Jan. 28, 2012

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Postgame quotes following Maryland's 73-69 win over Virginia Tech Saturday afternoon at Comcast Center.

Head Coach Mark Turgeon

Opening statement:
"I thought we were great defensively. The first 20 minutes we really prepared well. I think in the last eight days we've gotten so much better as a team. A lot of it is preparation; I think we really guarded their sets well. In the second half they spread us and we weren't quite as good, but we were still pretty good in that stretch. I thought our execution was better than it has been. Quite frankly, I think up until the 38-minute mark we were as good as we've been this year. It felt very comfortable when we had double-digit leads and the guys were playing well, but true to course the way we are, we had to make it interesting. Giving up layup after layup and we missed free throws, but give credit to them because they had a lot of fight in them. We had one bad turnover against the press and besides that I think we handled it pretty well. I'm proud of our group, it was a great win for us. Any win is a good win. We are 3-3 in the league and we're heading in the right direction which I'm happy about. It shows in the way we play."

On being a young team:
"I think it's a young team. I think it's a lack of concentration which I think is because of a lack of experience and the gumption to get it done at a high level. I hope that the things you're seeing us do this year you won't see us doing later this year or in the future. We were up 10 at the 3-minute time out, our goal was to win by 16 points. How do you do that? You execute, you make free throws and you get stops. It's a good win from a young team."

On Terrell Stoglin's game:
"He's gotten better. His last three games coming into this game were better. I thought he was a little selfish in the first half; we took him out twice because of his shot selection. But he's got a will to win. He hit those back-to-back three's for us and those were huge. But I don't like zero assists and 5 turnovers and I don't like 7-16 either. But, that's who we are, with that said I think we executed better and we have been getting better. We don't get assists because when we throw it in the post, our guys dribble like nine times before they shoot it. But we are executing and we're getting it to the post; which to me is a coach's assist, which is still doing the same thing."

On the team's improvement over the last week:
"I started getting after them after we lost to Florida State because I don't think we played well down there especially in the second half. We're doing the same things. They went into the showers after that game laughing and joking, and it's not that way. I don't care about winning and losing but they know better than that. We talked about giving more and preparing harder, doing what you're doing, and being a better teammate. But, it has been pretty intense and I think that you can see that. I think you see a team that really cares about each other. Our preparation for the last three games has been off the charts, and this one has by far been the best. It showed by the way we defended and our preparation. I don't want to brag about them too much because we've had three games in one week and we lost two of them. It's a lot more fun to be around and it's a lot more fun to coach. I'll give credit to my wife, who went to Penn State, and mother-in-law, was something Joe Paterno said in an article, "Hustle and good things will happen." So, my thought for the day yesterday was, "Have fun, hustle and good things will happen." That was our approach the past two days. "Have fun, hustle and good things will happen." And they did."

Senior Guard Sean Mosley

On his play:
"I wanted to come out aggressive today. I didn't want to leave anything out on the court or regret anything at the end of the season. Today I came out and was aggressive and wanted to get us going early. That's what I did."

On foul shots down the stretch:
"I have been in a lot of pressure situations where I have had to step up to the line and make free throws. I was glad that he fouled me. It was a tight game at that point and Virginia Tech kept fighting and fighting. It was a team win for us. Every guy that came into the game contributed. We have to get back on our winning streak."

On the team's improvement:
"Each and every game I think we are starting to mature, slowly but surely. If things weren't going our way on offense early in the season it affected our defense. But now when we aren't scoring the basketball we can still get stops. We held them to 19 points in the first half and that was a great job by us. When we aren't scoring the basketball we try to frustrate the other team, get stops, get to the free-throw line and get things going again."

On the team's defense:
"We didn't want them to get a three-point play, but at the end of the day we didn't want them to get easy layups at the basket like they were getting. During the game sometimes you get caught up in not wanting to foul and stop the clock. At the end of the game though we had guys go up to the free-throw line and make big free throws for us, that is what is most important. That's why I think we are starting to mature overall. It is definitely a big win for us."

Sophomore Guard Terrell Stoglin

On hitting big shots:
"I get the feeling that the other team has the momentum. I want to stop that. I concentrate on my shot, I knew it was a big one for the team and I wanted to take it."

On finishing games:
"We are a young team but that is not an excuse. We just need to finish the game. We let them come back but we need to finish better."

On getting the rest of the team involved:
"I feel like I am taking better shots. I am learning the game more. I am listening to Coach Turgeon. I want to get my teammates involved. I think I am doing pretty well at that."

On the clutch free throws by Sean Mosley:
"I knew that when Sean [Mosley] went to the line we could count them. He is a veteran on the team and a great leader. He is a great shooter; he never misses free throws in practice."

On the team's attitude after the Duke game:
"After the Duke game Coach [Turgeon] told us our defense was there but we needed to execute better. Personally he told me that he needed more from me, so I wanted to make sure I stayed aggressive today."

Freshman Forward Ashton Pankey

On the physicality:
"It was definitely a physical game. There was a lot of jawing going on out there. I don't think it was the most physical though, that was probably the Alabama game. It was a tough one. I feel like there was a little rivalry going on between us and Virginia Tech."

On his scoring early:
"I wanted to be assertive early. When I do that I usually have a good game. I know Coach Rob [Ehsan] so there was some talking going on between us. We wanted to come out and get the win."

On the team's improvement:
"We get better every game and it shows. We are a young team and we are growing. Everyone is maturing and their games are getting better. People are coming in early before practice and it is starting to show."

On the inside-out play:
"Coach [Turgeon] wants to play inside out. We started that early today, James [Padgett] and I had some easy looks early in the game. It really helped our game. It helps when we get down low we can get more outside looks. It helps our team overall."

Virginia Tech Coach Seth Greenberg

Opening statement:
"It's disappointing to get off to the start we got off to early on. I thought we got really good shots. I didn't think we defended with the sense of urgency early on that we needed to. We didn't have enough pressure on the basketball and then I thought we took some bad shots. And I don't think the bad shots were out of selfishness, I really think the bad shots were out of each and every individual wanting to help us without understanding that we have to do that collectively.

"I think in the second half we got back to trying to do [things] collectively. And you've got to give [Terrell] Stoglin credit he made some tough shots -back to back 3's - that were huge. Those were our mistakes, it had nothing to do with him. It was two possessions where we didn't do a very good job communicating in defensive transition. After that, I thought our kids fought and grinded and did what we'd been doing - we shot 50 percent in the second half - but that's a product of running a good offense and quite honestly that's what we did. We ran good offense, we executed and we cut hard.

"If you look at the first half, we missed four layups for sure in my mind and two front-ends on one-on-ones. We've got to finish those plays. But when those plays aren't working, then you've got to be better collectively and you learn. I think guys were just trying so hard to make something happen. Defensively we didn't have the sense of purpose early on."

On how close his team is to getting results:
"I don't think we're that far from it. Like I've said all along, I think we're a pretty good team. I didn't say we're a great team, but a pretty good team. We've got to get a greater sense of urgency for all 40 minutes and we've got to get a commitment to everyone playing to their strengths for 40 minutes. I can see just off the top of my head five or six shots that just aren't acceptable. Again, I don't think that's selfishness. I think that's out of the guys taking those shots - they just don't get it yet."

On fouling Mosley on a 3-point shot late in the game:
"Tough call. We shouldn't have been that close. [It was a] hard shot. If [Sean Mosley] makes it, he deserves it. And again, there's just nothing you can do about it. [The play] was out of effort [and] someone trying really hard. I can't fault someone trying really hard and hopefully [it will be] a learning experience and next time we'll defend it with a little bit of a better understanding."

Virginia Tech Senior Guard Dorenzo Hudson

On going 1-6 in January:
"I feel like we're almost over the hump. We have guys that make mistakes throughout the game, but I really feel like we want to win. I thought we showed that in the second half."

On the youth of the team:
"We have young guys. Everybody goes through it, coming from high school and trying to make the transition is tough coming into this environment. They're still young, even 20 games into the season, so they're still going to have their moments. We've just got to stay with them."

On the slow start:
"I think sometimes the basket just gets a little small and takes energy out of the gym for us. I don't feel like we need to change anything, I think we just have to, in the first half, get easier shots."

Virginia Tech Junior Guard Erick Green

On starting games slowly:
"That's our biggest problem right now: we don't play 40 minutes of a game. That's the hurtful thing because we're right there. Sad as it is, if we played 40 minutes, we could beat a lot of teams. We're just giving up and letting [the other team] take the lead. Then we have to try and come back and it doesn't work.

"We started off getting a couple shots and then we got in a slump. We took some bad shots at times and did some 1-on-1 play which we shouldn't have done. That kind of bit us in the butt and got us down."

On the loss:
"Everybody can say what they want to say about our team, but if you look at it, if we play 40 minutes we're a great team. As bad as it is, when we play 20- or 30-something minutes a game we're still losing by two or three. That shows a lot, but at the end of the day, a loss is a loss. We've just got to learn to come and play. It's just hurtful to see we're right in the game and can't finish it off."

On the difference between halves:
"Coach Rob [Ehsan] came over and said some words to us to get fired up. The thing is it shouldn't take a coach to get us fired up. We should've come first half ready to play."