Dec. 22, 2008

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Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams

On tonight's game:
"I thought Dave Neal was really there at the start of the game for us showing good leadership. He's our only senior. Greivis (Vasquez) did a good job a couple times when he drove and they were really helping on him and kicked it out. Dave made some big shots for us and that got us off to a good start. When we got up 8-0, it wasn't going to be easy, I knew that. We just couldn't get it out as far as we thought we should have at halftime.

On playing against American:
"Give AU credit, they don't make many mistakes when they have somebody open. The ball seemed to find their shooters when we make a mistake defensively and they did a good job with that. The second half, we played with a little more energy. Our press really was effective there in that one stretch. That's what you try to get out of pressure defense. It's a cumulative effect of keeping it on where eventually sometimes you catch a team tired and that two- or three-minute stretch is where you really break the game open and I thought that happened tonight."

On concerns facing American after the exam break:
"Well, they beat us last year. It was the same exact situation and they were a year older this year. Sure I was concerned. I have a lot of confidence in these guys because of the way we practice, but you can't practice the way you would like to practice during exams. It's a different situation, so I was concerned, but we did what we had to do tonight."

On the performance of junior Landon Milbourne:
"Landon's one of those people that's very quiet. It's hard to read sometimes how emotional he is, and he keeps it inside pretty well. You don't have to say a lot to Landon this year very often. He really knows when he can pick it up a little bit and he's showing some really good leadership. As a co-captain and as a junior he's doing a good job for us to show what it takes to get ready to play."

On senior Dave Neal:
"He's been a pretty consistent player in terms of being able to make shots. Dave is a lot like (Brian) Gilmore or people like that for American. He knows where he has to be to get open. In other words, if his man helps on Vasquez, he gets far enough away from his man that we can get him the ball and he's open when he catches it. He's a good shooter. He was a good shooter in high school."

Senior Forward Dave Neal

On the team's confidence:
"I think that we are getting a lot more confident because we have a much more steady rotation right now. Now that we have a steady lineup, I think that things will be a lot better for us."

On the excitement to play American:
"I was excited for this game. I was ready to play against American. The game [against American] last year is in the past."

On the strong start by Maryland to open the game:
"Everyone was positive and working hard and it really showed up in the first couple minutes of play. We came out strong and it really paid off throughout the game."

On being healthy:
"I feel a lot stronger this year and in much better condition and it's really making a difference."

Junior Guard Greivis Vasquez

Comparing this year's team to last year's team:

"This is a different team. We play harder and play better defense than last year. We are just doing a great job as a team. "

On getting a win after losing to American last season:
"It was painful for us last year. This year the game went well for us and now we need to keep working."

Junior Forward Landon Milbourne

On the first game after a 10-day layoff:
"It is tough playing basketball this time of the year, coming off finals. Our team handled the time off pretty well but we stepped up tonight and got the win."

On Maryland's bench play:
"We had some unexpected guys scoring and that just means it was a great team win. Tonight's game shows how big a threat that everyone on the team can be."

On getting a win after losing to American last season:
"We really wanted to win this game and prove a lot of people wrong."

On the growth of Cliff Tucker:
"Cliff Tucker is definitely coming along. These last couple games he has really worked his way back into the rotation. If he keeps up this good play, he could be starting again."

American Head Coach Jeff Jones

On Maryland jumping out to an early lead:
"They came out and they were ready to play with the kind of intensity that you need to have. I think they did a great job. They were attacking us from a lot of different positions and, for a while there, were dissecting our defense. We were certainly back on our heels. (Greivis) Vasquez made a lot of things happen, and Dave Neal made the most of every opportunity he got."

On top scorer Garrison Carr being held to two second-half points:
"I think Maryland did a very good job of making things difficult for him. I think Garrison settled in the second half. I don't think he necessarily worked harder to get good shots. When you're a marked player, you're going to get a lot of respect and attention from your opponent. That doesn't mean that it's going to come easy."

On rebounding from the loss:
"I think we need to take a couple days, recharge our batteries, take a look in the mirror and come back recommitted to playing better basketball. I'm not sure we did a whole lot of that tonight."

American Forward Derrick Mercer

On the difference between American in last year's win and today's loss:
"The team is struggling right now. We don't do the little things we did last year. Last year we were more of a team. This year we are struggling to be a team. We just have to work on that. It's basically just the little things like that we have to work on."

On Maryland's biggest strength during the game:
"They had everything. They had offense. Their defense was pretty good. They had a full game. We just couldn't match it. Basically, we are going to have to work. It was good playing against a good team like Maryland, an ACC team. They are definitely a strong team."