University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA 82, USC 79
UCLA 82, USC 79
Los Angeles, Calif. (Pauley Pavilion)
February 3, 2018
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening statement
โExtremely proud of our guys. We challenged them over the last two weeks and the wins over Cal and Stanford were a step in the right direction. But as I told them all week this is the best team weโve played in Pauley since Cincinnati. I wanted to see where we were. I think we took a really big step today because they are a really good basketball team with a lot of experience. Both teams fought hard especially with the bye week. This week started off well because our managers were able to get a win on Monday so shout out to our managers as well.โ
on defensive priorities
โWithout knowing what [Bennie] Boatright was able to do I think [Chimezie] Metu and [Jordan] McLaughlin are always going to be keys in my mind. We did a really good job on both of those guys We made Metu earn a lot of things and what else can you say about Aaron Holiday. He just does it game in and game out. He proved once again tonight that he is one of the best point guards in the country. I think we did well because we made [Shaqquan] Aaron be a scorer so I thought those things are good. Guys who arenโt traditionally used to doing that, we make them do something different. And we got some big stops in the second half. Iโm proud of our toughness. We were up one, they call timeout and then we were down 69-60. I thought we proved a lot of our toughness from that point on. When youโre down nine points inside eight minutes against a team like this, thatโs not easy. For us to winโฆI think weโve grown. Weโve grown a lot in the last two weeks and now we have to take our show on the road. Iโm excited where we are at.โ
on tussle plays between two teams
โWhether it was those plays or other plays where we got defensive stops and challenged shots, I think we did a good job of just battling. It wasnโt like we led the whole game. Part of us growing and maturing as a basketball team is figuring out what to do when youโre down. Getting down against this team is not easy to come back from because they have so many guys that can shoot the basketball. We got some very keys stops at the end of the game and won the final two minutes. Thatโs what you got to do. Weโve been improving in a lot of ways.โ
on the play of Thomas Welsh
โHe hit a big three. It was a great birthday present for him as he turns 22 today. He has 21 points and eight rebounds wearing a mask and thatโs amazing to me. I played for a long time and canโt imagine playing in a mask. What he is doing for us and heโs been playing in a mask basically since Stanford. Heโs been playing the entire league season minutes three games in a mask and averaging a double-double. Heโs just a very special player. Whatever credit he gets he means about four times that because I think heโs that special.โ
on importance of win heading into playing five of next seven games on the road
โNo I donโt talk to the team much about road games or home gamesโฆitโs just the next seven games I think if you do that what happens they expect to win home games and almost expect to los road games. I donโt like that. Itโs about the next game. Our next game is tough. Then we come back home then go back out to Colorado and Utah. This league has a lot of parity. And itโs going to be hard going to the desert but thatโs our next task. We didnโt talk about what happens beyond today. Our preparation was making sure we got better after Stanford. I thought in the last three games at home weโve gotten better. For that the guys get a job well done.โ
UCLA senior center Thomas Welsh
on if he prepared young players for rivalry
โYeah, I think the coaches did a great job of that, too. Just making us allโespecially those freshmenโunderstand, this is a huge game. Itโs an historic rivalry. Both teams are going to come out fighting, so you have to make sure you punch first and keep punching all night. Yeah, just trying to give them the feel for what to expectโฆโ
on ups and downs of a season
โYeah, I think in any season, thereโs going to be growing pains and things youโre going to have to work through. To protect [our home] and get these three wins is huge, but weโve just got to keep improvingโฆ Weโve got a really big road trip coming up against the Arizona schools. Itโs just about focusing hard, working hard every single day and keep getting better.โ
on what was going through his mind before late free throws
โNothing. Just walking down, stepping to the line, doing the same repetitions, going through my form. Just knocking them down, really. Not trying to think about it. Just step up and knock them down.โ
on knocking down big 3-pointer to take the lead
โThat was awesome. It was a close game down the stretch and to hit a shot like thatโit was a three-point leadโit was huge. Stepped up, Aaron did a great job of creating a little space and I just knocked it down.โ
UCLA guard Aaron Holiday
on nine-point comeback and energy in arena
โIt was great. Our fans did a great job of filling up Pauley and they gave us a lot of energy and we just fed off them. It was obviously fun to put on a show for them and Iโm just glad we got the โWโ.โ
on teamโs approach going forward
โFrom game to game, you just have to improve on your defense and offense. You donโt know what other teams are going to throw at you or how theyโre going to play. Anything can happen. Just focusing on our defense and our energy, I think that just helps us all around.โ
UCLA guard Kris Wilkes
on his first UCLA-USC game
โA lot of people from both of these teams are from LA, so itโs a real big deal. Coming out here and playingโthis was my first big rivalry gameโit was pretty good. Iโm glad we fought hard and got the win.โ
USC Head Coach Andy Enfield
opening statement
โThis is a very tough environment in which to win. We just didnโt make the shots we needed to win the game.โ
on technical foul on Nick Rakocevic
โIt was a flagrant foul by [UCLA], and Nick retaliated. I just told Nick that he should have just let him be.โ
on back and forth nature of the game
โIt was really a high-intensity game; both teams were very engaged. I think both teams played great, especially on the offensive end. It really just came down to that last shot at the end.โ
USC Guard Jordan McLaughlin
opening statement
โI really just hate losing. Losing hurts.โ
on last offensive possession
โNothing really went wrong, he just missed the shot. This is really tough; the Pac-12 is a tough conference. You really have to take care of your home court and try to steal some games on the road.โ
on preparing for Arizona schools
โWe just have to really watch film and stay consistent about the things that we do, and we should be O.K.โ
on the coachesโ message to the players
โThe coaches told us it was a couple plays that didnโt go our way which determined the game.โ