Jan. 30, 2003

Recap| Box Score| Notes

Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams
Opening statement:
"The biggest difference in the game was the second half. We had 10 assists to six in the first half, and six turnovers compared to 11 in the second half. We just seemed to be not moving as well as I would like to move on offense in the first half. State controlled the tempo of the game in the first half, they did a great job running their stuff. We've been playing good defense for awhile, and we did again tonight. That's what carried us the last two games. We've been able to shut people down. In the second half, I thought we got it going pretty well. We scored 48 points. But the first half it was really tough. It was very similar to how we played offense down at Clemson. At halftime we just talked about executing a little better, trying to push it a little harder. We made some great plays in the second half. Obviously a couple guys off the bench, Jamar Smith and Nik Caner-Medley, did a great job for us. Drew Nicholas and Steve Blake in the second half were a great backcourt together."

"I was happy with our competitiveness in the second half. State wouldn't go away, they made a good run when we had it up to 16. Then they got it down to six. We had to stay tough. We got the win. I think this team is developing a character. We're going to have to work hard every night, that's the way it is. But that's OK; that's this year's team. We're finding ways to win, and I'm proud of them so far. It's been a pretty good January. We've lost only one game in the month of January, and anytime you do that when you get into the conference season, that's pretty good."

On Drew Nicholas:
"Drew is a senior. If he has a bad half, he's not going to go away. He's been in big situations, so that's not going to discourage him. We didn't do a great job of getting him the ball. We didn't have a lot of open looks....Drew came back in the second half."

On Nik Caner-Medley:
"Nik was really good. I think he has had to make as tough an adjustment as any of our new guys, because [in high school] he played teams where he didn't have to go hard all the time to be successful. Now at this level he does, and he's buying into it now just how hard he has to work. He's doing a great job for us. He was instrumental in both the first and second halves."

NC State Head Coach Herb Sendek
Opening comment:
"The big difference was turnovers. It's difficult to overcome 21 turnovers, although we forced 17 ourselves. There was a significant stretch when they took the lead in the second half on a 17-3 run, but our guys battled back and cut the lead to six. We had an opportunity down the home stretch to at least have a chance. But credit Maryland, they are an outstanding team and it is obvious why they are one of the best teams in the country. Once again, their senior backcourt of Nicholas and Blake was nothing short of sensational tonight."

On Crawford's foul trouble helping Nicholas' confidence:
"It wasn't on Cliff that he had the 3's. Other guys were on him when he hit the shots. Obviously only getting 26 minutes out of Cliff tonight was a factor in the game. He has been playing really well for us lately and has been getting more minutes than that. But it just seemed like he never got completely in the flow. He picked up an early foul and it just seemed like it was hanging over his head the whole game."

On what NC State takes out of this game:
"We have a quick turnaround, we've got to play at 1 on Sunday vs. Clemson. Our guys won't get much sleep tonight. They've got to be at 8 o'clock class in the morning, and then we've got to prepare for Clemson."

On team's confidence:
"I think our guys feel good about some of the things they did tonight, but I don't feel we couldn't have played better. I think the guys are looking at some of the turnovers and the baskets they led to. But credit Maryland, they played well tonight."