University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. Oregon State
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 68, Oregon State 67
February 21, 2019
Murry Bartow, UCLA interim head coach
opening remarks
โThat was a good win, so we will take it. I thought we did a lot of good things. Obviously, we were fortunate. Oregon Stateโs one of those teams that, we kept telling the team, theyโre just not going to beat themselves. They are very well coached. Theyโre very smart. Theyโve got three great players in the Thompson brothers and obviously Tres Tinkle. Plus theyโve got some other good players, but theyโre a veteran team, theyโre experienced. Theyโre just not a team that beats themselves and we were fortunate. The game obviously rushed there at the end, couldโve swung either way and fortunately it swung our way. We had five guys in double figures, which I like. Cody (Riley) made a huge play late for us that was big. Chris Smith obviously, right there at the end made a huge play for us. And then we got some key stops when we needed them. It was a good win. I told our guys weโre not celebrating as much after our wins. Our earlier wins, we were celebrating more. Itโs tough to get wins and I want them to be excited when we get wins because itโs not easy. Itโs not easy to beat a good team like Oregon State. But Iโm pleased. I thought we did some good things.โ
on Chris Smithโs late basket
โThat was a huge play. You want a guy that can go in and make a big play like that. Chris is a slasher. Thatโs kind of who he is. He made one 3 tonight, but heโs really much more of a driver, slasher, big-time athlete. That was obviously a huge play.โ
on team not celebrating as much
โI just want them a little more excited. They were pretty subdued. Itโs hard to win. Itโs hard to beat good teams and Oregon State is obviously a really well-coached team thatโs got a lot of veterans and itโs not easy to beat them. I just thought our guys were a little subdued after the game. I want them to get a little more excited about beating people. It was a good win for us.โ
on reaction to Chris Smithโs second-half dunk
โHeโs a big-time athlete that if he ever can figure out his consistency and his focus, heโs certainly got as much pro potential as anybody on our team. He passes every look test you can possibly do. Heโs very skilled, heโs very athletic and heโs got a chance to play at that next level, but heโs got to be more consistent. But he can make those athletic plays.โ
on status of Prince Ali
โHeโs just got a bad foot and itโs kind of a day-to-day thing. Iโm not sure if Alex made an announcement or not, but itโs plantar fasciitis in one of his feet and he was out tonight. Iโd say thereโs a pretty good chance heโll maybe be out Saturday. The doctors are looking at him right now and itโs just kind of a day-to-day.โ
on inserting Chris Smith into starting lineup
โWeโve lost three out of our four games and we did win our first three games when Chris Smith was in the starting lineup and we just really wanted a more skilled guy at the four and thatโs why you saw Alex Olesinski out there more tonight, as well. Thatโs why we started Chris. Even with Princeโs injury, David (Singleton) may have been a starter in this game, as well. We just thought we needed a little bit of a change in not only the starting lineup, but kind of who we were playing and who we were rotating in and out of the game.โ
on balanced scoring
โWell, we keep telling themโand (assistant coach) Tyus (Edney) probably saying it more than any of usโbut we just want better ball movement. I think weโve got some guys that can score, but sometimes with us, the ball sticks and it doesnโt move fluidly from one guy to another. I thought in the first half, it did. In the second half, they started pressing us and we became much more stagnant in the second half. I thought the first half, we were pretty fluid. We had 10 assists at half, only three in the second half. I just thought we were moving the ball much better in the first half and again, Oregon State started pressing us in the second half, so it kind of changed our feel a little bit. We just want the ball moving. We want the ball moving from one guy to another and I thought in the first half, it did.โ
on being able to hold on to second-half lead
โWell, itโs good. Two of our last three games have come down to the wire. Cal game, we came back and won in overtime and then tonight, it comes right down to the end and we won. We obviously didnโt play very well at Stanford, but weโve got some guys that are capable. Weโve lost some big leads. Weโve got to try to look at that and analyze that and fix that, but it was good that we were able to pull it out.โ
on Moses Brown converting from free throw line
โWell, heโs worked a lot on it. Just have to give him the credit. Heโs put a lot of time in. Heโs worked on it. I think heโs been in at night. Heโs changed his technique, heโs changed his form. Heโs crouching more. Heโs gone to more of a good routine. Really nothing that weโve done with him. Heโs kind of tinkered with his routine. Heโs crouching a little bit more, heโs just much more confident. And tonight he was 4-for-5, which, for Moses, thatโs pretty darn good. Again, heโs changed his routine really on his own and heโs put a lot of time into it and itโs paying off.โ
on holding court against Oregon Saturday
โWe need to try to play well and figure out a way to see if we can win another game. This helps. It does help when you get this one. It gives you a better feeling when guys come into Mo Ostin tomorrow to watch film of Oregon. It gives you a better vibe, a better feel when youโre coming off a win. But Oregonโs a good team. Dana Altmanโs a great coach. Theyโve got (Kenny) Wooten now back. They didnโt have Wooten in Game 1. So weโll have to play a really good game.โ
UCLA sophomore Chris Smith
on his game-winning basket
โWhen I got it cross-court, I was just trying to get into the set. I donโt really remember how much time was on the shot clock, but I figured we should try to get the last shot. But when I got it cross-court, I looked up, it was just me and (Stephen) Thompson, so I figured I needed to attack, and I had to make something happen for myself and for my teammates.โ
on making his shot at the end after the season heโs had
โItโs been up and down, but I just really had to win tonight. It didnโt matter if I came off the bench or started. Iโm just happy we came out with the win.โ
on not celebrating much after the game
โThis season is a war of attrition, pretty much. Weโve been down more than weโve been up this season. It really feels good to get a win tonight, but I think everyone knows looking ahead we have a lot to do. Just to be playing after this season, we have a lot to work on to get better, and tonight we didnโt really play that well in the second half, and we have to fix all these things. I think thatโs probably why we didnโt celebrate as much, because we know we can do better than what we just did.โ
on his big slam dunk
โI thought I was going to get picked, and I saw Kylor (Kelley) down there under the rim, the second-leading blocker in the nation. And I couldnโt lay the ball up, so I figured I had to try to dunk it, and it went in, and I donโt know what happened after that.โ
UCLA freshman Jules Bernard
on what they need to do to keep the winning streak going
โWe start out games really well and come out with a lot of energy, but we need to sustain it in the second half. We have to really put our foot on their throats and make sure that we have too many close games where one shot can win the game for the other team. (We need to) sustain our energy and really focus on little details like blocking out, in the zone making sure they donโt slice through the gaps. Just little things we need to focus.โ
on his production from the free throw line
โThey started pressing us. We came into the second half with a decent lead, and they tried to pressure us and draw some turnovers. When teams press us like that, Coach emphasizes attack the basket, so I did what I had to do โ I attacked the basket, got fouled and made my free throws.โ
UCLA freshman Moses Brown
on what they need to do to keep the winning streak going
โWe just need to listen to everything Coach is telling us. Weโve got to love each other and trust the process and come together as a team.โ
on making strides on his free throw shooting
โJust focus and repetition and getting tired of missing my free throws. Getting fouled and missing two free throws and giving them another opportunity to score is like a turnover, so just trying to maximize my possessions and make the most out of every time I have the ball.โ
Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle
opening statement
โWe outscored them 40-26 in the paint, yet itโs a 28-3 advantage at the free throw line. Maybe itโs our fault not going to the rim enough tonight.โ
about their last play of the game
โWe ran the โhandleโ play, but the wrong guy ended up getting the ball, so the guys kind of got discombobulated, but we got a good look.โ
on how tough this loss was
โIt was a tough loss, but you know, I really have to ask about the free throw discrepancy, but that is a good crew out there and I respect them a lot. We really shot ourselves in the foot in the first half many times. We just have to find a way not to dig such a big hole.โ
Oregon State senior Stephen Thompson Jr.
on their overall performance
โWe came out flat. They (UCLA) hit some threes and got their confidence going. We just had some mental lapses down the stretch. They made plays and we didnโt.โ
on tonightโs loss
โWe shot three free throws, so itโs hard to win a game like that when the other team shoots 28 free throws.โ
on their last play of the game
โWe were just kind of out-of-sorts. Itโs a tough situation. We werenโt in the right positions. We canโt come out flat and take teams for granted. We canโt take plays for granted. We have to come out aggressively.โ