What They Said: LSU’s Matt McMahon, Tyrell Ward Talk Win Over Kentucky

Head Coach Matt McMahon
Opening Statement...
“Really don’t have the words to describe it. Just so proud of our players. Over the last week seeing the toughness that we need to play with. I think it has to be the foundation of your program. For some reason when we go down by 15 points again in the second half and then really came together as a team and found ways to get it done. The last minute was obviously not a work of art, but that’s on me and the guys found a way to win anyways. So, I’m really proud of them. The atmosphere in the PMAC was fantastic. Loved the energy. It’s a great win for our team and for our program. Kentucky is terrific. The challenging part of this league is two great wins at South Carolina and Kentucky here tonight and it will be a quick turnaround here with Mississippi State rolls into town on Saturday. So, we’ll enjoy it here for an hour or so and then we got to start getting ready for a really good Mississippi State team.”

On what the design was for the last play…
“Well, we had used the timeout on the previous possession and I thought Kentucky was just really good there in their set defense. We had a timeout left in a one-point game. Little ‘helter skelter’. I like this disorganization out there of the defense. I thought it gave us a better chance. Obviously, it didn’t work out that way but none the less. I thought just relentless effort. I’ll have to go watch it, but Jordan Wright got blocked. He goes and saves it and throws it to the front of the rim and Tyrell Ward comes flying out of nowhere to put the ball in at the buzzer. As I said on TV there, that won’t be on any coaching clinic but our players toughness and grit flying around made the play to win the game.”

Conclusion…
“I will conclude by just thanking the fans. That was an awesome atmosphere. The energy in the building, you could feel it. When our guys needed a lift down 15, they gave it to us and when we needed to make plays, I thought the fans were just awesome. It’s something to build on. We’ve got an elite Mississippi State team coming in here Saturday night at 7:30 PM CT and I hope we can pack the place and sell it out and keep building on this last week’s run with these two great wins.”

LSU Forward Jalen Reed
On what clicked for him in the second half and what they did well as an offense…
“I think we did a lot of things well. We moved the ball better in the second half. For me I think, I didn’t really play much in the first half, so I was just ready to play. I had the opportunity. Derek Fountain had to sit out. He was dealing with some things with his thigh so I just stepped up and I really wanted to deliver for my team.”

On the past two games and what it means for the program moving forward…
“These past two games have been an amazing experience. I think we have grown a lot as a team and we are starting to reap the benefits of our hard work. We are just enjoying it. This is a good representation of the team we can be.”

LSU Forward Tyrell Ward
On what the message was when Kentucky went on their big run…
“Honestly just stay composed. We knew we were going to have a chance to get the momentum back and we were at home. Basketball is just a game of runs so we just had to stay composed and follow coaches game plan and I thought that’s what we did.”

On the past two games and what it means for the program moving forward…
“The best teams go through the most adversity. I feel like during the four to five game stretch where we couldn’t pull it out, I feel like that was just all the buildup to get to these two games. This is just the progress of it.”

Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari Quotes

Opening Statement…
“Fifty-fifty balls cost us the game. It’s all we talk about. Fifty-fifty balls. Not only the last play, the play before that. Up 13, we have it, they jerk it form us, kick it out, make a three, make another three. Now it’s anybody’s ballgame. Matter of fact, we may have been up 15. You can’t win. Don’t tell me about your offense. If you’re not going to come up with 50/50 balls, you can’t win but I’m going to say this: all that being said, I was proud of these guys, in this environment, doing what they did. Making that last shot, someone blocks it, I got to watch the tape and see who did not grab that ball. The winning ball. Who didn’t grab it? And why? Why not dive on the floor just to get the ball and tie up the game? Fought to get back, made baskets, (Rob) Dillingham made some unbelievable plays. He did what he does.”

On what went wrong after the 15-point lead…
“I don’t know but I’ve watched all their games. They were down 24 on Tennessee and they came back and made it a five-point game. They were down 16 against South Carolina and made it a game. So why don’t you say what are you guys doing when you’re down 15? What happens to your team? Because they just change. I think Florida had them down 16 or 17, so I told my team that at halftime, ‘they’re going to make a run’. Every game I’ve watched they’ve made a run. Now you have got to make a run back, but, we had been getting 50/50 balls. We reverted a little bit today. But you have got to give them credit. It was a great game for them and a great win. They toughed us for those balls which made the difference in the game.”