Throughout the year, Land-Grant Holy Land will be bringing you uncut audio primarily from Ohio State press conferences, but also from individual interview sessions.

“One guy literally destroyed us. 31 points and 15 rebounds — one guy.”

Those were the words of Roger Powell — Valpo head coach and former co-worker of Jake Diebler Tuesday night after the Buckeyes beat Valparaiso, 95-73. Devin Royal scored a career-high 31 points, which left Powell at a loss for words other than the above statement and that Royal “just wanted the basketball more than us.”

Royal and Evan Mahaffey also spoke to the media after the win. Royal said he didn’t remember the last time he got a standing ovation like he did on Tuesday night, and that even though scoring 31 points may look easy, it actually isn’t. Royal gave credit to his teammates and also pointed out that Mahaffey was one point off of his career high.

Diebler spoke for a long time about the game itself, as well as his history as a graduate of Valparaiso and his time playing for Homer Drew. At one point Diebler got emotional about his time at Valpo, and referred to Powell as a brother.

Diebler said that Aaron Bradshaw is “making progress” and will hopefully return soon, but that Meechie Johnson is out indefinitely dealing with “a personal matter.”

Connect with Connor:

Twitter: @lemons_connor

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