Maryland Head Coach Mark Turgeon

Opening Statement

“I was obviously pleased tonight.  All we've talked about since Tuesday night was defending. I thought for the most part we continued to concentrate defensively. We were pretty dialed in to what they were doing. I was really pleased with that.  It was a step in the right direction for us. I talked about being more consistent in our play and respecting our opponent. I'm really proud of the group: to shoot 67 percent, it's a lot of fun to coach. We were very efficient offensively.”

On the productivity of bench players:

“It's great when you can put up these kinds of numbers and share the minutes.  I think Jake [Layman] had 28, next was Melo [Trimble] with 26 and we were trying to keep the minutes down after a tough travel for us. It was good for us to see Jaylen [Brantley] make those shots. He can really shoot the ball and was playing with a little bit more confidence. We have so many great big's, it's hard to get everyone in the game. Robert Carter, look at his numbers tonight. I didn't plan for that. For Ivan's first time on the floor he showed great maturity and poise, so I'm really happy for him.”

On Diamond Stone's success tonight:

“He was better, he had a good practice yesterday.  I don't know what lies ahead. I just know that that's what we want to do. We got off to a quick start, and that was important to me. We jumped out 13-3 and that was big. Diamond can score anything and makes it look easy. I think his awareness, ball screening and defense were better.”

On Melo being comfortable not putting up his usual numbers tonight

“He's trying to show a part of his game he didn't show last year.  He had 12 assists the other night and I think he's really enjoying that. He knows he can score when he needs to score. We had such a size advantage across the board that we just talked about playing in the paint. Melo has been such a joy to coach since he's been here. He knows this is the part of his game he needs to show to be a complete player and I think he did well with it.”

On Jake Layman's ability to jump back from game to game

“I told the team how we have to get Jake going and have to play for him. I love that he took a layup instead of a jump shot. We talked about getting to the basket and getting fouled early in the game, trying to get going.  I think our guys are mature enough and understand how important Jake is to us, to get him going early. They fouled him, made extra passes to him, and all that was big. I think Rasheed was very unselfish tonight too and didn't do too much.  He just continued to guard. There was a matureness to our game.  We were very mature tonight in a lot of areas, which is good to see. We're getting better.”

On Robert Carter Jr.'s numbers recently:

“He was terrific tonight. To get to the foul line was big. It was good to see him getting six assists, not turning the ball over. I thought his defense was better and his defensive rebounding was good to see.  Robert is such a good kid and he gets a little bit more comfortable each and every game. There is a lot more in him that we haven't seen yet. As we move forward, it was a pretty good game. Good numbers.”

On the outcome of the game in terms of the upcoming game against UConn and being able to get Jaylen in to the game:

“I thought he played with more confidence, he'd been practicing better. In the short time that he did play against North Carolina, he did pretty well. I think the guys believe in him, the guys are really happy for him making back-to-back shots. We need him, and he needs to keep showing confidence.”

Forward Jake Layman

On comparison to previous game vs. UNC:

“I look at myself as an important piece of this team. Not just scoring-wise, but defensively too. It was good to see Coach have confidence in me on that first play.”

 On first shot being a layup instead of a jumper:

“It makes it a lot easier when your first bucket goes in. After being in a slump, just seeing the ball go through the net is always good.”

 On bouncing back from a slump:

“It wasn't just North Carolina; it was a couple of games in a row actually. I think everyone kind of goes through cycles where they don't play very well. My coaches and teammates did a great job of keeping me grounded and they made sure that my confidence was still there.”

Guard Jaylen Brantley

On how much a game like this gives him confidence moving forward…

“It gives me a lot of confidence. It shows Coach can trust me in the game more when Melo [Trimble] and Rasheed [Sulaimon] are out. Me getting the trust from my teammates is huge as well.”

On the importance of the depth of the guards on the team…

“I think guard play is going to be big going down the stretch of the season. Melo and Rasheed are going to play a lot of minutes and it's a long season so they're going to be tired. Me and Jared [Nickens] coming off the bench giving them breaks will be huge.”

Forward Robert Carter

On Jaylen Brantley getting more comfortable tonight…

“Jaylen getting minutes is going to help us in the long run. He's a good player, he just needed more experience. The more experience he gets and the more comfortable he is, the bigger impact he's going to have.”

On the unselfish play of the team…

“I think we all understand how good our team is and how great we can be. We always look for the best shot possible. We don't care who's scoring — as long as we're scoring and defending, we're going to be fine."

Saint Francis Head Coach Rob Krimmel

On his team's performance:

“I thought we competed especially to start the second half. In the first half we didn't execute our game plan very well. We give Maryland a lot of credit for that. We turned the ball over too much in the first half and gave them too many free runs at the basket. I thought we were a little bit lackadaisical to start on defense. But, the way we played in the second half, we competed against a very good basketball team.”

On Maryland's performance:

“They are a talented team. There is no doubt that they are going to go into the tournament. I know it is early in the year, and you don't want to talk too far in advance, but I think that is the best team I have ever been on the floor with. I give them a lot of credit. They certainly willed their style.”

On playing in College Park:

“It is a great experience. The people here at Maryland have been first class. It is a great opportunity to come in here and play one of the top teams in the country.”

Saint Francis Forward Ronnie Drinnon

On team's performance:

“We knew coming in that they were the more talented and bigger team. We knew we had to stay together and play defense and rebound. We tried to do it but they came out on top. There was not much we could do about that.”

On improvements to make:

“Going forward it is just about playing as a team. We have to do things offensively to better execute. I think we will be fine. They were a good team. They are ranked number two.”

On playing in College Park:

“It is a great atmosphere down here. I wish I could do it more often. Thankful for the opportunity.”