Dec. 30, 2008

Recap |  Final Stats |  Notes |  Photo Gallery 

Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams
On tonight's game:
"Sometimes these games are hard to judge. I thought there were periods where we really played well tonight and we did a lot of things really well. We're looking to see where we are with that. We got caught at the start of the second half tonight not playing particularly well and Elon is a very steady team. If you make mistakes, they can take advantage of them. We had to really turn it up a notch. We hit some threes to break it open but that's not something you can do as the season goes on here, including this Saturday with Charlotte."

On judging the team's improvement over the season:
"You go by results, really. You can get fooled with practice or whatever. We've done a pretty good job in these games if you look at the total package, in terms of scores, when you look at comparative scores, with other games they've played. I think we've done a good job of getting to this point and now we will see where we are come Saturday."

On the team's offensive struggles tonight:
"We'll take the 26, you know. They played Virginia Tech to a 12-point game and we won by 26. Even though it's not always smooth, we might not always be smooth this year, but that doesn't mean we're not playing hard. If it gets ugly out there, hopefully we can play like that. You try to play well all the time, but our defense has held us in there when we have tough stretches offensively. We've been able to sustain things and hopefully we can continue to do that. I'm not going to be too picky with a 26-point win."

On senior forward Dave Neal's career-high 10 rebounds tonight:
"Dave's just been doing a great job for us, whether it's making shots when he has to or guarding the other guy's big guy. For him to step up and get 10 [rebounds], I think that may be where senior leadership comes into play. I've been on the team about that and how we need guys to get more rebounds, you know individual players to get more rebounds, not just rebound as a team. Dave stepped it up tonight, which was good to see. Hopefully, we'll have other guys do the same thing."

Senior Forward Dave Neal
On staying composed during Elon's run early in the second half:
"Whenever you play good teams, like ACC teams, they are going to make a run during the game. Maybe they will take the lead, but you need to stay composed. We did that tonight and it's a good sign that our team is never going to quit. Even though Elon made some runs, we came back at them and tried to put them away."

On staying confident despite missing shots early in the game:
"I cannot lose confidence when I am out there shooting the ball. I am a good shooter, I know that, even though I missed some easy shots. If I'm open then I am going to keep on shooting."

Junior Forward Landon Milbourne
On the Elon run early in the second half:
"I don't think it was the play of Elon, I think it was more us. We were not focusing and finishing our shots. Eventually we got back into it when Dave Neal hit that three and then we started rolling."

On playing well at home:
"We just need to keep winning for the remaining three months. All these home games that we have, we just need to take advantage of them and get wins."

Junior Guard Greivis Vasquez
On the Maryland run midway through the second half:
"We made a run and I am just trying to be the go-to-guy."

On team progress:
"We are making a lot of progress before we begin with the ACC schedule. We have got another big game on Saturday against Charlotte. Those guys are pretty good too."

On playing for the fans and for Maryland:
"I think our fans are doing a great job. We play for the fans but we also play for pride and because we love the game. We are just going to play basketball, play hard and represent Maryland."

On the Maryland bench play:
"We have some pretty good guys coming off the bench who know the system. Everyone on the team is good enough to have an unbelievable game."

Elon Head Coach Ernie Nestor
On Elon's schedule:
"We have had a difficult schedule. We played two conference games and then we were off for like 13 days. We played two games in about four days and then we are off again for another eight or nine days. It's just the way it is. We have a difficult situation. We have a long exam period, so it makes for a disjointed schedule in December. It's a disadvantage from a coach's standpoint."

On what he is most disappointed in tonight:
"I am disappointed in our effort. We did not compete the way I wanted us to compete. And I don't mean statistically, because to me shooting is an effect, it is not the cause. If you are playing hard, and you are really engaged in the game, your shooting is going to flow. We took too many threes in the first half. ... And in the second half when we got a chance to comeback in the basketball game we got a couple turnovers and we didn't convert. When you put yourself in a hole as we did today you have a very, very thin margin of error to get back in the game."

On Maryland coming back from their early deficit:
"They hurt us in transition. And again what that does, it hurts us psychologically. We go down and hit a couple shots and all of a sudden the lead shrinks to three. Your guys are more energized and then again it's to their credit they came back. And when you shoot 29 percent, who do you beat? We don't beat anybody. We're not going to beat anybody shooting 29 percent and then you add on 18 turnovers, it's just impossible. You are creating a formula for disaster."