Quotes by Larry Eberst

“We know how close we are to getting over the hump. Weve had a number of games like this one where weve had opportunities to win. But were making just enough lapses to lose games.”

“This time, we got off to a good start, which has been our Achilles heel this season. But we struggled with their press in the second quarter and got away from our game plan. Its been different things that have hurt us at different times. Its not just one phase of the game that is consistently hurting us.”

“We keep coming back in these games and we keep playing harder, harder and harder. But we need to play smarter and do the things that make a difference on the scoreboard. We had many opportunities to win this one.”

“I dont think weve ever beaten them. Theyre very athletic and will present a huge challenge.”

“Were not out of it by any means, but we dont have total control now like we would have if we had beaten Mount Vernon. For all practical purposes, if we lose another, its over. Weve got to take care of business and hope the chips fall in our favor now.”

“Weve played some teams in the past couple weeks that really like to slow the tempo. While theyve dictated tempo, what Ive been pleased with is our ability to be patient. Our shot selection has been good, and thats important when you have fewer possessions. I tell the guys all the time that teams may dictate tempo, but defenses cant dictate shot selection.”

“For most of three quarters, we showed what were capable of doing when we execute and play smart. We led one of the best teams in the district by 20 points. I doubt anyone has led them by 20 this season. But then we got away from the things we were doing, had calls go against us and things started to snowball. Then, just like that, the lights went out for our kids.”

“It was the exact opposite of the way we finished against South. We stay poised and confident. If we had played that way in the fourth quarter against South and the last four minutes against Mount Vernon (58-54 loss Jan. 20), wed be in first place. I think as low as we were after South, we needed a comeback win like this to prove to ourselves we could close out games.”

“We have seen much-improved inside play of late. That four-man rotation is giving us everything we need out of our post play. Theyre boxing out, rebounding, scoring and basically, just controlling the paint.”

“We played the best 29 minutes of basketball we played all season collectively, then we did everything wrong collectively in the last three minutes. We missed free throws, had quite a few turnovers. It was bad. But we were happy to respond so well against Pickerington North. The kids bounced back and showed some poise.”