Dave Springer
Dave Springer
difference hard minutes perfect physically stronger struggled
We are stronger physically and defensively, and we were able to play 40 minutes of basketball. It is hard to play 40 perfect minutes of defense. We struggled in the first half, but that's the difference in the second: we don't panic.
atmosphere both energy evening games playing rebound second shot teams winning
Both teams know that they were a second shot or rebound away from winning the whole thing, so there will be a lot of energy in this game. Barton will be playing after our game, so the atmosphere in that evening set of games will be really intense.
aggressive free good hit knew mount ncaa teams win
We knew what we were getting into with Mount Olive. They are aggressive offensively. Good teams that win in the NCAA Tournament, they hit their free throws.
athletic difference everybody expecting game great limit looking quickly run team
They're very athletic and very offensive-minded; everybody on that team's looking for a shot. I think the difference will be great team defense. They're going to run into our team, which will limit how quickly they can get a shot. They're expecting 90 points, but more realistically, the game should be in the 60s.
finish half hungry played plays settled
They were hungry at the boards. We didn't finish plays in the first half but in the second, we settled down and played basketball.
advantage boards controlled momentum offensive owned second took
In the first half, we owned the boards and controlled tempo. In the second half, (Mount Olive) got into transition, took control of the game's momentum and took advantage of their offensive rebounds.
emphasis next step tonight
The emphasis tonight was to take the next step and get to the next level.