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Postgame: UVA basketball coach Tony Bennett on win at Clemson

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uva coach tony bennettUVA basketball coach Tony Bennett talks with the media after the Cavs’ 77-73 win at Clemson on Saturday.

 

Opening statement: “Devon [Hall] made some big free throws. London [Perrantes] had a terrific game. What a game. We executed a call. They didn’t even know it, but we got a clean London [Perrantes] to bang it when we were tied up. And we, defensively, played just well enough and some guys sort of stabbed or speared a rebound and we got it, got the ball in. I put the freshmen, the first years in, and they did a good job. We were having some trouble inbounding the ball, and I just thought they finished it well. And I’m very thankful. I really am. That was a hard fought game. [There were] a lot of mistakes but we overcame them.”

On taking London [Perrantes] out in the first half: “Actually I took him out and the play just kept going and going. There’s no stoppage in time. Maybe there’s one stop but I liked that group that was on the floor. They were either holding steady with, I don’t know if we were down or up, but the lead, the margin. Well I thought, here’s a good chance… run in and get some rest. And I thought those guys did a good job. Marial [Shayok] and Darius [Thompson] gave us a good lift in the first half. Kyle [Guy] and Ty [Jerome] were good going through it. So I liked what was happening and that was just valuable time he could be out. And we went with [London Perrantes] the whole way in the second half but it wasn’t a, ‘Hey, you need to wait and watch this.’ I just thought those guys were doing a good job.”

On the end of the first half: “We had two, I was going to say, very costly turnovers in the end of the half. We had London [Perrantes] wide open on an action. Isaiah [Wilkins], I thought he was open and we just threw it away and they scored. And then I called timeout and I didn’t draw it up well enough, and we didn’t execute it. I was hoping to get a look but the last thing we said was, ‘Hey, if it’s not there, please don’t throw it in the back court. Just throw it down there and make a play.’ You get in that spot and we didn’t execute it at the time out. Guys weren’t open and that’s a tough spot to be in, and you hate to do that at the end of the half, but it happened and we overcame it.”

On the increase in defensive rebounds and second chance points in the second half: “They kind of scored at will in the paint, and then the storyline would have been ‘Points off turnovers.’ But we were good enough. I just kept saying to dig in. When you go four guards you give up things. But you also get some things. And we were just trying to match it that way. But Isaiah [Wilkins] came up with a few big rebounds, 13 total, and that’s significant. I thought Marial [Shayok] went back in there and speared a couple or grabbed a couple rebounds. We needed every possession and obviously I thought it was better in the second half. But defensively, we’ve got a ton of room for improvement. It’s just not where it needs to be, but there’s stretches where it’s good enough.

On Marial Shayok’s last couple of games: “In practice you can see him coming. He can score off the bounce. He’s creative at creating space, rising up, and he’s got a scorer’s mentality. I put him in the lineup, and whether that’s helped his confidence or not, I don’t think so. He’s just getting opportunities and he’s taking better care of the basketball. I put that first group out there because I think it’s our most physical group, but obviously we are using a lot of different lineups and foul trouble made us do that. But Marial [Shayok] has that strength. That is a strength of him, off that bounce. He can do some different things: driving, pullups, and hit the big three in the corner too.”

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