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The University of Utah Athletics
Utah-BYU Postgame Quotes
1/19/2008 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 19, 2008
Utah Head Coach Jim Boylen
"I made a decision not to hold the ball (at the end of the game), but we wanted to take a little time and get into our high stack. Then we were going to drive the ball and make a play. It took a little longer than I wanted it to. Looking back on it, it wasn't the right play. So I'm going to eat that one and move on."
"It was a big game. I thought we had wide open looks that we didn't make. We moved the ball around, and I thought Luke Nevill was great. He battled and played hard. These games are going to be (like playing) in mud, they're going to be knock-down, drag-out brawls. That's what they're supposed to be. These aren't supposed to be 85-80 games. This is like a play-off game in the NBA. The teams know each other and are prepared for each other."
"If we make our free throws we win the game. It's the second game in a row. One of my best players Luka Drca, I love him. I'd put him there a hundred times in a row and he'd make them, but he didn't make them today."
"I thought we were selfish early and didn't share the ball. We tried to do it on our own because we were so pumped up and amped up. I think that hurt us early. I thought we had the chance to push the lead up early, but we got a little bit into our own thing. That's not the way we play, we're not good enough to play that way. We have to play together. I was disappointed in that. We talked about it at halftime. I thought we moved the ball better in the second half. I think the ball changed sides better in the second half. We have to be a team that gets the ball to the second side."
"These two teams are very similar. [Lee] Cummard is big-time player and a tough matchup for us. I thought he was the difference in the game. We were worried about him from day one. I said this before and told their coaches that he is their best player. He hurt us. We tried to do a good job on him, but he is just a tough nut. I would take that guy any time."
"We were too patient at the end of the game. That's my fault. Our defense is getting better and better. We are leading the league in defense (in conference games) and after this game, I am sure we will still be leading it. We will get better offensively. I think we had our chance to win the game and missed free throws at the end of the game which could have made a big difference. We are going to move on and get better. We all need to get better."
"It felt good to get Kim Tillie back out there. He is a good basketball player. I am also proud of Luke (Nevill). I thought he was terrific. When he plays defense, his offense comes around, as you've seen in the last two games."
Utah junior guard Tyler Kepkay
"We ran the clock down and thought we were going to score (at the end of the game). We ran what we wanted, but we didn't get what we wanted. Both teams scouted each other pretty good. We knew exactly what they were going to do, and for the most part, we really held their 3-point shooting down a bunch, compared to what they've been doing to other teams."
"I started being aggressive too late in the game. Earlier on in the game I was just too tentative, and that's nobody's fault but mine. It's tough to try to make tough plays at the end of the game when you haven't really gotten into the flow."
"The crowd was loud and wild. It made it a lot of fun to play and we couldn't ask for anything more. I thank the fans for coming out and supporting us like they did."
"That (last-second shot) felt good. I had to get it up over two guys with three seconds left. Coach just said get it in and fire it up court. I did, but it just didn't go in. It happens sometimes, so there is just nothing we can really do about it."
Utah junior center Luke Nevill
"I think the main difference was the offensive rebounds in the first half. We struggled to box out, especially Lee Cummard. He went to the glass strong and had a lot of tips and putbacks that we shouldn't have let happen."
"Coach told me at the start of the season that I had to get better on defense. He said that my offense would come, but to keep helping the team defensively and coming over to the weak side and bail out my teammates. That's one thing I put on my shoulders. I try to hold down the fort inside and just try to make the guys shoot over me and stop easy layups. In the last two games, I felt I did pretty well impacting the baseline drive. We just have to execute offensively to be successful."
BYU Head Coach Dave Rose
"I think what we were really looking for was for our guys to come out and battle, because we're coming off just playing a game. I'm just really proud of our players. Maybe not our best played game, but, I think overall the competing for 40 minutes, some of the best performances this year."
"I thought that our defense was really terrific. Our coaches did a great job of putting together a game plan and I'm really proud of our players and how they executed it. Consistency has been an issue with this team where we'll do things well for spurts, but tonight I thought we were really good defensively for a majority of the game."
"These league games are very even, very competitive. You have to get to the point where you can win in different ways."
"It is a battle and a good place to play, but it feels good to win. And I think our players tonight, coming in here after a loss, thought they were going to be in a battle for 40 minutes. You really just got to see how things turn out. So when you battle for 40 minutes and get a win, it's just that much nicer. I just believe it can really help the confidence of our team. I hope this jump-starts our team to really get going."
-UU-
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
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