Jan. 6, 2007

Recap |  Box Score

Ohio Head Coach Tim O'Shea

On the overall game
Obviously disappointed in two areas tonight: our free throw shooting, which had been terrific, and the way we handled a 10-point lead with 3:02 to go. We got to get better at those end game situations; that would have been the type of loss at home that can put you into a real tailspin. Sonny [Troutman] got a bounce that only he gets and Leon [Williams] fortunately when that ball rimmed out it rimmed out right to him and he was able to tip it in and we were able to keep it at a two possession game. We've just got to get better in those situations, we should because we have some veteran guys, and for whatever reason we've done that a couple times this year where we've got a nice cushion and we just stop moving, we get stagnant and it's something we're going to address in practice and just try and get better at.

On MAC play
I think this is one of the things that makes the MAC a great college basketball league, is that type of atmosphere, that type of intensity, that type of energy. Too bad this game wasn't on TV because there are so many bad games on TV, this was a game that really would have been good. That one exchange where [Jerome] Tillman dunks, [Cedrick] Middleton makes a three, Troutman makes a three, in about twenty seconds, I mean that's about as good as it gets. That would rank with any league, any place in the country as far as an exchange in a game. I could detach myself enough from the emotion of the moment to say boy am I lucky to be here for this one.

It went back and forth and it was like a MAC heavyweight fight, at least for this year, I think these are two of the better teams in the MAC going head to head.

On the home crowd
The difference today probably was the home court, most certainly the home court. We had a great crowd and when you have a crowd like that it pulls you through. We didn't start the game particularly well for whatever reason. Ever since Keith's been the coach there we always get off to a slow start against Akron. You can't say enough about how well everybody played. There were some mistakes in the end game but if you're a basketball fan that likes kids playing really hard, if you appreciate the fact that at college games, the mistakes are part of what makes the game entertaining and fun. The effort both teams gave, I thought it was really a terrific college basketball game.

On Leon Williams and Jerome Tillman
We always want to get the ball to Leon, it's just easier to get it to him when you don't have as big of body on him he's more present. When we saw that match up, we just want to get the ball to Leon. If anybody watched Tillman a year ago and you watch him now, there's been a huge improvement in him game; those two alley-oop dunks and the confidence he plays with.

On the win
This was a big win for us. There was a lot more pressure on us to win tonight than Akron because this was a home game for us. I'm just glad we survived. We have to get better but this team can get better, especially at the end game situation.

On Bubba Walther
I thought he played solid; I think Bubba's so past all that other stuff. People make it a story, but Bubba found a place where he fits in better, he's happy. I just hope he continues to grow as a player and a person. I think he's excited to have played well tonight.

Bubba Walther
On his emotions going into the night and his three-pointer near the end
"I had too many emotions coming into tonight. I was nervous. This was like playing in a state championship for me. I was too excited early on, but Romeo and I are really good friends, and I knew he was going to jump as soon as I showed him the ball, so I just pump-faked and stepped to the five and made a shot."

On the win
"I'll enjoy it tonight and enjoy tomorrows off day, and then I'll get ready for Bowling Green. It was a big game for me, but in the MAC every game is going to be tough. You have to move on."

Leon Williams: Game plan against Akron's bigger players
"Just don't play soft. Just take it to them and don't back down, go for every rebound and get to the line. When we get to the line a lot, we usually win."

On the crowd
"A crowd like that you can't complain. They give us a great boost of energy. Hopefully it's like that for every game, not just Akron."

Sonny Troutman On losing their 10-point lead
"We just tried to stay calm. We knew they were going to try to make a run. I don't know how that happened really. We got a little tense at the end, but they are a good team so we knew they were going to make some kind of run. We just tried to hold them off, make some free throws and get away with a win."

On the home crowd
"It's always nice to be home. You never want to play on the road because it's always tough. Any chance you get to play a game at home, it's always good. It's good to have a crowd behind you."

Akron's Head Coach Keith Dambrot
"Well I think we kind of base our program on toughness, and I thought Ohio basically out-toughed us tonight - when push came to shove. Probably the thing that was most disappointing was our four big kids against their two big kids. We had a hard time in there. We haven't had as much trouble with their bigger kids as we did tonight. We had trouble guarding the ball too, so that was a problem. All our losses this year have come back down to the same thing. The night's we really guard, we win, and the nights we really don't guard, we don't win. We have won very few games where we give up this many. You also have to be more disciplined defensively to keep them off the free-throw line."

On Bubba
"After you get through the initial shock of the transfer, and the bitterness you have as far as developing a guy and giving him a scholarship and working with him, ultimately, you realize as an adult, the game is about the kids, and they have to do what's best for them. I think that Bubba made a good decision to come here; it's a good place for him. He showed a lot of class before the game and came up and talked to me. I've always liked Bubba, as a player and as a kid. He's a nice kid and that's probably why I took it a little hard when he left. I'm glad it's working out well for him. I'm a big boy. I hope he does well. I wish he didn't do so well against us, but you'd have to be mean-spirited to wish evil on a good kid."