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MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 13, 2015Nick DuncanRob HeyerLeon RiceLAS VEGAS, NEVADA Wyoming – 71 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Boise State. Coach, some of your thoughts on tonight's game. COACH RICE: It was a great ballgame. I mean, playing really good. Our guys battled. Got it back, got it in overtime. They did some great things. I was really proud of the way we battled and competed. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Rob, seems like all season you guys made the right plays at the right time. In overtime, it wasn't there. Maybe one play short. ROB HEYER: Yeah, it was disappointing, to say the least. I felt like we were playing a really good defensive possession at that point. To see that ball bank in was pretty tough because I believe that we would have gotten that stop had anything else happened. But it didn't, so props to him. Q. Nick, a guy like Derrick who was so good all season, but off tonight. What are your thoughts about being able to pick up the slack when he's struggling? NICK DUNCAN: Yeah, we had a good game plan coming in. I mean, yeah, Derrick just had one of those nights where he wasn't hitting shots. I felt our defense was there for a little bit, but we lacked a little bit the first half there, at the end of the half. I mean, there's not much to say. We came together as a team at the end. But just a few unlucky things, a few missed shots by us, that was the game. Q. You were up 12 with three minutes left in the first half. They extended the run to 22‑5. What changed there and how big was that stretch? NICK DUNCAN: Yeah, I mean, they went on a big run there at the end of the half. I think our team stuck together and we were still confident no matter what. If anything, there wasn't a minute in the game we didn't think we were going to win the game. But credit to Wyoming for playing a great game. But, yeah, we're just disappointed, that's all. Q. How big was that stretch there to finish the half? ROB HEYER: I think that was the momentum for the entire game. No matter if we had a run late, I think that sparked their confidence for the rest of the game. Those are just runs we have to, you know, struggle through. We have to try to make plays at those times. We didn't make enough of them today. Q. Was Josh just hitting some tough shots? How frustrating was it with him? ROB HEYER: He was hitting a lot of shots, yeah. We were always turning the ball over. He's a great transition player. He scores a lot in transition. We knew we had to limit our turnovers if we wanted to stop him in transition. We did a better job of that in the second half. But, yeah, he had a great ballgame. Q. Nick, what are the next 36 hours going to be for you now? NICK DUNCAN: Haven't really thought about that yet. I think we get back tomorrow, I think we'll watch the show tomorrow. We'll just see what happens. Hopefully we'll be all right. But, you know, I think we'll think about the game for the next 24 hours, get our heads around it, focus on what we got next. Q. Rob, do you feel you've done enough for the season? ROB HEYER: Yeah, I believe so. It's kind of a strange feeling not to have the fate in your hands anymore. We built a résumé this season. We're turning that in right now. Unfortunately we would have liked to have gotten an automatic bid. I think we're a dangerous team on any night with our shooting capabilities. If we continue to put together defensive stops, I think we're a problem for a lot of teams. THE MODERATOR: We'll dismiss the student‑athletes at this time. We'll continue with questions for Coach Rice. Q. With Derrick who has meant so much to the team, picked a bad time not to have his best game. Late in the game, you still had the ball in his hands. One of those nights where shots weren't falling for him? COACH RICE: He's Mountain West Player of the Year. Anybody that would question him having the ball and taking those shots, they haven't paid attention to what we've done. Going into this game we won 15 out of the last 16, and Mountain West Player of the Year certainly had a hand in those, a big, big hand. We dance with the one who brought us. We played great team ball. We've done such a good job together. But, you know, you got to credit Wyoming. They got some of those block charge calls go their way. Probably frustrated Derrick a little bit, I'd have to say. He just had a few balls that rattled in and out, too. He was still right there. But proud of our guys. They competed. They stuck together. They understand that, that that can happen. It can happen to great players. There's no question that you'd still want Derrick shooting those shots. Our problem probably was the uncharacteristic turnovers. We had 16 turnovers tonight. We're one of the best teams in the country at not turning it over. Adams had six or eight straight points off our turnovers in the first half. That was probably more a key to the game than anything else. Q. What did you see on that 10‑0 run at the end of the half? Momentum switched there. COACH RICE: We had a couple guys in foul trouble we were trying to protect. They got a slip dunk to the basket because Nick was out. They got a turnover for an and‑one too. That game wasn't going to be won or lost in the first half. If we had a 10‑point lead going into first half, it wasn't going to be over because Wyoming was battling. They know what's at stake. They got to win this tournament. So they played like it. They got a bunch of seniors that want to keep playing. They were battling. Our guys, I'm not taking anything away from our guys. They battled back, got it into overtime. Then had one of the best defensive possessions in the game. Had a stop it looked like. The ball just happened to bank in. When you play in that many close games, sometimes that happens. Q. You have to wait until Sunday to know what happens. Do you feel like your team is pretty settled? COACH RICE: You look at what we've done recently, 15 of the last 17. We lost a game around Christmas to Loyola‑ Chicago without Derrick Marks. We lost on a buzzer beater to Utah State. Tonight we went down to the wire with these guys. They banked one in with a minute to go that kind of ended the game. You tell me we're not a tournament team because of those three situations, I don't buy it. We're the Mountain West champions. We're number one seed in the tournament. I think we got a great résumé. We went out on the road and played a lot of games, too. I think we need to be rewarded for that. Q. The way that Rob and people like that have come up with such timely plays to get you into overtime, your thoughts about what they were able to do? COACH RICE: These guys got heart. They just keep battling. Our shots weren't dropping tonight like they have been. We shot 38%. You got to credit Wyoming's defense also. They did a great job. They were battling. But, you know, a few of them, we had a couple good looks that rattled in and out. On some nights we're making those.  Most of the nights in these last 17 games we have been making those. But they just kept fighting, fought us into overtime. They were right there with a minute to go and, like I said, had a great defensive possession. We know what happened next. Q.  Obviously listing the reasons why you should be in, you appear pretty confident you will be in. Is it nerve‑wracking these next 36 hours? COACH RICE: It's not ideal. You'd liked to have secured it with this win. Our guys played like that. They came down here, wanted to win this tournament, gave everything they had. I don't think there's anything more I could have asked of them. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much, coach. COACH RICE: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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