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March 17, 2017
Sacramento, California
UCLA - 97, Kent State - 80
THE MODERATOR: From Kent State we have student-athletes Jaylin Walker, Jimmy Hall and Deon Edwin and Coach Rob Senderoff. Coach?
ROB SENDEROFF: Very proud of our group. We had our chances. We didn't start off the game very well, down 16-2, but battled back, halftime it was an 8-point game. Started the second half off well, but ultimately we didn't get enough stops and they're a very good team. They didn't miss. In the second half they shot 65%. I thought for the most part we guarded pretty well.
They're a good team, tremendous offensive team, but couldn't be more proud of our guys in terms of how hard we fought throughout the entire game and for the season that we had this year.
Q. Jimmy, can you explain the whole ride, the whole weekend? I know you guys didn't win today, but you leave your neck of the woods in Kent, Ohio you go on the run in the MAAC Tournament, you come out and take on UCLA, playing a pretty good ball game. As a senior was the March Madness experience everything you dreamt it would be?
JIMMY HALL: Most definitely. It was a fantastic journey. It didn't work out the way we wanted it to, but it was a great ride. Appreciate the coaches, my teammates and just everybody. It's been a fantastic ride.
Q. Jaylin, you're the only returning player out of the three can you talk about what Jimmy and Deon meant to you?
JAYLIN WALKER: They mean a lot to the team. They was a big help. We definitely are going to miss Jimmy Hall because he was a big help inside the paint and we are definitely going to miss Deon Edwin because he was in the perimeter and on the boards. He averaged a double-double. We are going to miss him. So players next year are going to have to step up.
Q. Even though you lost, you scored 80 points against a UCLA team that was one of the top-10 teams in the nation, 23 of those came from you, Jaylin. How does that lead into next year both in the nonconference, conference, and probably postseason schedule?
JAYLIN WALKER: You know, just take one game at a time. We just got to come back better.
ROB SENDEROFF: To me, I look at Jaylin and how he's progressed during the season. Certainly the last month, and with these two guys leaving and we're not going to have a ton of seniors next year, Jaylin is going to be the next guy for us and obviously this is a team sport. We're going to have a lot of guys but he's going to become the face of our program.
So there is some pressure involved in that, but if there is anybody that can handle that it's Jaylin Walker.
Q. Deon, one of the things you've been heralded for this season was your ability to play defense. I understand obviously you're more concerned about the entire team than yourself, but as an observer you didn't pick up your first foul until well into the second half against a team as fast and as athletic as UCLA. Can you explain to me how well you've crafted your defense and how you were able to play such a clean game all day?
DEON EDWIN: I know my team going to need me at the end, so I've pretty much got to move my feet a lot and keep my hands off the players and hope they miss. Tonight that didn't really work out how we wanted it to. I just hope that Jaylin takes this and keep it going for the other guys. Once you play defense you always have a chance to win.
Q. Jimmy, you're obviously a talented basketball player. You average double-double. Do you have any ideas what your next steps are within the basketball world?
JIMMY HALL: Just to try keep being better. I definitely want to continue to play basketball after this. Just get in the gym and whatever happens, happens, just try to do my part as much as I can by working in the off-season.
Q. Coach, the Bruins, they jumped out to the 20-5 lead, you came back and cut it by 8 at halftime, then you got closer, 54-50 early in the second half. How were you able to get them to settle down and keep making that run because you were scrapping all night?
ROB SENDEROFF: That's sort of how we have played all season long and we're a good second half team. We've been down at halftime of a lot of games, so I thought cutting it to 8 points, single digits at halftime was important and we had a great start to the second half.
To be honest, I will have to watch the film but it seemed like there were a lot of contested shots that they were making, and as the game wore on some of them became less and less contested. I thought we played as hard as we could play. As a coach, that's really all you can ask for. I couldn't be prouder of the effort. We started out, as you said, 20-5, but with 16 minutes to go in the game it's a 4-point game and as you see in the tournament there's a lot of games that turn out to be 20 and 30-point games when it starts out that way.
Proud of the guys for the whole season, but certainly tonight I think outside of the result, what you saw in terms of how hard we played is what our program is about.
Q. Obviously, it didn't end the way you guys wanted it to. But what does it mean to you guys to go out being able to bring Kent State back to the tournament?
DEON EDWIN: I mean, it means a lot to the university, because we're so much a family base. We're just going to stick together and everything. We had, Coach, 8 of 6 teams in the last 101 years.
ROB SENDEROFF: Six times in 100.
DEON EDWIN: We are one of those groups and we want to continue repeating and coming back here. So that's how much it means to us and to the university.
JIMMY HALL: Yeah, yeah, the same here. Kent State is a family. Just us getting here and being one of the six teams is just a blessing. I just hope everybody see our hard work and just happy to be playing on this stage, you know?
Q. Jimmy, three years at Kent State, three first-time All-MAAC and now you have your one tournament berth, third all-time in scoring, how do you hope your legacy is remembered?
JIMMY HALL: How much energy and how much love I have for the game, and, you know, that's really it. Just the love that I have for the game. The points and stuff, doesn't matter, just continuing to remember, you know, what started you playing basketball. That's what I hope to leave.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, gentlemen.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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