University of Connecticut Athletics
Post-Game Quotes: Temple 57, UConn 53 (OT)
12/31/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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UConn Head Coach Kevin Ollie
"The game came down to execution. I thought our guys played with heart. Temple did a good job getting to the free throw line and converting. We just didn't do a good job with our offense down the stretch. We were 1-9 from the 3-point line, and then 8-19 on the free throw line.
Down the stretch, we just didn't execute on the offensive end. But I can't really fault those guys by how hard they fought and got back in the game. I can't question our defense. Our rebounding was great. You just have to convert on free throws. You've got to convert at the 3-point line. We need a couple of shots to go in.
You just have to play through the ups and downs with this team. There are going to be some ups and downs. But they fought for me today on the defensive end when the shots didn't go in. Hopefully, we'll be able to learn from this and get better."
On sophomore guard Daniel Hamilton's missed free throws at the end of the game
"I know Daniel feels bad for doing that, but there were other things in the game that caused us to lose that game."
On the injury senior guard Ryan Boatright sustained today
"It's a deep thigh contusion. He just couldn't do it. And if he bows out, I know it's really, really hurting. I've never seen that kid bow out of anything, just for the sake of our team. He just couldn't go. We had some other guys try to step up and fill in the void for him. Of course, you can't do that, but I thought the guys really played with some effort. The last two games we've been holding our opponents to 31 percent. It is what it is. We just have to come down on offense and execute a little bit. We've got younger guys out there. You take Ryan out of the mix and you're playing with all sophomores and freshmen."
Sophomore Center Amida Brimah
On missing Ryan Boatright for most of the game
"We need someone to keep the game composed and control the game. Ryan would have done that for us."
On turning these close losses into a positive
"We just have to stay positive and stay together. If we play together we're going to be a great team."
Redshirt Sophomore Guard Rodney Purvis
"It was definitely a great effort, but games like that we can't let them slip between our fingers. Coach played me like 38 minutes and I only had one rebound. That could have been a game-changer right there with me grabbing more rebounds. I missed two key free throws -- that could have been another thing that changed the game. It's all on us. It's our team. At the end of the day, we have to go out there and get things done."
On Daniel Hamilton's missed free throws at the end
"He just has to stay positive. He's going to get those same shots, those same free throws, and he's going to make those next time. It's tough on a freshman to be in that position, but he'll live to see another day. We just have to get better as a team. Teams stay with each other. He's kind of down on himself because he's a really passionate kid who loves the game a lot. We just have to keep his head up."
On Ryan Boatright's absence
"We all came to UConn for a reason. If one guy goes down, someone on the bench can step up. I feel like the team did a pretty good job. We have to find one more guy to take that leadership role. I feel like I can be that guy. I just have to step up. Like I said, he played me 38 minutes and I only grabbed one rebound. That's on me. We just have to give things back to Coach. He gives us his all and we got to go back and have his back and give it all up to him on the court."
On the team's overall poor free throw shooting this game
"We have to get back in the gym and focus on the free throw line."
Sophomore Forward Kenton Facey
On what was said to Daniel Hamilton after the game
"We just told him we have his back regardless of the outcome. It's unfortunate that happened, but we know he's a good player. And I know during the same situation again, the outcome is going to be different."
Temple Head Coach Fran Dunphy
"We gave ourselves a little bit of a cushion - I think we got it to seven - but we weren't able to hold on. We did a couple of foolish things, a couple of fouls down the stretch. "
On the foul shots at end of game
"It's a tough situation to be in for a young guy, and I think he's going to be a tremendous, tremendous basketball player. I really like how he plays and he seems to be a tremendous kid….We did a poor thing by fouling him. We talked about that - No fouls, no threes. We gave them both."
On Temple's poor shooting
"I think it's just one of those games. It's sort of like getting blood from a stone at this point. Both teams know each other pretty well. You game plan for a long time. You take away a lot of their strengths and they took a lot of our strengths away. It's just a grind-it-out kind of game. Those will happen periodically and particularly in the first game."
On Ryan Boatright's injury
"He's certainly a really good basketball player and somebody who leads them in so many different ways, but they're coming off the bench with some really good players, as well. We have tremendous respect for Connecticut and their whole team. I don't ever want to see a kid get hurt, and I hope he's ok."
