Dec. 7, 2005

Recap |  Box Score |  Notes

Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams

On the game:
"Western Carolina does a great job running their offense. They're hard to guard. We went in and made corrections at halftime, and we got a great contribution from Sterling Ledbetter and Parrish Brown off the bench. We just had to have resolve to take the game, because they weren't going to give it to us."

On Travis Garrison:
"Travis has really played well this year and that's great to see. His play in the first half really kept us in the game. It's just great to see a senior play that way."

On inside scoring:
"We just have to go inside for us to play our game. When we're getting the ball inside, we're a very good team. Hopefully, we'll be able to continue playing like we did today on Sunday [against Boston College]."

On Parrish Brown:
"I talked to him yesterday about the extra minutes that he would be getting. I've really liked his approach. He's very positive in practice, and came out today and played just like he has in practice. That's what you like to see as a coach."

On the quick turnaround after Monday's loss:
"As a team, you're always glad to get back out and play after a loss. Also, it gives us a good feeling before we get ready for Boston College. Even if we had won on Monday, we knew that this was going to be a tough turnaround for us."

On D.J. Strawberry:
"D.J. is getting better. It's tough turning him into a point guard, but it will make him a better player and ball handler. He just needs more minutes at the position. It's been tough for him coming back from the knee injury, but he's always been a tough player and he stays that way when he gets out on the court."

On the upcoming ACC opener with Boston College:
"Boston College has a great inside tandem. They don't disguise what they're going to do, they just come right at you, and they don't go away as the game goes on. We are going to need to be very physical on Sunday. We just can't get away from our game. It's going to be a big deal for them since it's their first game as a part of the ACC, but it's our first game of the year, too, so it should be good."

Western Carolina Head Coach Larry Hunter

On Maryland's halftime adjustments:
"We dictated tempo in the first half, and Maryland turned it around in the second half. I think some of their size, athleticism, and physicallness got into us a little bit once they opened up the double-digit lead. Maryland really relaxed, started hitting jumpers and was really all over us on the boards. That was a big part of the game."

On breaking the press:
"Maryland showed a number of times in the second half that they would take our quick shots or bad shots and convert them at the other end. They did this probably as well as any of the top three transition teams in the country. We handled the press very well. I thought our guys had a lot of poise and we executed what we were trying to do."

On execution in the second half:
"In the start of the second half we started breaking down in some of our execution. We had a number of different times where we just didn't have the proper alignments for the set that we were in. When you break down that way you're not going to have a very good procession."

Maryland Forward Travis Garrison

On coming back from Monday's loss to George Washington:
"You can't live in the past. If you do, that's going to hurt you. Especially with our season, with the games going by so fast, you can't live in the past and you have to look to the future. That's what I tried to do today."

On the locker room at halftime:
"At halftime Coach comes in and tells us exactly what we need to do, and we go out there and do it. We were working really hard, but there were just a few corrections we needed to make in the second half. We just have to do that from the start of the game."

Maryland Guard D.J. Strawberry

On Coach Gary Williams:
"I just make mental mistakes that I shouldn't make. Sometimes I throw the ball away, and it's my fault. He knows I'm too good of a player to do that, so he gets on me because he wants me to do everything right. He's a perfectionist, so he wants me to play like that."

On the locker room at halftime:
"It was the same as regular. We always know what we have to do to win games. Everybody was a little banged up from Monday, and everybody wanted to win that game on Monday, but we had to come out and win today. It always feels good to come back and win a game."

On the upcoming game against Boston College:
"We know we're ready to play against Boston College. We know how important of a game it's going to be for us. This is a game we have to win. It's the first ACC game and it's always good to be 1-0 in the ACC."

Maryland Forward Nik Caner-Medley

On coming back from Monday's loss to George Washington:
"One thing I've always been taught is if you miss one shot, try not to miss your next one. Don't worry about your last shot. It's the same thing for games. When you lose a game, you have to let everybody know it's about the next game. When you have a game Monday and Wednesday, and one practice in between, you have to be mentally tough."