Davidson - 77, UNLV - 73
THE MODERATOR: We'll start with an opening statement from coach and then take questions.
BOB MCKILLOP: Little different playing with a lead in a close game than playing without a lead in a close game. I thought we handled ourselves remarkably well the first two nights here, coming back and almost winning the game.
Tonight we got a little bit tight and I thought we made some key plays down the stretch that really turned the tide for us. Obviously, that big three by Luka, the three by Carter, and then the shot in the lane by Carter, and the two foul shots.
So nice to see us make big plays at a big time when we had not been in that experience since last year.
THE MODERATOR: Okay. Questions for Kellan.
Q. I was curious, you've had three games here with no fans, crowd noise pumped in, the experience of that. I'm curious how much do you think it affects play now that you've seen it multiple times and everybody's kind of adjusting to this?
KELLAN GRADY: I think at this point we're accustomed to the circumstances. Thankfully for us we have a great group of guys who provide unconditional support for us on the bench and our coaching staff, along with the guys on the bench, just continue to bring tremendous energy that helps keep us active and engaged on the court. So we have a veteran group and I think we're getting used to it.
Q. To follow up with one question. Is this parallel to, like, summer basketball when you were in high school AAU or whatever, where you're playing games, maybe not in front of -- a bunch of games a day, maybe not in front of a bunch of fans at all?
KELLAN GRADY: It's similar. I think the stakes are higher, but similar concept, just 10 guys on the court, coaches, and your teammates on the bench, so it's definitely some similar concepts there.
Q. When the game was getting close, when UNLV was cutting the game close during that last part of the second half, what was just the team's mindset going into those final few minutes of that time?
KELLAN GRADY: Just to hit back. They took their swings at us in the last 90 seconds or so. We obviously made some costly mistakes, but we were determined to get out of here with a win and despite some of our mistakes, I thought we showed some resiliency, especially in the last 30 seconds with Carter Collins going 3-4 and us just, as simple as not fouling at the end and securing the win.
So definitely not the traditional way to close out a game, but at the end of the day, we got it done and that's what's important.
THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for coach.
Q. I asked Kellan this question. I'll ask you the same thing, Coach. UNLV cut down the lead to about five or four going into the last half, or going into the last maybe five minutes of the second half. What adjustments did you have to make and what did you tell your players going into the last maybe 90 seconds of that game?
BOB MCKILLOP: Well, it was an emotional adjustment. I don't think it was a technical one. They had knocked us on our heels. We had been fighting in the center ring all night long and now we were on the ropes, and I made sure that they understood that we're still in control and we're still winning and we're a great foul shooting team, and as long as we handle the ball well and execute with discipline, we'll be okay.
And give them credit. They made some great shots.
Q. I did want to ask you sort of similar to what I was asking before about the no crowd, the crowd noise, fan cutouts, all that stuff. From your perspective as a coach, you've been around the game a long time, is it causing you to change anything in how you communicate with your guys? I think Nate Oats even talked about you might even be able to hear another team's sets or communication from the bench. What are you doing differently?
BOB MCKILLOP: Well, it's a very unique experience and I think you likened it to a summer AAU basketball from the standpoint of you don't have the crowd, it seems like you're coming out of a hotel in a van and getting into a gym. So there's that touch to it.
But when you see what's written across the chest, you see UNLV and you see Texas and you see Providence and you see those legendary programs, and you say, This is a real deal.
And then when you see what they can do talent-wise, you understand this is the real deal. But it is a quite an adjustment emotionally and I hope it gets solved pretty quickly.
Q. To follow up, do you do anything communication-wise differently, like not yelling out some certain instructions, in case they may hear it now because there's less --
BOB MCKILLOP: Well, what we did, we actually did, we had not used signals in quite awhile, and we have used more signals now in this first week of the season than we used maybe all last year. So the use of signals rather than calls. So I'm giving you a signal right now. I'm giving you another signal right now. How about this signal? We use body parts.
Q. How would you describe UNLV's defense there in the second half where they seemingly start in 2-3 and switch to man about halfway through the possession?
BOB MCKILLOP: Great strategy and it really disrupts your rhythm. And if you're not a disciplined team you're going to get sucked right into becoming chaotic and standing around and not knowing what to do.
I think we had moments where we looked like that, but I thought there were moments where we did get some great looks and but a terrific strategy and very well executed by them.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports