Dec. 29, 2002

Recap| Box Score| Notes

Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams
Opening statement:
"If you forgot what it is like at ACC games, there it was. Two teams giving everything they have. I told my players after the game, especially the new guys, 'Welcome to the ACC'."

"I was proud of our guys because we matched [Georgia Tech's] intensity level. Our players stepped up and gave us everything they had. This is a great start for us. It gives us the confidence that, if we continue to work hard, we can keep getting better."

On the Terp seniors:
"When you have seniors, its an advantage. Those guys have been through it and know what it takes. I liked their execution on a couple of plays during that stretch where we were able to get the ball to Ryan Randle because we executed properly. If we continue to do that in pressure situations, then that is a really good sign for this time of the year."

On the play of the Tahj Holden:
"He didn't practice until Friday. He was dead at the end of the game, but he did everything he could. He made some big shots, plus on defense he is kind of our quarterback for the inside players. He's good at reading things and seeing screens, so he has been a big help to Travis and Jamar. Tahj has been a great college player, and a great sixth man throughout his college career. We were fortunate to have Tahj on our team today, it was a tremendous effort on his part."

On the play of Georgia Tech:
"Georgia Tech, with no seniors on the team, came out and played on the road in their first ACC game. You cannot make any mistakes or they make you pay for it. Paul Hewitt, in his short time at Georgia Tech, has established the way that that team is going to play."

Georgia Tech Head Coach Paul Hewitt
On Maryland's offensive effort:
"You have to give Maryland credit. They did a great job on the offensive boards, getting 16 offensive rebounds and a lot of crucial putbacks when we had the chances to put them back on their heels.

On Drew Nicholas' crucial three:
"It looked like it was kind of deep. I was surprised when he was shooting it. It looked like he was a good five, maybe eight feet behind the three-point line. Somebody had taken a three earlier from there and missed it, got the rebound and we had a quick basket. So when he looked to shoot it, I was looking for a long rebound and a transition basket. But [Nicholas] dropped it."

On Maryland's Ryan Randle:
"He made some tough shots and it seemed like he got some offensive rebounds and low post baskets at opportune times."