Oklahoma State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes
November 29, 2017 | Cowboy Basketball
OSU head coach Mike Boynton
On the second half
"They stuck with their game plan more consistently throughout the game than we did. We kind of got knocked on our heels a little bit. I was disappointed at half that we shot so many threes. So maybe we were a little gun shy and that's on me, but I did wanna send a message that we can't rely on that every night to save our butts ... that we have to be able to score in the paint and we gotta be able to drive the ball and get to the free throw line."
On the false sense of security from 3s
"We saw the ball go in the basket early, and you start to feel like everyone is gonna go in. Well it's not, and we've gotta be realistic about that and have some balance in our offense. We tried to establish that. We did finish the game the right way, offensively. Mitchell Solomon had some pretty strong finishes in one-on-one situations in the post. That's something we can build on."
On the defense
"I saw that they were the aggressors again. They drove us. They got themselves to the free throw line ... put us in some foul trouble. That's an area we gotta get better at ... sitting down, guarding the ball and putting it in front of us."
On having teaching points after a win
"It's always better to learn from a win. We don't give wins back, that's for sure. I've got great respect (for Austin Peay). Sometimes people get caught up in the name of the team, and the record and how they've won or lost, but that's a well-coached team. They play really aggressively, and he's trying to change the culture. He's got those guys playing right, so I give him credit for giving us some problems tonight."
On Tavarius Shine's offensive rebounds/put-backs
"It was something we needed. We needed a boost, especially once I made an emphasis on getting the ball in the paint and trying to get to the offensive glass and try to get to the free throw line. He came up with some big plays. Again, Mitchell Solomon made some big plays, and we were able to finish the game and get a nice win."
On Lindy and perimeter shootingÂ
"Lindy was huge. Lindy plays all over the floor. He plays a little bit of point for us, little bit of forward and he's a natural wing. He got off to a good start tonight, and it was good to see that after he hadn't shot the ball that well prior to tonight. We definitely need to continue to build on what he's doing and find ways to have him be more efficient over the course of the game."
On getting back to workÂ
"I think my rule is we have to take tomorrow off, otherwise we wouldn't, but we'll be back in here on Friday getting ready for the next opponent. I'm looking forward to getting back on the court with the guys."
OSU guard Lindy Waters
On the 3-point shooting early in the game
"We were just playing unselfish. We were getting good shots and as a team that can shoot the ball well, we are going to shoot them."
On the importance of Jeffrey Carroll's consistency
"It helped a lot. We were emphasizing trying to get it inside, but we weren't as successful as we wanted to be. But with Jeff knocking down some shots and still being aggressive, it helped us a lot early on."
On how his two early 3-pointers in the game boosts his confidence
"It boosts it really quick. The first one, I wasn't even looking for it. And just to be able to see it go in, it helps a lot."
On the early second half struggles
"We just weren't locked in mentally. We had a couple of defensive breakdowns, fouls, letting them get to the free throw line, just a lot of little things. They just built up over time."
On how much the team can rely on the 3-point shooting"It's not something we can totally rely on, but it's definitely one of our strengths. We're going to shoot them, that's just us. We're a really good shooting team with Thomas [Dziagwa] coming off the bench, Shine able to knock it down, BA [Brandon Averette] and Cam being able to step up. We're just a 3-point oriented team."
OSU guard Tavarius Shine
On what changed in the second half
"We wanted to emphasize getting to the cup. We had to pull back on some of our threes and try to drive to the basket. We had more size, more physical guys and bigger guys, so we stopped settling and tried to get to the cup."
On getting help off the bench
"It's great. All of our guys come out with a lot of energy and aggression, so having the whole team back helps. Davon [Dillard], Cam [McGriff] coming off the bench, all those guys coming in helps a lot."
On how he feels physically
"I feel good. Some days are better than others, but I feel good. I don't even really think about it."
Austin Peay coach Matt Figger
On first half mistakes
"I was just frustrated with the inability to find shooters when they drove the ball and they kicked it out, our close-outs were all short. We told our guys before the game, (Oklahoma State) can really shoot the ball. That was a part of my frustration. The other part of my frustration was we went like eight out of nine trips where we turned the ball over. You can't win games when you turn the ball over. It deflates you."
On self-inflicted turnovers
"(There is) no excuse for turning the ball over in crucial situations. Especially if you want to go beat a Big 12 team on the road. We'll go back on film and look at things, but we're going to grow from this."
On full court pressure
"We've been able to turn teams over. That's the one strength of our team. Right now, the (opponent's) field goal percentage is too high. When you turn the ball over, it kind of deflates you a little bit. When the game was right there for us, they were only shooting like 34 percent in the second half. We've got to take care of our business."
On the fight his team showed
"Coming into the game (OSU) was beating teams by like 25 or 30 points per game, if I'm not mistaken. People are going to pick up the box score that didn't watch the game or didn't follow the game and say 'Oh, (Austin Peay) lost by 16.' Well, the game was a lot closer than that. There's no moral victories, but our kids fought. We're going to keep fighting. I designed this schedule for a reason. Obviously, not to lose, but to prepare our guys for when we get into conference play to understand that we've played a lot of good teams."
On offensive flow
"Again, this is my fault because I am trying to over-coach. I'm trying to put things in and attack Oklahoma State's defense because they play very similar (defense) to what we do because Mike (Boynton) and I come from the same coaching tree working for Frank Martin. I'm trying to do a few things that take advantage of the defense, so they stand around, and that's my fault."
On outscoring OSU in the second half
"We never had any quit in us. I watched other films of the teams they played and (OSU) jumped on (its opponents) quick and those teams kind of caved into it because Oklahoma State is big and quick and athletic. We didn't quit. I didn't say enough about our kids that didn't quit. We're going to keep fighting."
