Feb. 19, 2008

Recap |  Box Score |  Notes

Bowling Green Head Coach Louis Orr

On the game:

I think we lost our defensive intensity. It was a low-scoring first half, and we knew that they would be aggressive. I think that they got some second shots, and attacked us on the inside which got the momentum going. Then we struggled offensively and that compounded everything.

On Ohio's defense:

We didn't attack their zone as well, and they just kind of ballooned from there. It's really kind of hard to explain. When you're out there coaching, you try to come up with solutions and I didn't have them. We couldn't get going offensively. The second half was a struggle and turnovers led to more turnovers.

On the season:

On his nephew, Ohio's Justin Orr:

It's good to see Justin. I'd rather see him under different circumstances, but it's Bowling Green versus Ohio, not Lois Orr coaching against his nephew. He's one of the pieces to the puzzle. I wish him well, but a couple games a year we're going to bump heads.

Ohio Head Coach Tim O'Shea

On the game:

Too bad we can't play all of our games in the Convo. It's a whole lot different playing at home. The story of the second half is we just shot the ball so well. We defended well throughout, and we got some good looks in the first half that just didn't fall until the second half. I think what really started it was when Allen Hester made a three, that kind of broke the ice. Then it just got contagious and everyone began to shooting the ball well, which allowed us to really punch the ball inside. The defense was the constant. When the defense is good, it doesn't really pressure the offense too much. We don't have that sense that we have to score when we are consistently getting those stops.

On the play of the "role players" and the all-around team effort:

I was just thrilled to distribute the playing time to a lot of deserving guys. I thought Kenneth van Kempen played very well tonight and DeVaughn (Washington) did as well. Everyone that got on the floor played well. Asown Sayles got a chance to play tonight and played very well. I was really happy about that, because a lot of these guys come to practice and work hard. They don't really get a chance to play in the games that much, so it was great to give them meaningful playing time tonight.

On Allen Hester:

We are starting to see the guy that we've seen in practice all year and he is getting his confidence now. This could be big for us down the stretch. In games like this, he needs that confidence. He built on his Kent State effort and now we have George Mason. He has to be feeling pretty good about himself.

On being dominant without Leon Williams having a big game:

It's not really the way the game was played. Leon had kind of a flat game but rebounded well and was a presence out there. The reason that everybody was getting open was because he draws so much coverage, so he still had a big impact on the game.

On Jerome Tillman staying on the offensive glass:

That is what he has to do. That's when he is at his best. He is so strong. He can jump, he's athletic and just has to get into his mind that every time a shot is taken, he should take it as a pass to him. He just needs to get in there, give us some energy, and see if he can't come up with some balls. He really got after it in the second half.

On his feelings at halftime:

I just said, "Look, we're getting good shots. Just continue to focus on playing good defense and the shots will eventually start to fall". Now, on the road, it's a different story. I've had that happen before. I felt at one point we were going to get on a run. We had the crowd there always encouraging you to keep going, and we have good shooters. So, eventually the shots were going to start to fall, which is what happened."

Ohio's Allen Hester

On the first half:

The shots just weren't falling. We had wide open looks, they just weren't going in. If we continue to shoot though, they'll eventually go in.

On winning at home after two away loses:

It's always a good thing to get a home win. It gives us a boost in confidence. Losing home games is never fun, but we definitely needed this win to get us back up.

On the Hester's Nest section in the O Zone:

It was crazy. It was fun to see. The fans here are great.

On the difference between Tuesday's game and the loss at BGSU:

The first time we played, it was an individual game with people taking bad shots. We got back to team ball tonight.

Ohio's Jerome Tillman

On taking advantage of BGSU's focus on teammate Leon Williams:

Coach (O'Shea) has been harping on me to stay on the offensive glass. Leon is a big body down there. They were keying in on him a little bit and that kind of opened it up for me a lot more to get on the glass and just slip behind the zone.

On Ohio's offensive effort: 

We just got back to doing what we do, running the ball, playing up tempo and getting post touches. I think with me, Leon, Allen (Hester), Justin Orr and Tommy Freeman getting on the glass, it opens it up a whole lot with more possessions. I think it was good for us getting back to the way we want to play instead of just slow walking the ball up and dictate the tempo more.