Postgame Quotes: OSU 101 vs Houston Baptist 74

Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton

On the win over Houston Baptist:
"The first thing that jumps out to me is that we had 26 assists on 30 made baskets. That means we're sharing the ball, and we're giving it up to other guys because we believe in each other. We don't have guys that think they need to do it on their own, but I think the team really believes in each other."

On the record-setting free throw performance:
"We have a goal of at least 75 percent as a team, but that's something we work on every day. I talked after the last game about how that was an aberration. It was kind of a weird game where kind of everything goes wrong. We've got really good shooters though and guys that can step up for us offensively."

On wanting the team to play maturely in the second half:
"We did for the most part. We got there late and had some guys in there that don't play as much, and that had a lot to do with the way the game finished. That'll improve as those guys continue to get more reps and we'll be able to finish games stronger."

On having five players score in double figures:
"We have a very versatile team. One of the biggest strengths of this team is the quality of our depth. There are guys that can come off the bench and obviously with a guy like Jeffrey Carroll who is still coming off the bench, we have a guy who can really help offensively. And the same goes for Brandon Averette. Now Davon Dillard is also back and available. We're continuing to build that depth and that will help us be a better team."

On Davon Dillard:
"We were fortunate that the game played out the way that it did because we were able to get him more reps. We weren't sure how much he was going to be able to play today because he still needs to get more reps in practice and that will help him be more impactful for us in the game."

On Cameron McGriff's bounce-back performance:
"That just shows the type of character he has and his coachability. You have to be coachable. This is a deal that is obviously never personal, but we want the guys to be performing as well as possible so that we can have success and Cam took a little bit of criticism for the way he performed against Texas A&M and he has responded the right way. He owned his mistakes and has responded to help us play a lot better since then."

On the point guard play this season:
"I've been really pleased with our point guard play with the exception of the Texas A&M game so far this season. Defensively, both of those guys again were very solid for us. They took care of the basketball and helped us on offense as well."

On looking forward to Austin Peay:
"I know their head coach really well and I know that they'll be ready to come in here and play. They play a defense that is similar to ours, so it'll be a different challenge than what we've faced so far."

OSU senior guard Jeff Carroll

Thoughts of the game
"I thought we came out kind of flat, but I thought that we just picked it up and just started playing our style of basketball."

On the ball movement
"We have our great point guards pass the ball and we have a lot of playmakers, so it's pretty easy to make shots."

On Thomas Dziagwa
"They got to guard him because he can dang near shoot it from half-court. As soon as he crosses the half-court line you got to check him."

OSU sophomore guard Thomas Dziagwa

On his career high
"Coach (Mike Boynton) ran some plays for me, my teammates set some great screens and threw me some good passes so my job is to hit shots down."

On ball movement
"I think it shows how our team is very unselfish. The only objective we have when we step on the court is to win. We don't care who really gets the spotlight or anything, so I think it speaks volumes for what kind of character our team has."

On free throws
"Free throws are huge. We work on them every day in practice. We run if we don't make them, so coach (Mike Boynton) has made it pivotal for us to work on our free throws."

Houston Baptist head coach Ron Cottrell

General thoughts on the game
"I just kept telling my guys to keep playing hard. These are growing experiences for our team. We're a young team. You're going to be put in adverse situations on the road and you're going to have to figure out a way to find a way to compete. And honestly, we did in the second half. Our guys continued to stay focused in on what we wanted to do, continue to attack."

On the second half
"They didn't get out of character and I was pleased with the way we continued to fight. I'm not pleased with the outcome but I am pleased with the character the guys showed in an adverse situation and continuing to focus and play hard all the way to the end."

On Jalon Gates
"He's one of those guys that if you let him make one, you better watch out. Because then he's going to make two, three, four. He's one of those guys that if he can come out and get one under his belt and feel really good about himself, they'll get deeper and deeper. He'll just take another step out and you think you have him guarded and then he takes another step out. He's one of those guys that gets a rhythm going and that's why he's out there."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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Cameron McGriff

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