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Ken Bone Postgame

Follow the jump for a transcription of coach Ken Bone following WSU's win over UCLA.

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WSU Coach Ken Bone

What does this win mean for your team?

~~I think it means a lot because our guys have obviously gone through a rough season. The last time we won was February 1 against Washington here. And that was the last game of the first time through league so it was our ninth game … and then to lose eight more in a row and then the Bruins come in and they’re a storied program and second in the league, just as good as anybody else in our league. And they’ll show it, they have a great team. But it’s exciting because our guys have hung together, hung together, hung together, persevered through some tough times, and I think they are learning some valuable lessons along with getting a win tonight.

Is it even more impressive that they did it without a big night from DaVonte Lacy?

~~Yeah I mean everybody in our program would love to see DaVonte have a great game every night. He’s such a great kid and works hard, super attitude. But it is nice to know that some other guys stepped up when DaVonte wasn’t having his greatest game.

~~Part of  that was due to UCLA’s good defense on him but other kids stepped up. Two of them were freshman, Que Johnson hit some big shots. Ike Iroegbu had I thought maybe his best overall game even though he was really, really good against Gonzaga. But tonight he was really good.

How was your team able to frustrate so many good offensive players?

~~Part of  that was due to UCLA’s good defense on him but other kids stepped up. Two of them were freshman, Que Johnson hit some big shots. Ike Iroegbu had I thought maybe his best overall game even though he was really, really good against Gonzaga. But tonight he was really good.

Did it help to know you beat them last year in similar fashion?

~~I definitely don’t think it hurt to know that hey, last year we weren’t playing great and we were able to knock them off. Let’s do it again. We didn’t start out very well, they kind of had their way with us early on. But our guys hung in there and stuck together and did a nice job that last 15 minutes of the first half.

How hard is it not only come back and take the lead, but then sustain a lead like that against UCLA?

~~It’s hard to do that. We talked about that at halftime. We were up at Oregon 31-24 and, shoot, it was our ball at halftime, we throw the ball inbounds and they score within three seconds. We come down they turn it over and they got an and-one in transition. You’ve got a great chance to win if you come out the second half that way but tonight we came out the second half, I think we were physically and mentally prepared for what UCLA might throw at us and I think they handled it pretty well.

 

 

 

 



Jacob Thorpe
Jacob Thorpe joined The Spokesman-Review in 2013. He currently is a reporter for the Sports Desk covering Washington State University athletics.

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