University of Massachusets Athletics
Postgame Quotes: UMass 88, Temple 77
January 13, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 13, 2007
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UMass Head Coach Travis Ford on the game:
"I wasn't happy with the defensive effort in the first half, we scored enough points, just not enough defense. We went on a stretch in the second half that broke the lead to 17 points, that was probably the best stretch of basketball we've played since I've been here. I was very excited, it was fun to watch, it was fun to coach. We were playing defense, running, making threes, we were posting and duinking, we were doing a little bit of everything. That gave us enough of a cushion against a team that was very hyped to play this game today."
Ford on Lasme in the second half:
"I was a little worried because sometimes he doesn't play as well when he has to sit seven or eight minutes in the first half. At halftime I was a little bit concerned. He went out and got 21 and 11. 21 and 11 is about what I expected tonight because we are much bigger and stronger. I didn't want to start taking them for granted because they have special basketball players, but we did what we were supposed to do."
Gary Forbes on feeling more comfortable with his role:
"I'm out there just playing, whether I'm the 6th man or starting. I feel comfortable playing, I'm getting a feel for the game and letting it come to me, taking shots that I can make."
Forbes on how coming off the bench has helped his game:
"It's a motivational thing for me. Everyone wants to star, when I come off the bench I feel like I have something to prove out there. Also, I get to see where spots are opening on the floor that I can pick and choose from allowing me to play my game."
Freeman on the teams better play in the second half:
"We responded to what coach Ford said at half, we felt that they were scoring too freely. We wanted to get some key stops and take control of the game. I felt that we had good energy the first few minutes and took the lead immediately. That gave us confidence, and we had some key stops that gave us control of the game."
Freeman on foul shooting:
"I think the key to our foul shooting is making them early. When we miss a couple to start it's harder to overcome. You start thinking that you have the hit the next two. The second half we just went out there and played and that led to us shooting foul shots better."
Temple Coach Fran Dunphy on whether or not he considered sending the Minutemen to the line more because of the poor free throw shooting:
"We're not the deepest group and we didn't foul too much in the second half. I thought their perimeter jump shooting was terrific in the second half. Forbes, Life and Lowe all made perimeter jumps shots that really hurt us. We were hoping they wouldn't shoot it quite as well. That's a tough combination of inside play with Lasme and Freeman with the perimeter guys stepping up."
