Central Oklahoma Quotes
Head coach Terry Evans
“It was a hard-fought game,” said Evans. “We knew coming in Tarleton was an excellent team. We wanted them to have to do something different by playing more zone to keeping them off the free throw line. That was one key, and another key was that we penetrated and kicked the ball out. It’s hard to guard that and that’s what we focused on.”
“Our defense was excellent, said Evans. “We came out aggressive, got in foul trouble early, but made them try to beat us from the outside. Our guys fought and executed on both ends.”
“I was really proud of our entire team,” said Evans. “Victor has overcome a career threatening injury. He’s back in the mix and he can play. We have short guards, but just because your small doesn’t mean you can’t play. Tyler and Tucker Phillips battled on the boards. Dauntae is our leader but he’s got teammates.”
“We got back in our zone,” said Evans. “They were scoring a lot of uncontested points. They didn’t shoot real well. There is a difference when the shots are going in, and theirs did not.”
Dauntae Williams
“We knew they were going to crash the boards so we got out mind right and played through the contact,” said Williams.
“I enjoyed the whole week here,” said Williams. “It was a lot of competition against a lot of great teams.”
Victor Driver
“Corin’s fast,” said Driver. “It made it easier on everyone else when we got back in the zone and that was big for us.”
Tarleton Quotes - Championship game
Head coach Lonn Reisman
“Central played very well today and we didn’t play as well,” said Reisman. “They had a good game plan and changed defenses on us. Give them credit. They won 17 of the last 18 games. We had our opportunities, but ours didn’t go in and theirs did.”
“We’ve played well defensively, but it’s hard to turn around and face UCO in 24 hours,” said Reisman. “You would like a few days to prepare.”
“We deserve to get in the tournament,” said Reisman. “We’ll go from here. We have to keep our heads up because this is just one game. You’re judged in the NCAA on body of work. The final four here was a tremendous final four and they’ll all be in the regional next week.”
Corin Henry
“We had some trouble, but even though they had a good defense, we had some looks,” said Henry. “They just didn’t go down. That’s not like us.”
“They have the defensive player of the year in the North,” said Henry. “It was pretty physical, and they tried to get in my head. They were a good defensive team.”
Devon Hills
“It’s always tough on back-to-back days,” said Hills. “Playing Midwestern is always going to be a big game for us, so we were a little fatigued, but we’re not making excuses.”