Dec. 2, 2001
University of Massachusetts Minutemen
Head Coach Russ Yarworth
Opening Statement:
"I'd like to congratulate LMU, they were just very well prepared. We came out a little flat and paid the price for it. But I'm extremely proud of the boys, they had a great season. It's a little unfortunate that the seniors have to end their career on kind of a down-note. I'm not saying we could have won, but I'm saying we could have played a better game."
What can you say about the first half?
"Basically we just weren't ready mentally to play that level of game, it was the second game of the tournament after the let down yesterday and Coach Loughran [LMU Head Coach] had his team ready to play. They had a great game. I think here [in California] they play a consistently higher level of competition game by game and we're not used to playing a high-level game one after another."
Player Greg Trayer
What can you say about the team's performance this season?
"The season was a great season and obviously we would have loved to win our last game. I was really proud of the way our whole team played yesterday, I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say I don't think anyone expected us to be where we were yesterday, at 4-3 with two minutes left in the third quarter against the number one team in the country. I was really proud of our team, we did come out a little flat today and it was unfortunate that we had to end our season. But all in all, you have to look at the perspective of the whole season and we did win Eastern's once again and it was a great experience to come out here as always. You can't look at the whole season by this one game. The whole season and our whole careers have been a success."
Player Mike Foley
Do you think the team's tiredness today was more physical or mental?
"I think it was more mental, we're always pretty ready to play, we've been training all season to get to this game. We played a lot harder against Stanford and when we came out for LMU they came out harder than us."
Loyola Marymount University Lions
Head Coach John Loughran
Opening Statement
"To start off, I think our team was really prepared, we showed up ready to play. I was impressed with how mentally strong they were after a bit of a letdown yesterday. Yesterday we didn't play four solid quarters, but in this game we played a solid 28 minutes. It was pretty impressive for this group to bounce back like that and UMass is always going to be a really tough opponent, they're very well coached. I think we opened up the game strongly, our game plan was to get the tempo going - we were going to swim, we were going to counter and those counters early in the game were key. We did a really nice job converting our 6-on-5's and that was probably the key point in the game. We scored early and set the tone and I think that set the tone for the whole game. I think Kyle [Witt] had his best game of the season this afternoon, with four goals he really led the team and you really can't ask much more from a senior."
What changed today with your team's inside game?
"Today we were just loose and confident, and when you're confident like that you can really make the lower passes. We made very few mistakes in that game. I think this team's come a long way this year, they've improved dramatically. We played one of the toughest schedules in the country and we know how to perform in tight situations now."
Player Kevin Paulsen
What was your perspective from the cage today?
"One thing I noticed about our first trip to the NCAA's yesterday was that we came out a little flat, we were jittery and we weren't ready. Today we showed up and defensively they could not get past us. We were past the nervousness, we came in to win today. Compared to yesterday, we were prepared to win."
Player Kyle Witt
Is this your last game?
"I'm planning on this being my last game, I couldn't think of a better way to go out. Our team just came so ready to play today, everyone just stepped up - offense, defense and bench players. Everything was perfect and I couldn't think of a better place to end it. My team came through for me, I was really proud of them."