is 10-1, and blew out Virginia. This is a good in for us. I was very concerned because they blew out Virginia, and they're coming off a tough lost against Northwestern, so I thought we were going get their best shot today. I'm proud of my kids. We were very resilient."
"I think this was a gut check win. We really buckled down and made plays when we had to. We had many times when we could have been deflated but we just stuck together and found a way to get it done. We had a lot of guys contribute. Brett Gifford, you look at his stats, no points; but you know what I guarantee you, that was the toughest 17 points Nevill's scored all year. But this was just a great win for us,"