University of Connecticut Athletics
Post-Game Quotes: Texas 55, UConn 54
11/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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UConn Head Coach Kevin Ollie
Opening Statement
On the offensive end, both teams didn't shoot particularly well. We shot 30 percent. We had some good looks. We were up five and we had some great looks. We just couldn't convert and get us over that hump.
I thought the two fouls, over the back - Kentan got one and Ryan got one - really hurt us, because we were up five and stopping their half-court offense and we were getting rebounds ourselves. Those fouls and stopping the clock really hurt us and got them back in the game.
They just executed a good play at the end. We called a time out. We wanted to switch everything and guard in the corner. I think Boatright rolled his ankle and couldn't get out to Holmes, and Daniel got caught. A great execution play by them.
Texas is a great team. They play hard on defense. Everybody knows that. But I thought our guys fought.
Being in the game when we're shooting 30 percent tells you what our guys have built upon.
Our guys our resilient. We played hard. We had the game. We needed to get one more stop. We just came up a little short today. We can't expect to win games shooting 30 percent. A valiant effort by our guys, but we've got to get better. We've got to knock down some shots.
On Boatright's injury
I believe it's his ankle….I've got to talk to our trainer James (Doran). He was limping pretty bad…. He hates missing practice. That's one guy I'm not going to be worried about getting back on the court.
Sophomore Forward Kentan Facey
How difficult was it losing on a three-point shot with two seconds remaining in the game
"That one hurts…that was a tough loss. We fought hard for two halves and to come in and lose with two seconds on a shot like that…that one is hard to swallow."
On outrebounding Texas in the contest:
"We always take rebounding as a challenge. Personally, I take it on myself every game to go out there and get as many rebounds as I can. The reason I take that personally is because of where we were a couple of seasons ago…we were always on the bottom of rebounding. I'm trying to help change that."
On taking away the fast break game of Texas in the final fifteen minutes:
"We figured they weren't really scoring any other way than having #2 (Texas guard Demarcus Holland) try and go to the cup as fast as he can…and then he either scores or misses. We try to identify in transition and talk more, while we locate the ball more in transition."
Senior Guard Ryan Boatright
On his play today
"I got the shots that I wanted. I missed a tough layup off one foot but I had no choice but to jump off my hurt ankle and didn't get as much elevation as I normally can. The second layup that I got I actually thought they goaltended but you can't blame it on that. I got the shots that I wanted, I just missed them."
On UConn's poor shooting performance
"You have no choice but to be concerned. We just got to shoot the ball better."
Freshman Guard Daniel Hamilton
On the last play
"We switched everything up in the huddle. I guess the guy behind me didn't know he was setting a back screen so my guy ended up getting the open shot. He shot it and ended up making a tough shot."
How tough was this loss?
"It is real tough. I just think we have to get in the gym and make shots. We shot something like 30%. And if we just make a few more shots, we'll be alright."
