Coach Slessinger's Quotes Following Saturday's 76-71 Loss To Louisiana-Lafayette

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Overall thoughts on the game
"It's extremely disappointing to not come out of this with a win. We did a lot of things very well today, but we had some breakdowns and some costly turnovers in both halves where we just got ahead of ourselves and played a little faster than we wanted to. This is a team that is averaged [nearly] 90 a game. We wanted to keep it down in the 50s and 60s if we could, but it got a little quicker than we wanted it to in the second half. This one hurts and it stings."
 
On the fouls going the way of the Cajuns in the first half and his team battling back from a 10-point deficit
"There were a couple of times where we had some chances. We attacked the rim very well. We went to the basket and did some things right from that aspect, but didn't get the call. It happens sometimes. But I thought we were playing right. We had to overcome a lot of foul trouble and overcome a lot of weird combinations that hadn't been out there together. Nate [Frye] had to kick some rust off. There were two or three plays where we really needed him to convert and get right, but we'll get there. I'm proud of the way they guys fought. I'm proud of where we're at as a team. This was an honest loss. We played hard. We played very unselfish basketball. It was a hard-fought game. It just didn't go our way."
 
On having to play Nate Frye, who made his first appearance of the season, so many minutes due to other players in foul trouble
"He'll knock those down. He's done it for three years now and I don't have any qualms about him being out there. He's practiced well all fall. We'll get there with him. This was a tough-luck game. It was an in-state, rivalry game and it looked like it. It came right down to the end, and unfortunately we were on the short end of it."
 
On UL-Lafayette scoring on some irregular shot attempts
"They had some crazy shots that went in. [Jay] Wright played out of his mind. It was a kind of game he hasn't played all year and may not play again for a while. They were heavily-contested shots with people on him. It happens."
 
On the atmosphere in Lakefront Arena today
"Our guys are working their tails off. I like where we're at and we're going to keep moving forward. We've got a tough game Monday night at Utah State. We're going to go two time zones away and then come home on Wednesday night. Hopefully this same crowd, and maybe more, will be here then to support these kids."