Oklahoma State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes vs. Texas Tech
February 11, 2007 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State head coach Sean Sutton
On the game
“It was a really good game and I’m not surprised that it was so close because you had two teams coming in here that were desperate for a win. I had a gut feeling that Texas Tech would come in here and play well. We dug ourselves in a hole to start the second half. They came out and hit some really good shots. We switched to a zone and I think that changed the tempo a little bit. Then we switched to a man-to-man and had some opportunities to win in regulation.
“I’m really proud of our guys. This is the fourth time we have played in overtime, twice here and twice on the road, and we were able to pull all four out. They showed a lot of grit and a lot of character down the stretch to hang in there and keep fighting. This is a game that we had to win. I am really proud of the way our players and fans stayed with the game and fought to the end to get us a win.”
On coming back after trailing in the first overtime
“I felt like we could press them. They were in foul trouble and a couple of their guys were out. They had five guards on the floor and I felt that if we did a good job on our press, we would have a chance to force some turnovers. Fortunately, we were able to, but we hurt ourselves at the free throw line.”
On the overall effort of his team
“It was a team effort and I thought that all of our guys played a big part in this win. Byron (Eaton) came in and had eight assists and only two turnovers. Terrel Harris hit some big shots early in the second half to keep us in it. I thought that JamesOn made some big plays for us. He did not shoot great, but he came up with some key rebounds. Mario (Boggan) has played great in close games. You think about the Pittsburgh game, he had 30 points against them. In the Texas game he had 37 points and then 35 points today. He just willed us down the stretch. That is one thing that we talked about at halftime was that he didn’t have enough shots going in. We’ve got to run our offense through him, because he makes so many good things happen.“
Texas Tech head coach Bobby Knight
On the game
“We both had some opportunities to win and they had one more than we did, and it’s always tough to lose like that. I think that we played better than we have a lot over the course of the year. We were very unhappy with our play Tuesday, and I thought we had a lot better play and a lot more good things here today than we did on Tuesday. Anytime that you’re in overtime
you can pick out 50 things during the course of the game that would have enabled you to win it.”
On guarding Mario Boggan in second overtime
“It was tough, but still when you’re in a position to block out, you’ve got to block out.“
On only bringing 10 players
“We put our travel squad on a competitive basis and we’re not satisfied with our competitiveness and we decided to travel with ten players. I don’t regret not bringing anybody.”
On the game
“It was a really good game and I’m not surprised that it was so close because you had two teams coming in here that were desperate for a win. I had a gut feeling that Texas Tech would come in here and play well. We dug ourselves in a hole to start the second half. They came out and hit some really good shots. We switched to a zone and I think that changed the tempo a little bit. Then we switched to a man-to-man and had some opportunities to win in regulation.
“I’m really proud of our guys. This is the fourth time we have played in overtime, twice here and twice on the road, and we were able to pull all four out. They showed a lot of grit and a lot of character down the stretch to hang in there and keep fighting. This is a game that we had to win. I am really proud of the way our players and fans stayed with the game and fought to the end to get us a win.”
On coming back after trailing in the first overtime
“I felt like we could press them. They were in foul trouble and a couple of their guys were out. They had five guards on the floor and I felt that if we did a good job on our press, we would have a chance to force some turnovers. Fortunately, we were able to, but we hurt ourselves at the free throw line.”
On the overall effort of his team
“It was a team effort and I thought that all of our guys played a big part in this win. Byron (Eaton) came in and had eight assists and only two turnovers. Terrel Harris hit some big shots early in the second half to keep us in it. I thought that JamesOn made some big plays for us. He did not shoot great, but he came up with some key rebounds. Mario (Boggan) has played great in close games. You think about the Pittsburgh game, he had 30 points against them. In the Texas game he had 37 points and then 35 points today. He just willed us down the stretch. That is one thing that we talked about at halftime was that he didn’t have enough shots going in. We’ve got to run our offense through him, because he makes so many good things happen.“
Texas Tech head coach Bobby Knight
On the game
“We both had some opportunities to win and they had one more than we did, and it’s always tough to lose like that. I think that we played better than we have a lot over the course of the year. We were very unhappy with our play Tuesday, and I thought we had a lot better play and a lot more good things here today than we did on Tuesday. Anytime that you’re in overtime
you can pick out 50 things during the course of the game that would have enabled you to win it.”
On guarding Mario Boggan in second overtime
“It was tough, but still when you’re in a position to block out, you’ve got to block out.“
On only bringing 10 players
“We put our travel squad on a competitive basis and we’re not satisfied with our competitiveness and we decided to travel with ten players. I don’t regret not bringing anybody.”
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