Jan. 11, 2012

Recap |  Box Score |  Notes |  Photo Gallery 

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Postgame quotes following Maryland's 70-64 win over Wake Forest Wednesday evening at Comcast Center.

Head Coach Mark Turgeon

Opening statement:
"We've seen that recipe before. We played pretty well in the first half - it was actually the best first half we played all year. We really guarded, played great team defense, shared the ball and we were deep. A lot of guys played well in the first half, we built that lead to get up by 16 at the half. There was really no flow to the second half. There were fouls which benefitted us in the end, but there was no flow to the game and we weren't very good.

"We're starting to become a better basketball team and you figure out ways to win games. Tonight we did it with second-chance points and we got to the foul line and that's a good formula to win. It's no fun going through that. You would like to win by 16 or 18, but that's not who we are right now. We're a team that beat a good team by six points with good players on our home floor. I thought our crowd was great tonight and they really gave us a lot of energy. It was fun."

On the play of Ashton Pankey and James Padgett:
"It was huge. It was [Ashton] Pankey in the first half and it was [James] Padgett in the second half and they both had great attitudes. I'm really proud of James at the foul line [shooting] 7-for-9 which was about what he shot last year. He's been coming in early and staying late and made four huge free throws for us when it was getting a little tight. Those guys are good players. They're playing with confidence, they keep getting better, they're putting in extra work, and I'm proud of them. I even thought Berend's [Weijs] minutes in the first half were great."

On the team's troubles in the second half:
"I think it was a couple things. I think there was no flow to the game and then [Wake Forest] changed their offense. They just started driving the ball and they did a great job driving it and the middle ball screen was hard for us to guard. We did a nice job 60 percent of the time and then the other 40 percent of the time we didn't do a nice job. [Travis McKie] made big plays. The shots he made were unbelievable, so give them credit. They've got a good coach down there with good players."

On the play of Sean Mosley:
"[Sean Mosley] was great early and we weren't very good early in the first four or eight minutes. He guarded well and played well. He probably had the play of the game [getting] the offensive rebound on the missed free throw to put us up six [at the end of the game]. That was a huge play for us because we didn't have much going. Sean is a senior, so it's go time. The next two months are a battle and he's been through it, so he's ready for it and it's contagious."

Sophomore Guard Terrell Stoglin

On not starting:
"I heard I wasn't going to start during practice this week. I wasn't angry about it. I just knew that when I came off the bench I had to help the team win. I was able to do that tonight, and we won."

On what changed in the second half:
"The second half we weren't getting our points on the outside we were scoring on second chance shots. Our defense played real well. That's why we won."

On Sean Mosley's improved scoring:
"It helps a lot. It takes a lot of pressure off (me). It helps the team out too. It opens up positions for everyone else to score when Sean (Mosley) is scoring."

On learning from the second half of the NC State game:
"We learned from our mistakes. We knew that we couldn't put our heads down. Coach (Turgeon) has been telling us that we need to grow up. We knew that we had to fight threw it (the stretch) and protect our home court."

On getting assists:
"It is something I have to add to my game. I can get assists I just have to have the opportunity for it. It's something I am going to work on."

On defending C.J. Harris:
"We were really focused on him. They have great scorers on their team. (Travis) McKie was hitting threes. Other than that we were slowing down their guards. We did a great job tonight."

Senior Guard Sean Mosley

On his improved offense:
"I am just being aggressive. I have been in the gym getting extra shots up recently. The last couple of games my offense hasn't been clicking. Tonight, I felt more comfortable in the offense. The game is coming to me more, I'm being more aggressive and getting to the free-throw line and taking open shots when I have the opportunity."

On increased pressure of being a senior:
"I know I have to step up as a senior and lead our guys in the right direction. It starts with our defense. I get a lot of points in transition, and off open threes. My teammates are doing a great job of finding me. I take my hat off to them."

On being aggressive in the second half:
"I knew they were in foul trouble. With eight minutes left in the game we were shooting free throws. I wanted to stay aggressive, not settle for three-point shots, but get to the rim. If I did miss it our big guys got offensive rebounds. James (Padgett) did a great job of getting offensive rebounds. He got a lot of easy buckets getting offensive rebounds. He helped us out a lot tonight."

On Ashton Pankey:
"Having the bench do what they did tonight is amazing. Ashton (Pankey) was mentally out of it recently. Coach and the team talked to him and told him we were going to need him. Today he stepped up. He has been practicing well. We need to keep him on a straight path and we will be good to go."

Junior Forward James Padgett

On the change in play between halves:
"I came out slow and I actually motivated myself. I wanted to play a better game. I've been struggling the last couple games and I wanted to come out and play a better game today."

On the differences between offensive and defensive rebounds:
"We just try to do our best to offensively rebound, and defensively, but we have a mindset that defensive rebounding is more boxing out. We haven't learned to do both yet. You've just got to go get it, and that's what our issue is."

On the team's struggles in the second half:
"We've done this a couple of times and Coach said don't make the same mistakes we made in the past. They made some shots and got back in the game, but we came out with the `W' so that's good for us."

On playing better as a team:
"I like [being challenged] a lot. Coach said we need to play better on the inside, so we're all competing and trying to be better and better. We've been struggling lately, so we've got to come out and prove ourselves."

On Wake Forest's play:
"[They had] a lot of shot blockers. Like Coach said, we had to go attack them and go at their nose and then try and get a layup. Shot blockers have the extra length to get blocked shots. It was hard but somehow we made it."

Wake Forest Head Coach Jeff Bzdelik

Opening statement:
"We dug ourselves a hole early on in the game with a lack of offensive efficiency. We missed some shots combined with the fact that we missed a couple open threes and a layup. They were able to run out and our defensive transition wasn't very good; I think they had 16 points in the first half alone off of our defensive transition. We dug ourselves a hole, but to our team's credit, they came battling back. We really just came within a couple of defensive rebounds when we stopped them to tie the game or get within one possession. We did not do a very good job on the defensive boards at all today, which was very disappointing. They had 24 defensive boards and we also fouled a lot. I think they only scored three times in the second half against our man-to-man offensive plays, the rest of the time we fouled them. That's not efficient defense at all. Very disappointing, we just need to learn from it and move forward."

On if the first-half deficit was just too big to overcome:
"A little bit yes, it was just too deep."

On committing 28 fouls:
"It's as simple as this: our lack of defensive awareness to know personnel, as young players our guys don't understand judging quickness. I can just remember three or four times being up into guys that really aren't very good shooters. There was no reason to be playing that tight, so understanding personnel and quickness, you can't simulate that for young players in practice until they go out there and actually experience it, but they have to judge it. They need to be close enough to contest, but it's important that they contain the ball. Obviously our positioning has to be better, and it wasn't."

On placing starters on the bench due to foul trouble:
"Like I said, we dug ourselves a pretty big hole being 16 down on the road. After that, we did a lot of really good things in the second half. We can expound on the negativity, but we battled back and shot 56 percent in the second half. We executed our offense better, in the first half we didn't execute very well. I thought really the difference was out of the gate we dug ourselves too deep of a hole. We didn't execute on offense and we missed shots too. When you miss a lot of shots and you shoot in the mid-30s, especially on the road, as well as having poor defensive balance, teams will take advantage of it. We've got to rebound better obviously, and we've got to guard the ball better."

Wake Forest Junior Guard C.J Harris

On Wake Forest's amount of fouls:
"You've got to give hats to them for being aggressive. We've got to do a better job of getting in a defensive stance, having active hands and active feet. That's something we didn't do a good job of."

On what decided the game:
"We dug ourselves a huge hole in the first half, but had a chance to come back at the end. Just plays like offensive rebounds, turnovers here and there just happened at the wrong time."

On being more aggressive early in the game:
"As a player, you just have to go with the game. Our offense is moving the ball, everybody touching it, finding the open man, attack and attack for others and that system definitely works. If we stick to that, we'll be fine."

Wake Forest Sophomore Forward Travis McKie

On the rebounding:
"It's all about rebounding. You know that's one thing we need to get better at. It's one of our weaknesses and we just didn't do it tonight. They had the second chance opportunities. If we give a team like that second chances, they're going to drive the ball and they're going to draw fouls."

On Ty Walker:
Ty Walker was a big presence tonight. He did a great job defending the glass, blocking shots and finishing around the paint and that's what he asked him to do. He had a hell of a game."

On getting back in the game:
"We had the game, it just came down to second chance points, getting them to the free throw line and rebounding. We are going to come back to work tomorrow, correct the things that need to be corrected and get ready for Saturday."