PAC-12 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 10, 2021

Jamal Bey

Washington Huskies

Postgame Press Conference

Q. In a game that's decided by three points, obviously there's so many things that can make the difference. Just from your point of view, what was the difference today?

JAMAL BEY: I think for sure it was our defense. We felt we let them make a lot of threes tonight, they were hot, give them credit, but there was some plays, especially before we went on that big run where we needed stops and we didn't get them.

Q. Is it as simple as you guys simply ran out of time or was there more to this game?

JAMAL BEY: No, because there was chances at the beginning of the game, even when we were beginning of the game we were tied up 5-5, we were, when we cut it at a point to where it was like, I think, six or eight, and we had a chance to chip away there, but we just, yeah, we ran out of time, but we had many chances earlier in the game to pull this one off. But we fell short.

Q. Talking about making that comeback at the end, trying to make that comeback at the end. Just what does it say about this group that after a season that's been disappointing, to still be fighting like that at the end out there?

JAMAL BEY: Yeah, I mean, to be honest we were kind of used to it all year, we have been just getting down in games, so we were used to that. So we just treat it like every game, come back and play harder and get stops when we needed them and try to win the game. That's all we're trying to do.

Q. You had a couple of seniors go out with you tonight. Did anybody make it official that this was their last game and if they didn't, are you going to try and talk them into coming back?

JAMAL BEY: No, I haven't heard anything yet and that's, I'm not going to talk to any of them, that's between coach and them. So I'm going to let them handle that one.

Q. Early on when there was that 20-2 Utah run, what were they doing that really got you guys out of sync?

JAMAL BEY: They were executing, they were getting offensive rebounds on a few plays, they were knocking down their shots. You got to give them all the credit. We were slow stepped on a few of those, during that run, and that was pretty much it, they knocked down their shots, you got to give Utah all the credit.

Q. Quade Green obviously goes out 31 points, new career high, what is it like playing with him and what does he bring to this team?

JAMAL BEY: Oh, Quade brings everything. He brings our fire, he brings our, one of our leaders on this team. He's a great point guard and obviously he's a great scorer that he showed tonight. I love that dude, he plays his butt off and, yeah, that's pretty much it.

Q. I'm paraphrasing here, as bad as you guys played defensively, your press later on down the stretch you were able to make some stops and that seems to, you've been doing that all season. What can you talk about with your press?

JAMAL BEY: Say the last part again?

Q. The effectiveness of your press when you've been, all season and today as well. Can you talk about that?

JAMAL BEY: Yeah, we work on that, that press every day. So we try to not only -- try to only use that when we really need it. But, yeah, we work on that all year and we just had to get stops at the beginning, trusting our defense and we just got slow there at the end.