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Post-Game Quotes (Game 6)

Dec. 1, 2017

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GEORGIA TECH HEAD COACH Josh Pastner

Opening statement:

“Well, it’s a disappointing loss. Grambling State just played with more energy and I hate saying that for a team that I’m with and that’s a credit to their staff and their players. They out-energized us today, unfortunately. We’re not good enough to try to turn it on late. It’s just one of those things and I was warning guys the last 36-48 hours that this is a trap game. We have a great win versus Northwestern and then a game against Tennessee on Sunday and I was warning our guys if we don’t play with that fire and intensity, it can really come back and bite us in the butt and it did. It’s going to be hard for our team when Ben [Lammers] and Tadric [Jackson] don’t play at the level that we need them to.”

On tentativeness in the offense early:

“We wanted to go inside and we did but Ben missed some shots in there, AD [Gueye] had some shots in there that we missed and Tadric had a couple layups right there that didn’t go. So, we were trying to go inside, we just didn’t score and then we ended up making some threes. I thought we were a little tentative but that happens when you don’t have that energy. You get tight on that a little bit and that happened to us today.”

On changes in the offensive schemes with Ben Lammers not being 100 percent:

“It’s just hard – and I’m not making any excuse – but it’s just limited. It’s hard when Ben’s not performing at a high level for us because we do everything through Ben. That’s what we do and it’s hard when he’s not playing at the level that we need him to play. Even things like passing and things like that.”

On the freshmen showing up and hitting some big shots:

“The freshmen are fine. There’s going to be highs and lows with the freshmen group. We just can’t have any highs and lows with the seniors. Not with this group. We just don’t have enough margin for error with this group.”

On takeaways from the rally:

“The rally is great but I’m disappointed. We’re not good enough to not have that fire and that’s who we’ve been the entire year. We’ve been pretty consistent in how we’ve played but that first 30 minutes, we weren’t real good. Unfortunately, we had some breakdowns in the first half, we helped off ballside on No. 24 on penetration, which we don’t teach, and he hit a three on Tadric and a three on Brandon [Alston]. Those plays are just as big as a last-second play.”


GRAMBLING STATE HEAD COACH DONTE’ JACKSON

Opening statement:

“Man, what a finish. That’s all I can say is ‘what a finish.’ Somehow, some way we found a way to get lucky and the basketball gods were with us today with a tip in and we competed our butt off. That’s all you can ask of your kids, to compete your butt off.”

On focusing the defensive and offense efforts on Ben Lammers in the paint:

“In order for us to have a chance, we knew we had to hope he had an off night. With him getting some foul trouble early definitely worked to our advantage. I think him getting in some foul trouble early had him in a situation where he never really got into a groove. So it worked out in our advantage and just happy that he was just 1-for-7 tonight. That’s just the reality.”

On settling down after Georgia Tech’s run in the second half:

“When they made the run, A.J. Gaston made a big three, Ivy Smith made a big pull-up. It was just one of those things where guys got to understand they got to make shots. We’ve been close in several games … it was our first time being up at the half and I told them ‘Georgia Tech is going to come out and swing with a big punch. Now it is about can you withstand the blow.’ We withstood it and towards the end we got a lucky tip in and we’ll take it. The basketball gods were on our side and we competed hard.”

On how he saw the last basket unfold:

“Well, what we wanted to do was to space them out. Go high ball screed and just let Ivy Smith make a play for somebody. More of him and Diontae Jones, put two of your best players in a ball screen and let’s see what happens. We put our two best players in a ball screen, Ivy turned the corner, the ball went up and somehow and someway it was a tip in … I don’t know who tipped it in, but it went in.”

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