What San Diego State guards Nick Boyd, Wayne McKinney said after loss to North Carolina
San Diego State was unable to contain North Carolina on Tuesday night, falling to the Tarheels 95-68, in the NCAA’s First Four in Dayton, Ohio.
North Carolina knocked down seven three-pointers in each half and outrebounded the Aztecs 39 to 28. After trailing 6-5, North Carolina put together a 30-8 run over an 11-minute span in the first half to take control of the game. The Tarheels led by 24 points at halftime and grew the lead to as many as 40 points before San Diego State closed with seven straight made field goals to close the final deficit to 27. RJ Davis, North Carolina’s second all-time leading scorer, had 26 points to lead four Tarheels in double figures.
San Diego State guards Nick Boyd and Wayne McKinney each finished with 12 points in the loss. Boyd, who has one season of eligibility remaining, reached double digits for the 53rd time in his career. Playing in his final collegiate game, McKinney reached double digits for the 48th time.
Here’s everything Boyd and McKinney said after Tuesday’s loss to North Carolina in the NCAA tournament.
Q. Nick, how did the game get away in that first half? Where did you feel it starting to slip away from you?
NICK BOYD: I think we got a couple -- we had a couple turnovers and those turned into fast breaks, and then on top of that, we fouled some guys where they were able to get a couple of free throws, a couple fast break points. And then I think they started out the game hitting, if I'm not mistaken, like 4-for-4 from three. So, I thought we played a really good defense, and then they had some guys step up and make some threes where it kind of stretched the lead. But once they got going in transition off our turnovers, it's hard to stop them.
Q. Wayne, when they're hitting threes like that, how does that stretch the defense? How does it make it more difficult to stick to your assignments?
WAYNE McKINNEY III: Definitely makes it a little bit more difficult. They have a team full of guys who can get to the hoop and drive pretty well and swing it out for open shots. When all their guys are making shots like that, it makes it a lot more difficult for us to guard.
Q. This is a program that was 7-2 in the NCAA Tournament the last two years. It rarely gives up more than 70 points. You gave up 95 tonight and lose by 30. Describe those emotions. How shocking is it to your system to lose like this?
NICK BOYD: Yeah, obviously not the outcome we wanted. It's tough. You know, it's tough. It's hard to really even put into words how you feel after coming to the biggest stage and just getting your butt whooped. But this is bigger than basketball, and these are lessons that we can take as a team into the real world and just learn from and learn how to keep your head up. But yeah, it's just hard to explain.
WAYNE McKINNEY III: Yeah, it hurts a lot. We're a defensive team, and we didn't really stick to our assignments as well as we could have. I know we were one of the younger teams in the tournament, so luckily for those guys they get to get a taste of this and understand for preparation next season how much it means to just lock in on every play and don't take anything for granted and just work hard.
Q. Nick, I know you weren't here, but the last time San Diego State got beat like this in the NCAA Tournament against an ACC team was in 2018 against Syracuse. It was a real bad loss. They were down 24 at half, same thing. But they really rallied around that loss. Two years later they're in the National Championship game. Do you think something like this will help the team, motivate you through the summer in sort of the same way?
NICK BOYD: Yeah, like Wayne said, no doubt. I'm just happy for the team, man. We had a bunch of young dudes, a bunch of guys who never been to the tournament. And when I heard our name called, I was just so proud because just for them to have the opportunity to understand what it's like and what it feels like to represent a city or a school on one of the biggest platforms there is for college sports or colleges in general. I just think this is a loss that we're going to feel throughout the summer. We got punked and they whooped our butts. If you don't come to the summer ready to work, you don't really love the game. I think this is something, yeah, we can definitely grow from, and rally around and just take to the summer with us and hopefully be back here next year.
MORE SAN DIEGO STATE NEWS & ANALYSIS
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Continue to follow our San Diego State coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook.
-770033d1c5c4820fdbde4ecf2452e810.jpg "Bodie De Silva")
Bodie DeSilva has been covering sports in San Diego for more than a decade. He previously covered San Diego State athletics for Scout/Fox Sports.