Halftime Quotations | Page 2

We talked at halftime that we were going to get the good basket. We knew we're a good enough shooting team that they were going to fall sometime. They weren't falling in the first half.

We talked at halftime that we have to learn to put people away. We had a big tendency last year to get a 10-, 17- point lead and let everybody hang around. We came out with a lot more intensity and it showed.

We talked at halftime that we have had letdowns in the third quarter. So our emphasis in the third quarter was just to come out and push the lead.

We talked at halftime that this was a dangerous team if you let them get back in it in the third quarter, and that's exactly what we did. We just couldn't stop them in the second half. They shot over 70 percent. You're not going to win very many games giving that up.

We talked at halftime that if our defense could buckle down and keep them out of the end zone that we would win the game. That was the key.

We talked at halftime about playing the best second-half defense we have played all year. And we just clamped down.

We talked at halftime about just not fouling them. We definitely did a much better job on offense in the second half. At the same time, we made them score on their own instead of giving them so many free throws.

We talked at halftime about giving up easy baskets in the first half. I think half their points were on transition off from our misses and turnovers. We got about five or six stops out of seven of their possessions. I think the first four or five minutes of the third quarter we played great defense.

We talked at halftime about defensive intensity, and we got it. We did a good job of locking them up.

We talked at halftime about character, composure and about this being a season-defining game for us. When I said that, I hoped we'd win.