Nov. 15, 2007

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Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams
On tonight's game:
"I thought [Matt] Janning played great tonight, especially as the game went on. He was the man. He wanted the ball in every situation down the stretch. As far as we're concerned, we aren't the type of team that can come to a game and not bring our energy with us. We have to figure out a way to bring energy to the game. Hopefully we've learned that from the last two nights. We have to play well Monday, it's as simple as that. I still think we're playing decent defense and that's probably saved us the last two games. Now it's a matter of realizing the importance of execution on the offensive side of the court."

On free throw shooting in tonight's game:
"The reason there was a free throw discrepancy is because we run an inside offense. We've always done that, for 19 years here. That's why we shoot more free throws. Some teams shoot jump shots; we don't shoot that many jump shots. So that's how we get to the line."

On the team's turnovers:
"I'm disappointed in the way we're handling the ball. They're turnovers that aren't being forced. It looks like its sloppy out there to me. We've got to figure out a way to improve on that."

On senior forward James Gist:
"James Gist was tremendous at the start of the game tonight. He scored and he was flying all over the place. You need your veteran players to do that and I hope our freshmen will pick up on that. We have to figure out a way to generate more energy with our veteran players."

On sophomore guard Greivis Vasquez:
"He had to play 43 minutes so I'm sure he was tired for some of the time out there. He's got a lot of publicity and people know who he is. Last year, he could kind of sneak around a little bit. This year, people know who he is and they're really preparing for him. We have to make the adjustments to take care of that. The one field goal that he hit was really big. He did that against Hampton too. He'll be fine."

Maryland Senior Bambale Osby:
On his frequent trips to the free throw line:
"I expect to get fouled seven or eight times a game, so I need to be able to knock down free throws. When our offense started getting stagnant, and we were trying to find ways to score, I said `Give me the ball and I'll see what I can do."

On blocking a lot of shots and their effect on the team:
"It just happened. There were times when we were playing flat and playing without a lot of emotion and they got the crowd into it and got the team going. It felt good."

Maryland Senior James Gist
On his expectations following a quick start:
"I'm just trying to make sure the team wins, that's all I'm trying to do."

On the team's inexperience and their progression:
"This whole year is going to be a learning process for these guys. It's just my job do the best I can, by coming out everyday at practice and working hard."

Northeastern Head Coach Bill Coen
On whether this is a good or bad loss for the team:
"I don't know. We look at this as a learning experience. A year ago, we played several high-major games on the road and we played portions of games. This was probably our most complete effort from buzzer to buzzer. We still made some mental mistakes and physically I thought their front court gave us some problems. It's all about learning about ourselves and getting better."

On what his team took advantage of against Maryland:
"They're a terrific ball club. I don't know that there was anything that we capitalized on. Our goal was just to come in tonight and compete for the duration of the game and see what happens. I thought their defense was very good and it kept us off-balance. They're a typical Maryland team. They're going to pressure you and they're going to force some turnovers."

On what his team is looking toward in the future:
"We're learning. We have a young club. Nine of our 13 players are freshmen and sophomores. Playing in this type of environment and against that level opponent will only help us when we get to conference play."

Northeastern Guard Matt Janning
On scoring a career-high 26 points:
"I guess it feels good but walking away and seeing the scoreboard, it still hurts. Especially because it was so close and we could have won the game."

On identifying the challenges in playing Maryland:
"I think the problem is that we didn't keep our composure. We got a lot of guys into some foul trouble which hurt us in the end because they got to the free throw line more than we did."

On the team's morale:
"I think we took a big step today and even last Sunday and we were able to hang with these teams. But, it would be a lot nicer if we walked away with this win tonight. We are ready for what's to come."