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UNLV 78, Utah 58 - Postgame Quotes
3/5/2011 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 5, 2011
Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery 
Utah Head Coach Jim Boylen
"UNLV was terrific to start the game. Lon told me it was the best they've played in a first half all season. They played well, they made shots, guarded it, and punched us pretty good in that first ten minutes of the game. Our goal was to win the second half any way we could, pick up our rebounding, and to pick up defensively to try and win the second half which I thought we did. They shoot 35 [percent] in the second half."
"[Our guys] never quit. They fought and I'm proud of them for that. Obviously it's a painful loss, a tough loss at home. I give them credit--they played well. That first half, we weren't as good as we needed to be. Will Clyburn is hurt and we tried to protect him. It's been a tough injury for him and a tough one for our team. My biggest concern is for his well-being and his future."
"After they made a couple shots, they staggered us a little. We were kind of tentative after that. That's something this team has done, something this team has to learn. When we got over that and started cranking, we did some good things. We only had eight turnovers which is very good against this team. They force the most in the league. We just didn't make enough shots or enough stops, especially in the first half."
On playing Jay Watkins:
"My plan was to play him in the last minute or two, hoping we were up. I didn't envision the score being what it was but we stuck to the plan even though we were down. He's given me all he's had. He played hurt. He's done all the treatment he can do on that back and he's trying to be a tough Ute. I thought he needed that ovation and respect from the crowd. He's earned it. We were going to do it, either up or down. His back is bad and he's smart enough to take a fall with that hit. He took a hard fall which is fitting for him, then we got him out. He's a wonderful kid."
On the play of Josh Watkins:
"He was a beast. We've had success in the past in pick-and-roll with these guys. His push up the floor and his ability to play through contact was awesome. He's had a good few weeks."
Junior guard Josh Watkins
"We had to be aggressive. We slacked on defense in the first half. Offense wasn't the problem, it was our defense. They came out on fire. They played as a team and they played tough against us in the first half. They won the first half, amd we came out and won the second half. If we had played the first half like we played the second half, there could have been a different outcome. We tend to be a second-half team. We have to come out and play like we do the second half. We have to give it all we have for 40 minutes."
Sophomore guard Chris Hines
"They hit us in the mouth and we just didn't respond well. They were hitting everything so it was hard. It was really frustrating, we tried hard and played hard but sometimes it's not enough. Josh was driving the lane and he was scoring a lot.
"On the MWC tournament:
"This is a whole new season. At the tournament, anyone can win at any time and any place so it will be a whole new ball game.
Sophomore center Jason Washburn
"We came out dead. They are the hottest team in the league right now and in the first half we just didn't have energy. That's just not a good thing going into a big game, to not have any energy. We were told to fight until the bitter end and we ended up winning the second half by five points. We didn't give up."
"We were trying to send our one senior out and a high note and we didn't come out ready to do it."
On Jay Watkins
"Through the beginning of the season, Jay Watkins played through pain and you have to give him credit for that. ... He pulled through and has been there for the team. We're really going to miss him."
UNLV Head Coach Lon Kruger
"Quintrell [Thomas] got some big rebounds early in the game, and the big guys pretty much all did a good job. It was good to see that. I thought all three contributed. I thought Q [Quintrell] did a really great job setting the tone early, and Los [Carlos Lopez] went in and fought for a couple of extra opportunities inside and scored. Brice [Massamba] did a really good job, probably as good of job as guarding [Josh] Watkins as any one we had."
On Utah's defense
"They were in man and defended the ball real well, but we got inside a couple of times. Our guys handled it well and managed to knock down a couple of shots."
On their play heading into MWC Tournament
"We have been playing well over the last two weeks. We have shot extremely well during that period of conference play and worked hard defensively. So it feels good with what we have right now, but it's a new season and everyone goes in even. We play on Thursday and we will see how tough that will be."
"It has been a good last couple of weeks and it was a good way to finish the last game. It's hard to win on the road and the guys came in here with good focus. I thought we got off to a good start."
Players Mentioned
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