UConn 74, St. Bonaventure 64
MARK SCHMIDT: I thought it was a great college game. Came up short. We had our chances, 60-55, we couldn't get a rebound. They get an offensive rebound, put-back, three-point play, made it 63-55. From that point on it was over.
But I thought our guys, if someone told me we were going to out-rebound UConn by three and then hold Cole to 5 for 15, 1 for 7 for threes, I thought we'd have a legitimate shot, and we did. But their length, they made the plays when they needed to make the plays. Their length was a factor.
But like I said, it was a good college game. We didn't make enough plays. Give UConn credit. They made the plays when they needed to, and we've got room to improve. A game like this shows where we're at, and we've got to make improvements both individually and as a team collectively.
Q. First half being able to hang in there despite not shooting very well. Assess your defensive performance.
MARK SCHMIDT: You know, that's how we want to play. We want to keep it in the half court. We made too many turnovers in the first half. They had 17 points against us -- their defense, I think they had 12 points off turnovers. So we didn't do a great job in the first half. Second half we did a much better job taking care of the basketball. They had two points off of our turnovers in the second half.
But yeah, we tried to keep it in the half court defensively, and we had some opportunities in the first half, but their length affected us a little bit, too. But we knew going in -- we didn't come here to give UConn a game, we came here to win, and our guys I thought played to win, and we just came up short.
Q. (Inaudible.)
MARK SCHMIDT: I'd have to watch the tape. They had 13 all around, that's not good.
Q. (Inaudible.)
JAREN HOLMES: Honestly, like Coach Schmidt said, I'd have to watch the tape. I don't really know right now. Go back in there, figure out where that 13-0 run started and how it started to happen. We can't have a run like that, especially with a team like that, super athletic. A couple times we didn't get into a set that we needed to, and they got out in transition, and you can't let athletes like that get out in transition. That's where they thrive at. We kept them on the half court in the first half, and the second half they just had that run where they started getting out.
Like I said, I'd have to watch the tape. I don't really know, obviously.
Q. (Inaudible.)
MARK SCHMIDT: He's a really good player. You've just got to keep him in front, make it difficult for him, play the ball screens hard. But he's really good with the ball, and he's a good player. But you just try to do the best job you can and limit him in the open court. He comes off the ball screens, try to some guys on him. I thought we did a decent job against him. We had more points in the paint, more second-chance points, and we pride ourselves on that, on owning the paint, and I know UConn does, too.
It was a good battle. It was really a good battle. Like I said, they just made more plays than we did at the end.
Q. What's your main takeaway right now?
OSUN OSUNNIYI: I think it's just coming out and making the little plays. I think that's all it was, just rebounding, loose balls. I think it probably was. We had a chance, and just little plays like that, just have a couple rebounds would have gave us a chance to win the game, so I think that's what it was. We'll see it on the film, but that's what we talk about in the locker room, just the little plays.
Q. (Inaudible.)
JAREN HOLMES: Yeah, a whole bunch.
Q. How many?
JAREN HOLMES: I couldn't tell you. Too many to count.
Q. (Inaudible.)
JAREN HOLMES: Just try to be aggressive. Picked up two dumb fouls really early so I had to sit, like you said, but just trying to come back in and be a factor in any way I can to help the team, so just being aggressive as much as I can without picking up an early third foul.
Q. (Inaudible.)
JAREN HOLMES: I'm grateful for the opportunity. You know, it was an opportunity for me to show today. I could have had a better showing. But it's a learning moment, and it just gives me confidence moving forward that I can play, and when Kyle comes back, Lord knows I can't wait until he comes back, just know that I can be put in that situation, if Kyle needs a break that I can handle that pressure. Like I said, I will be better. I had five turnovers and five assists. I don't pride myself in turning the ball over, and a lot of those turnovers were me in the first half.
I'm going to go and change it, and it won't happen again, and I'll be better from it, and I'll be better from this experience, and I'll be better for my team.
It was a great opportunity. I thought that I did the best I could. I could have done much more, but it's a learning experience. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to showcase my versatility.
Q. Does this make you guys more excited, more looking forward to the opportunity --
JAREN HOLMES: No, I'm hungrier. We're straight hungrier. We have finals to worry about, and honestly we're looking forward to next Friday. That's what we're truly excited about.
I'm going to talk about this loss right here for 24 hours and then we're right back to work. I know Osun is ready to get back in the gym, I'm ready to get back in the gym, and I know Kyle is hungry to get back on the court. I know everybody in that locker room is ready to get back, as well as Coach Schmidt, so we're right back to the drawing board. We're not hanging our heads on this.
Q. (Inaudible.)
MARK SCHMIDT: Yeah, yeah, they got to the foul line more, but we had more points in the paint and more second-chance points. Those are tough points, as well. I thought, like I said in the opening statement, if someone told me we were going to out-rebound them by three, they're plus 10 on the season and you're going to have more points in the paint than them, that would be a big positive for us.
From a physical standpoint we didn't get dominated. I thought we didn't make some plays. They had one possession where they had two or three offensive rebounds, and when you play against a good team and good teams come together it's always going to come down to one or two or three plays, and they made those plays, and hopefully we can learn from that and we can make those plays next time.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports