Dec. 14, 2003

Recap| Box Score| Notes

Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams
Opening comment:
"I think we were all curious just how we'd play after the Florida game, and I think it took us awhile to get playing, but once we did I thought we played at a pretty good level. We handled that halftime situation well right before the half, and that seemed to carry over into the second half. We looked like we had some guys who couldn't move out there early, so we had to go through the lineup and see who was ready to go.

On the Terps' young talent:
"I was real impressed. I thought Will Bowers gave us some energy when he got in there, and I think Mike Jones did a pretty good job too coming off the bench. He was alive. He showed a little bit, besides being a very good shooter, just how quick he is to the ball, and that's what we're trying to get him to do. In other words, we all know he's a good shooter, but there's more to it than that. John Gilchrist was tough with the basketball. We had a little advantage there, and I thought John did a good job taking advantage of the matchup situation.

On Pepperdine and the Terps' recent five-game stretch:
"They're a pretty talented 3-point team overall, and I think we had them covered pretty well from the 3-point line, especially in the first half....I'm pleased going into exams being where we are given the fact I knew this would be a tough stretch starting with the Wisconsin game. We were able to weather it pretty well. You're never satisfied unless you win them all, but realistically I thought we did a pretty good job."

Maryland Guard John Gilchrist
On his scoring tonight:
"We ran a lot of ball screens today and we did a good job with setting picks. It helped me get a lot of open looks. Individually, today was a game where I was able to score in transition. Some nights are like that, when you get into a groove early and have a good night."

On where the team stands:
"We have progressed since the first game and each game is a building block. Each game, each practice, guys are getting better and more confident. The game starts to slow down so we can pick our spots and produce."

Maryland guard D.J. Strawberry
On setting a new career high in scoring:
"It was a great game for me. Our team looked a little flat when I came into the game so I wanted to bring energy and knock down a couple of shots early, it got me going."

On the message after the big win at Florida:
"We couldn't let up. After we played Wisconsin, we let up a little against Gonzaga and again against West Virginia so we wanted to come out and play hard and get a win."

Maryland Guard Mike Jones
On hitting his first three point attempt:
"Whenever a guy hits his first shot when he gets in the game, it builds a lot of confidence for him. He then feels more confident to take a lot more shots."

On how he feels on the court:
"I felt a lot more comfortable out there. Not just scoring but playing defense well and getting my team involved to help them score as well."

Pepperdine head coach Paul Westphal
On his team's performance:
"We had hopes of giving them a better game than that. We only had one guy who played up to his capabilities. We laid an egg and they had a lot to do with it. I give them credit. They had us back on our heels and they just knocked us for a loop on the offensive boards. They shot the ball extremely well for a team that's not supposed to be a real good three-point shooting team. They played really well and we played really poorly and when that happens you get beat by 24."

On what Pepperdine will take from this game:
"I basically told them we can't play any worse so it has to get better. There are two ways they can go: they can either feel sorry for themselves and start pointing fingers and getting selfish or they can pull together and be the team they're capable of being. This game can be a turning point either way."

Pepperdine Forward Glen McGowan
On his 36-point performance:
"A loss is a loss. I don't care if I scored 100 points, it's still a loss. Tonight, I was playing against a lot of the guys that I played with this summer. This game meant a lot to me and it meant a lot to the team."

On the game:
"Maryland is a good team. We're a good team too, but we didn't play to our full capability. We were a little nervous, and we just didn't play to our potential."

Pepperdine Guard Shaun Davis
On the Pepperdine performance:
"I don't think the problem for us was with our offense. Defensively, we needed more stops. As far as offense, that will come in the future. We are a young team and we're going to have our ups and downs. Offensively, I don't think I had many problems, we just needed more defensive stops."