Oklahoma State University Athletics
Post-Game Quotes
March 04, 2015 | Cowboy Basketball
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TCU at Oklahoma State
March 4, 2015 | Stillwater, Okla./Gallagher-Iba Arena
Post-Game Quotes
Final Score: Oklahoma State 82, TCU 70
Oklahoma State Coach Travis Ford
On the performance of seniors Le'Bryan Nash and Anthony Hickey:
"We had a lot of great contributions from several players. Obviously, Nash and Hickey played very well. I thought Cobbins rebounded the ball well and got some big rebounds that we needed. I thought Phil Forte kind of got his game back. I liked his speed, I liked his energy. I thought he passed up a few shots, but I liked how Phil Forte played today. We got contributions from a lot of guys, but two guys that I thought were really difference-makers were Jeffrey Carroll and Tavarius Shine. I thought those two guys were tremendous."
On limiting TCU in the second half:
"I thought (Tavarius) Shine really gave us some great rebounding and defense. I thought he showed some toughness tonight, so I was proud of him for that. The other part is that we really challenged our guys at halftime to protect the paint. Do a better job of rebounding, do a better job of taking away their post-ups and their paint points. We did a good job, other than one guy who really hurt us in the second half, but we really executed what we talked about at halftime. We did a great job of that. (Kyan) Anderson didn't score in the first half, and then comes back and has a huge second half to keep them in the game."
On the team looking like it was having fun:
"What we did in the second half against Texas Tech looked like it carried over a little bit. This is two games that we scored 48 points in the second half, and you look back and our second halves have been our killers. From that standpoint, they've kind of listened to us and worked in that manner. I saw it in practice yesterday. We had one of the most spirited practices. We went for a strong hour. That hour was very high-spirited and very locked in and it did look like they were having a little bit of fun. A lot of people have asked me what the mentality of the team is right now after four tough games. It hasn't seemed to bother them as much as the coaches. They're a pretty close-knit group of guys. The personality of this team, they've never gotten too high or too low. They embraced success a little bit, but I don't think they ever started acting cocky. That's just not this team's nature. I do think that after we were playing so great, we kind of settled a little bit. Last three halves, I thought we got back to playing with more of a chip on our shoulder."
Oklahoma State Forward Le'Bryan Nash
On OSU's scoring run in the second half
"It was a good stretch. Hickey started hitting shots, Phil (Forte) started hitting shots. I got two and-ones, and as the game started stretching, we got about six stops. That opened up the game, and we started scoring. Hickey got real hot and we just fed off of him."
On playing on senior night
"It hit me when the ball went up in the air. At first, I was just going through the motions, and that was my bad. When Coach Ford took me out, he talked to me and told me, 'You know this is your last game so you have to go out there and play. We need this win.' I just got down to business when he put me back in, and we came out with the W. It kind of makes you feel sad. This is one of the best arenas I've ever been in in my entire life. When that place is sold out, it's just mayhem. It's going to be hard, but I'm going to come back and support."
On snapping a four-game losing streak
"We need that momentum, so we need to get a W on the road to get us going into the Big 12 tournament. Anybody can win this tournament; it's the Big 12. Everybody is beating everybody, so it's going to be one exciting tournament. We want to go in there and win it. That win on Saturday would give us great momentum."
Oklahoma State Guard Anthony Hickey
On holding up his jersey before the game
"Throughout the years, you see other guys holding up the jersey, but tonight it was our night. It was a surprise that it came so fast. It was great to see fans come out, even in this weather. I think we gave them a great show tonight. Like I said, it came so fast and it was a great game. I want to say thanks to all the fans for coming out and supporting us on Senior Night."
On what was working for him on Senior Night
"With [Forte and Nash] in the game, it makes it a lot easier for me. The shots always come. I just do my job and get them in a better situation where they can score the ball. They helped when I was open, and that makes us a tough team when everybody is doing their job. I had a stretch where I did get a little hot, but I give credit to my teammates. They put up their numbers and I wait for my time."
On what they learned from playing WVU the first time
"That was the first time we actually got pressed, playing at that fast tempo. Ever since then, we've started to push the ball more. We don't walk the ball up. We play off fast breaks and continue to try to limit our turnovers. We need to lock down defensively. We need to play 40 minutes of our basketball."
Oklahoma State Guard Phil Forte
On how the seniors performed
"I think they deserved it. Obviously, we needed this win. More importantly, we wanted to send the seniors out right. They deserve it. They work hard, and they're a great group of guys so I'm happy we got to send them out with a win."
On how he felt after sinking his first shot
"That's just how sports are sometimes. It has its highs and lows. I think the toughest thing for me was not wanting to let my teammates down. I can't tell you how many times these guys have encouraged me. When you have teammates like that, I think that really says a lot, and that really motivates me."
On facing West Virginia
"Obviously, when you've faced them once before, you kind of have an idea. We know we have our hands full. They're very athletic and they play as hard as I've seen any team play. They keep sending bodies at you. We have to move on from this one, watch the film and see what we can do on Saturday."
TCU head coach Trent Johnson
Opening statement
"Well, 11-in-17 from the three. They were good. We knew they were going to be good. We couldn't guard them. Phil Forte was good tonight. Anthony Hickey was really good. At the start of the second half, we got out. We got three good offensive possessions, three good looks, we came down and the ball didn't go down for us. It seemed like that put us behind the eight ball. That's a wrap."
On the team's performance
"I wish we had a little bit more from everybody in the first half. Let's not kid ourselves. We were running our stuff and we were good in the first half, but the problems were at the other end defensively. You're not going to beat a lot of teams in this league when you give up 82 points. Like I said, we couldn't guard them. It wasn't because of a lack of effort. They made plays. They shot deep threes. Right before the half, Le'Bryan Nash had three-point plays in the lane and we lost Forte on a held ball situation. He got a deep three and that got him in rhythm. But, like I said, 11-in-17 from the three-point line is pretty good."
On the Big 12
"I do know one thing. There's some pretty good basketball teams in this league. There are some pretty good players in this league. There are some pretty nice benches in this league."
