ALLSTATE MAUI INVITATIONAL

November 20, 2023

Eric Bovaird

Ross Reeves

Wyatt Lowell

SimpliFi Arena

Chaminade Silverswords

Postgame Press Conference

Kansas - 83, Chaminade - 56

THE MODERATOR: We'll get started. We'll open it up for questions for the players.

Q. You folks stayed pretty close in the beginning. Was the fact that they're the No. 1 team intimidate you folks at all or did it feel any different?

ROSS REEVES: It definitely felt different than the normal games we're playing, but that was kind of the mindset we had, was this is a great experience. Let's just go. There's no point to play nervous. We can just go and play and have the time of our lives, and that's what we did.

WYATT LOWELL: I'll just echo that. Once in a lifetime chance, so we just wanted to leave it all out on the court and, like you said, it was a good game. Wish we could have kept it going.

Q. What's this experience been like for you guys, playing this tournament on your home island against a really good top-ranked team like Kansas?

WYATT LOWELL: Honestly, we're super grateful for the opportunity to play in front of all these fans, and we're also in remembrance of the people in Maui. That's what this is for. So we're praying for them.

But what a fun opportunity. Not very often you get to play the No. 1 team in the country and it's just cool for us as team, something that we'll always remember.

ROSS REEVES: I would like to now echo what he said. It's been really cool. That's why a lot of us come to Chaminade, is to play in games like this. We want to play on the big stage and we feel like we can play on the big stage, so we're able to show that when we can and we're excited for tomorrow.

Q. This kind of segues right into what you were just saying, but during the recruiting process how much does Coach emphasize it and are there any kind of funny moments that come from that or amusing things, anecdotes, or things like that?

ROSS REEVES: Yeah, for me, I'm a JUCO transfer and usually a lot of times when you go straight to JUCO, you're trying to get that DI offer, but Chaminade offered me and I committed about 12 hours later. I'm like, I'm ready for this, let's go, just because the Maui, right. So wanting to play with these guys, that's what I wanted.

Q. (No microphone.)

ROSS REEVES: Besides Coach Bovaird, it was the Maui.

WYATT LOWELL: It's a close second.

Q. In that similar tone, you guys obviously were here on O'ahu, pretty much footsteps away from your guys' home campus, but talk about just having -- I saw a bunch of Chaminade students there, a big student section that might not necessarily be over in Lahaina on normal years, as far as travel goes. Talk about having that and having them behind your bench while you guys took on Kansas.

WYATT LOWELL: I think that was amazing. Kansas has amazing fans. They're Kansas. So when we would make a bucket and we would hear a bunch of yelling and screaming, that was pretty fun. It felt like it was a competition on the court, but also in some ways a competition in the stands. So, like you said, we're super grateful for all the people at Chaminade that came out, so thank you, and we got some more games ahead, so hopefully, you keep coming.

Q. Can you just talk about coming into this game, whether it's as a team, what you guys talked about as a mindset? Were you upset-minded? Did you feel like you wanted to give it your best? And just in your own minds, what were your expectations for a game like this?

ROSS REEVES: Yeah, for me personally, and we were talking with some of the guys before the game, we obviously wanted the upset, right? That's what kind of Chaminade is known, from that Virginia upset years ago, and we just kind of recreate that, but also, we didn't want to put pressure on ourselves. Like, let's just go out there, and if we play our hardest, we feel like we can play with whoever we play with, and we showed that for a lot of game, right? We showed that. So we just decided not to put pressure on ourselves. Let's just go have fun.

Q. When Chaminade has stunned a team here in the past, a lot times it has to do with the outside shooting and whether those shots are going down. You guys casted up a bunch, some rattled out, some didn't have a prayer, but how did you guys feel about just hanging around despite that, and then if maybe some of those had found a way to go in what kind of difference it would have made?

WYATT LOWELL: No, like you said, I think we had some great moments where we were making the right play and the ball was moving and there were some other moments where it got a little rough. But like you said, it is something that our team is really good at, so something that we're going to keep on doing throughout the tournament, and hopefully we still have opportunities to take down some teams that people aren't expecting us to, so we still got a chance.

Q. Going into the game obviously facing one of the most elite players in Dickinson, what was kind of the game plan for you specifically, because you went against him the most in the game, what was kind of the game plan to kind of slow his game?

WYATT LOWELL: Yeah, I mean, try your best. If I'm being honest, it wasn't a me thing, it was a team thing, because we know it ain't easy to beat someone like that on your own. So personally, I was just thinking do my best. I got into foul trouble quickly, so I tried to play a little smarter in the second half, but really it was a team effort because he's a great player. There's no doubt about that.

THE MODERATOR: All right, that will be it. Thank you Wyatt and Ross. Now we'll welcome coach up to the stage. We'll start with an opening statement from coach.

ERIC BOVAIRD: I thought we played really well for a long stretch of the game tonight. I thought the guys did a great job of executing the game plan, of trying to help on the inside as much as possible. Playing against one of the best players in the country you know he's going to catch it sometimes and there's nothing you can do about it. Even though he had 32 points, I think it was, I still think that we, overall, we did a pretty good job of making it really difficult for him. Offensively we had some really good moments. Some of the things we talked about in the locker room is being able to really share the ball, being able to really drive and kick, being really unselfish. When we did that I thought we executed really well offensively tonight.

Q. How do you think your boys will respond tomorrow after such a huge feat on the first day and the back-to-back games?

ERIC BOVAIRD: Yeah, I think they will respond well. They understand the magnitude of this tournament and they understand that they're going to play a top-25 team in the country tomorrow at noon. What I told 'em in the locker room is, you're going to play an angry top-25 team in the country tomorrow at noon. One of these guys is going to lose and they're not going to be very happy. So I've had some experience about day two playing really, really good teams. So, I think they will respond though. I think they will come out, they will be ready to go. We're emphasizing hydrating and nutrition and just being mentally prepared, because in less than a 24-hour turnaround you have to be ready or these guys can jump on you real fast.

Q. I just wanted to ask, what is it like representing Hawaii, especially since we are the only team from this state, especially advocating for those in Lahaina affected by the fires?

ERIC BOVAIRD: Yeah, you know, ever since the fires happened, you know, I have felt a little bit of a responsibility of trying to bring awareness to the situation over there. Once it got off of front page news, being able to keep it progressing so people know that, hey, just because it's off the front page it doesn't mean it's, there's still not issues that are happening. There's still people that need help and so forth. So trying to bring as much awareness as possible. In a tournament of this magnitude it can help do that. I watched a lot of great -- Bill Walton I thought did a phenomenal job on one of the pieces he did. So as much as we can continue to bring awareness, but, yeah, I'm proud, I'm proud to be the coach at Chaminade, I got an incredible job. We have an incredible school, and I'm proud to represent Hawaii.

Q. You mentioned in your opening statement that you felt your guys fought and were competitive for most of it. What was that message in the locker room after this game and how do you guys kind of carry over that fight and that grit that you guys showcased tonight throughout the rest of the tournament?

ERIC BOVAIRD: I told 'em I was really proud of 'em. I told 'em that the way they competed -- you know, I played Kansas a few times over the years and you walk out of there sometimes with a 50-point loss. They were playing their starters and their key players up until that last media segment. But there's some things we got to clean up. Obviously to beat a team like that, to have a chance to win against a team like that you have to have some special things happen, and one of 'em is usually shoot the ball really well from the outside. First half, I don't know what we ended up, but I know it wasn't great, 2-12 in the first half. So you need some special things to happen. Along with the effort, along with the intensity, you need a few special situations to happen in order to really pull it off. But I think we'll move forward in a positive way. The guys believe now. I think you always have a sense of just, what if, like, you know, what if things would have gone a little bit differently, we could have potentially won the game. But these guys believe now that they can play with 'em. We know it's a challenge, but we have the capability.

Q. You obviously can't control if the shots are going to fall after they're in the air. That part of it aside, do you feel like you got the best out of your team tonight?

ERIC BOVAIRD: Yeah, I think so. But you always feel as a coach that you could have maybe prepared 'em a little bit more. We have watched a lot of film on 'em. We practiced -- all those plays that they ran, we practiced them, and we talked about how to guard 'em. But after you see 'em execute 'em on court you're thinking, Oh, man, maybe I could have done something just a little bit different. But, no, the guys did a great job. They played as hard as they can, and I'm proud of 'em.

Q. Well, you guys out beat 'em in 10 steals, 80 percent of free throw shooting compared to their 64 percent, eight offensive rebounds, and I'm sure you probably got to be happy with that statistic. Just what do you want to see from them, you mentioned a little bit earlier the field goal percentage that you guys had as team was 33.9 percent.

ERIC BOVAIRD: Yeah, if you want a chance to beat a high-level Division I team you have to shoot a lot better than that. I am proud of 'em. I remember talking to 'em before the game and telling 'em, Listen, you guys can get offensive rebounds on these guys. You can, you know, this is something you can do. You can steal the ball if you're highly active and intense. Some of the returners that have played in these games before, they believe it, but I know a lot of the new guys, they question it because they have been watching these guys on TV and they're thinking, Can I really steal the ball from 'em, can I really get offensive rebounds. So I tried to give 'em that sense of belief and to just go out there and try as hard as they could, and they did a great job.

THE MODERATOR: That will do it. Thanks, Coach.

ERIC BOVAIRD: Yeah, thanks.