KENTUCKY 67, GEORGIA 63
POST-GAME NOTES
Kentucky is now 7-5 overall, 1-0 in the Southeastern Conference
Georgia is 7-7 overall, 0-1 in the SEC
Kentucky wins its fourth consecutive game overall and third consecutive home game
UK wins its 15th consecutive game against Georgia and leads the series 98-17
Key run: ahead 30-29, Kentucky scores the last eight points of the first half and the first five points of the second half for a 13-0 run and a 43-29 lead
This is the sixth time this season that Kentucky has held an opponent under 40 percent field goal shooting
UK has fouled sparingly the last two games, allowing only seven free throw attempts in each game by Louisville and Georgia
Kentucky returns to action Wednesday, Jan. 10, against South Carolina. The game will be at 8 p.m. at Rupp Arena and televised live on a regional basis by Jefferson-Pilot Sports.
Tubby Smith Quotes
Thoughts on the game…
“It was a hard-fought game. I knew we would have a lot of trouble with Georgia because they have played a very competitive schedule. We knew their record was not indicative of how good they are. It was a strong defensive game by both teams. We did a good job defensively, and we probably played one of our better games. Down the stretch we found a way to lose the lead, but a lot of that was Georgia. They played the zone, and we were able to get some open looks but weren’t able to knock them down. One thing we wanted to continue to do is go inside, but we weren’t able to do that. Early on, Keith (Bogans) was making shots and then turned his ankle. Our bench did a lot of positive things. I am disappointed in our shooting because we got a lot of good looks inside but didn’t hit them.”
On slowing the game down at the end…
“We attempt to get the ball out quickly and push it up the court. When guys retrieve the ball or get a re bound, they have a tendency to take a deep breath and walk the ball up when they think the job is done. We can’t worry about the time. We can’t worry about the score. Pressure starts to build when you try to milk the clock that way.”
On UK’s defense…
“We had some outstanding stops tonight. Marquis (Estill) made some big stops, so we had excellent defensive play there. Putting Tayshaun (Prince) on D.A. Layne was critical because of his long arms. They made Layne get a different look. In a game like this, you have to make those kinds of stops. It is a sign of how we are maturing and improving.”
On J.P. Blevins’ play…
“He had a big game last year against them. I liked his attitude tonight. We want guys who believe they can do more and contribute more. It gives him confidence. You can’t allow it to be a negative or a distraction for the team. That is his role and he has accepted it. So this will give him more confidence in his play and it will give me more confidence to put him in those situations.”
On spreading out the minutes more…
“A lot of guys are playing better now and are getting more minutes. In conference play, the intensity is so high that guys are going to fatigue earlier in the game. So if we can get them rest, it is going to keep them fresh in late game situations.”
On Keith Bogans…
“He is starting to understand that he can create something defensively. Tonight he was able to make a defensive stop and create a turnover. He is definitely able to come out with a lot of defensive intensity.”
On getting nervous at the end of the game…
“Sure I got nervous, a little scared. I think it can affect the team a little. I need to try to be a little more patient. We turned over the all when we weren’t being pressured. At those times, I need to learn to be a little less like that.”
Kentucky Player Quotes
Marquis Estill #50
“It worries me that teams come back on us at the end. We should stay in the lead. We just relaxed too soon and allowed them to come back tonight.”
“We didn’t get nervous at the end of the game at all. We kept our composure and stayed focused.”
“I want to bring energy to the team. I just try to get in the game and get positive things done on the defensive and offensive end. It felt good getting the opportunity to play tonight and I tried to give a solid effort.”
Jason Parker #42
“This week we worked on pounding the ball inside and then getting it back outside.”
On the end of the game…
“It is not that we let up at the end, we just relaxed a little too much. We need to concentrate and keep focused the entire 40 minutes. We can’t let up at the end of the game.”
“It feels great to get a conference win under our belt. Hopefully we can keep the wins coming.”
Gerald Fitch #4
“This was a very close victory. We had them down, but the came back on us at the end. We just tend to get too comfortable and relax too early in the game.”
J.P. Blevins #3
“My shot felt good tonight. I had never really lost confidence, it was always there. I think I shot well tonight because I was getting an extra second. The ball movement tonight got everyone better shots.”
“At points in the second half, we had a mental lapse. We have to make a conscious effort to put teams away when we have them on the ropes.”
“Bench play was key tonight and it will continue to be big for us for the rest of the season. It is a long season, players will need to rest some nights. Guys that come off the bench have to give 110 percent and get the crowd into it. I like being an emotional basketball player, that’s the way I play.”
Saul Smith #11
“Our bench came up big for us tonight. It is crucial when you play the schedule we play that there is no drop off in talent from your bench. We have guys that give us a big spark coming off our bench.”
“We lost a few close games at the beginning of the season and we are starting to win a few now. We have gotten over that hump and we are starting to play better in clutch situations.”
Georgia Player Quotes
Anthony Evans
“My effort in the game was okay. It was not, however, my best effort. We need to get more rebounds and we were missing easy shots.”
“It is good to have a conference game under our belts but we need to work hard to get ready for the next game. We need to practice hard in order to be successful in the SEC.”
“We need to not turn over the ball as much as we did tonight. The SEC is tough, so we need to come out ready to play. We need to work hard, execute in the game and have no turnovers.”
“We still got points off the bench after Coleman and Jones fouled out. Unfortunately we just weren’t able to knock it down.”
“In the first half, we had a bunch of fouls, which was frustrating. We missed easy shots and we have to work on that in practice. We have to practice hard, especially with shots in the lane.”
D.A. Layne
“I played terrible tonight. I think six turnovers is terrible for a college basketball player. Unfortunately, that is how it is sometimes.”
“I think we had too many turnovers as a team tonight. We didn’t execute and we need to play harder.”
“In order to succeed in the SEC, we have got to cut down on turnovers. Execution will be important in the conference games.”
“Coleman and Jones fouling out really affected us. They are our seniors, so this is the last time that they will play in Rupp Arena. They are our inspired leadership. They are hurting tonight. I have another year, but this is their last and they wanted to win. Everyone on the team is hurting.”
Georgia Head Coach Jim Harrick Quotes
Opening Statement:
“Certainly from a Georgia standpoint we did almost everything we wanted to do to win the game. We held them to 39-percent from the field, we outrebounded them, but we didn’t play quite well enough to win the game. We had enough shots to win, especially inside shots. There was a great, great, great disparity on the foul line that is a mystery to me. From the Kentucky standpoint, I thought the last four minutes of the first half they made a nice little run on us. They got great play out of Blevins and Daniels. Blevins, Estill and Hawkins came off the bench and I thought that was the major difference. They really hadn’t been getting that, and tonight it was a surprise to me. It was a game that we had a great opportunity to come in here and steal one and we just didn’t play quite good enough.”
On Kentucky’s defending of D.A. Layne:
“They did a nice job on him. Putting Prince on him made D.A. shoot the ball a little differently. There were only about two or three times that I thought he looked for his shot instead of waiting for it to come. We came down and turned the ball over four or five times when we had no pressure on us or reason to turn it over that could have been good shot attempts for us.”
On his team coming back:
“We got down, and we’ve been down before on the road. I like our resolve. I like the fact that we dug down and came back. I think that we would have won if we had about five more minutes, but every losing coach thinks that. I like the way we played. I like our grit. I like our tenacity, but we didn’t play quite good enough to win.”
“The bottom line is that Kentucky had enough resolve to win the game. We thought that if we could come in here and hold Bogans and Prince to under 15 points that we would have a chance to win, and we did that, but still didn’t win.”
