St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: St. John's 72, DePaul 64
3/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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March 2, 2014
Head Coach Steve Lavin
Opening Statement:
"We are grateful to get the win, in particular on Senior Day and considering what's at stake in terms of the significance of these late-season games. We were fortunate to be plus-17 on the boards and get 14 blocked shots, and that ultimately was the difference at the end of the day. There are still a number of areas we need to improve upon as we turn our focus to Marquette."
On DePaul's second-half run:
"We were not pleased with our ball security as we became careless with the basketball in the second half. We want to be aggressive against the press yet I felt that sometimes we lacked sound judgement, and took some ill-advised shots. DePaul was opportunistic off our miscues and they fought their way back into the game. I would guess they had one of their best 3-point shooting nights of the season. Thankfully it was our best rebounding game of the year and we finished with 14 blocks."
On the play of sophomore Chris Obekpa:
"Chris saved the day. I thought Orlando and Obekpa in particular played really well. Obekpa anchored our defense at the rim and provided the resistance we needed against DePaul's dribble penetration attack. Orlando was in a good place offensively and also did some nice things on the defensive end. As a group we did just enough to hold on for the win."
Junior Guard D'Angelo Harrison
On the play of sophomore center Chris Obekpa:
"Chris is a big time player so he makes big plays on the defensive end. He stepped up when we needed him so we have to thank him for that. You can't teach what he does. He's just a unique player."
On rebounding from the loss to Xavier:
"We won this one, kudos to us, but we have to get ready for the next one which is Marquette in probably our biggest game of the year. We have to come out, flush this one and get ready for the next game."
On DePaul's run in the second half:
"They're a scrappy bunch. Credit their play; they got after us and we turned the ball over. It wasn't like us and that's where the breakdown was. If we cut down turnovers it's a different kind of game."
Sophomore Center Chris Obekpa
On the health of his ankle:
"It feels good. We've been rehabing and treating it and it feels good, 100 percent. I'll keep getting treatment on it and it'll be fine."
On the Red Storm's 14 blocks:
"Everybody (on the team) can jump. Everybody blocks shots in practice so we all picked it up. We lead the country in blocks as a team so it's a team thing now."
On the emotions of making a big defensive play:
"It's the same way (D'Angelo) feels when he makes a game-winning shot. That's how I feel blocking a shot or making a stop. I'm happy on the defensive side the same way that he's happy making shots."
