Feb. 21, 2007

Recap |  Final Stats |  Notes |  Photo Gallery 1  |  Photo Gallery 2 

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -

Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams
Opening Statement:
"I was proud of the team in the second half because we came out tough. We couldn't get it going in the first half. We were very slow defensively, we went through a stretch where we didn't score much, and we were in foul trouble. At halftime we talked about getting it together and trying to work as hard as possible on defense. We didn't talk that much about offense other than if we execute the plays, we will score. We did a much better job running our offense in the second half, but the key was our defense. We were able to stop them a couple times on fast breaks. It was an important game for us. Our guys have done a great job coming down the stretch, and we are going to continue to work hard in practice."

On Maryland's passing:
"There were a lot of assists. That is when we are good, when the assist column shows up. We can pass the ball. That's one of our strengths, so we have to go to that. It wasn't pretty the first half, but we came out the second half ready to work."

On the play of Bambale Osby:
"We have been in foul trouble for about three weeks. We put Boom in there and he came through for us tonight. He finished everything. This is a big step for Boom because he has had similar chances and the ball hasn't gone in the basket. Tonight he made everything and he made two big free throws for us. He was a force."

On the play of D.J. Strawberry:
"He's a senior, and he realized he had to change what he was doing. That's one thing seniors gain through experience, is the ability to adjust their game at halftime. D.J. has been playing well. He had a tough game down at Florida State, and I am sure that ran through his mind."

On Maryland's offense:
"We don't have a 25 points-per-game scorer, so scoring is going to come from different places. D.J has been solid. Eric Hayes and Greivis Vasquez play well together, especially down the stretch like they did tonight. They did a good job with the tempo. Once we got the lead we were able to run clock time and still get some good looks."

Maryland Forward Bambale Osby
On his play in the paint:
"Coach [Williams] always tells me that I have to be aggressive down there. I have to look to score, and I was getting some open looks in there today."

On going up against Al Thornton:
"He's a tremendous player. He can pump fake and go to the rack, but we were able to run him to the ground. We wanted to keep someone fresh on him all the time. We just wanted to wear him down and that is what we were able to do."

On the second half run:
"We looked at ourselves [during halftime] and said that we didn't win the last three games playing the way we did in the first half. We didn't have the same effort in the first half, and we knew we had to bring it out."

Maryland Guard Eric Hayes
On the defense of D.J. Strawberry:
"In the first half, [Al] Thornton was hitting a lot of jump shots and getting them back into the game, but D.J. came out in the second half with a lot of energy and did a great job taking it to him. That really picked our intensity up."

On halftime adjustments:
"We didn't think that we were going after them hard enough. We got out on transition and got some easy buckets, and we rebounded well. Once we started doing that, we got on a roll."

Maryland Guard D.J. Strawberry
On his start to the second half:
"In the first half, I made some bonehead fouls and put my team in a bad situation. I knew we were in foul trouble and then I picked up my second foul, so I wanted to go out in the second half and give my team an emotional lift."

On the second half:
"We knew that if we jumped on them and got after them with a lot of intensity and energy, they would not be able to handle it."

Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton
Opening Statement:
"I was really concerned at half time. We went into the locker room tied at 31-31, and I look at the stat sheet and notice that their starters only played ten, twelve and nine minutes. Two of our starters had played twenty minutes and I was concerned how that was going to affect us. Then we come out in the second half and give up five straight baskets, and we just dug ourselves that hole. When you play a team of their caliber, a team as hungry as they are and you dig yourself a hole like that, it's really hard to come back.

On his team's play:
"We had a hard time finding that secondary offensive threat. We have not been able to get any consistency in the offensive game and we need that. When you look at the stats, with the exception of the beginning of the second half, we didn't play that bad defensively. Our rebounding has been getting much better, but we couldn't seem to get into it offensively."

On his team's tournament hopes:
"We still have a chance. If you look back on the years, there have always been teams who shouldn't have gotten in mathematically, yet they were still there. I think we need to keep a positive attitude and remember that we have seen teams that have had a turn around in their season; teams who have gone to the Final Four after finishing the season with 16-10 records, teams who have gone and played well in their conference tournaments. You just have to find a way."

Florida State Forward Al Thornton
On bouncing back from the loss:
"We just need to try and get better. We have two more games and we just need to finish strong. We have to put this game behind us and not dwell on it, because it will affect our next game. We need to learn from this."

On the team's second half play:
"We played very poorly in the second half. They got some turnovers and converted. They got on a roll and the crowd got behind them. Credit goes to Maryland because they outplayed us during the second half. I was fatigued, but that is no excuse. I should have made my free throws."

Florida State Guard Isaiah Swann
On Maryland's 10-0 run at the beginning ofthe second half:
"It was a little bit of everything. First D.J Strawberry tipped it in, and then we came down and turned it over. They scored six straight buckets at one point off of turnovers or quick shots. When you come to play at Maryland, and you get down by 12, you're in trouble. It's hard to come back, but at the same time we need to find it within ourselves."

On tonight's game:
"It was a tough night; we had a lot of things go wrong. They were the better team tonight. They kept us on the defense and they executed."

On the team's discussion during timeout:
"We just talked about toughness. Every time you walk onto the court, you have to be ready for anything. You have to be tough, mentally and physically. We were weak today. We can't make excuses, but it was just not our day."