Postgame Quotes: Ohio State 110, St. Francis 47 – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
No. 17/18 Ohio State 110 (5-1), St. Francis 47 (1-5)
Nov. 28, 2009
Value City Arena Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 12,063
POSTGAME QUOTES
Thad Matta, Ohio State head coach
On the game
“I told our guys to try and get out and establish tempo early. I also thought we did a good job of sharing the basketball and finding the open guy.”
On Evan Turner reaching 1,000 career points
“It’s obviously a great thing for him and he moves into some great company with all of the outstanding players that have come through Ohio State. I thought he was very effective again tonight, just as he has been all year.”
On resting Evan Turner and Jon Diebler
“I think I was more concerned with getting minutes for our other guys – I’ve never been opposed giving guys too many minutes, as you’ve probably seen over the past six years.”
On Wednesday’s game against Florida State
“Florida State is a very talented, long and athletic team – their size reminds me a lot of North Carolina. It’ll be a great focus point for our guys as we get back into the practice gym.”
Evan Turner, junior guard/forward
On reaching 1,000 career points
“It’s pretty cool. It probably won’t hit me until a little bit later, but it’s a great accomplishment and an honor to be in the same class as legendary players. I’m very fortunate to be in this position.”
On surpassing 100 points as a team
“I thought it was pretty cool. Last season we held Samford to 23 points, and this year we’re a team that scored one of the highest totals in school history. It’s something to remember.”
Jon Diebler, junior guard
On the team’s fast start
“Coach told us after the last game that we need to amp up the intensity. The past two practices leading up to the game had a ton of energy and all of the players kept coming after them, even the bench came out with great energy.”
On the game
“The biggest thing was that we moved the ball well. Evan (Turner) and Dave (Lighty) kept penetrating the gaps and getting wide-open shots. On top of that, we played well down low with Dallas (Lauderdale), Kyle (Madsen) and Zisis (Sarikopoulos).
Don Friday, St. Francis head coach
On the game
“We got shellacked. Coming in here, we’re not going to make excuses. We’re in a rebuilding year at St. Francis University. We weren’t able to will our style at all. My biggest concern coming in here was that we didn’t have an inside guy over 6-6 that had college varsity experience. That really put us in a bind. That might be OK in our Northeast Conference, but not here.
On playing Ohio State
“I’m disappointed. We competed with fear. I didn’t do a good job of preparing our kids. In the second half we tried to handle it with class and finish it the right way. I have no disrespect for Ohio State. Their kids played hard. They’re classy kids. It’s good to see a program like Thad Matta has built. “
