Mark Turgeon  

Opening Statement:

"First of all, I want to say that it's great to have the students back. They showed up in force tonight which was great. I think it's been since the Penn State game that we've had a student section like that… that's a long time ago. And the fans battling the weather - we've had some tough luck with weather on home games this year and I know how hard it is with traffic and weather to get here so I appreciate everybody coming out. Sunday we had Special Olympics. We usually play well after Special Olympics, I probably should do it every week. I think the smiling really helped us and being around the Special Olympic players really helped us moving forward. With that said, we were terrific defensively. We really guarded them, they had trouble shooting the ball but I think we had a lot to do with it. We were running guys off lines, we knew who the shooters were, our transition defense was a little bit better, and after we quit turning the ball over - we had six turnovers in the first 10 minutes and two right at the very end - so we were really good up until that stretch there about 25 minutes or so with the ball. We're getting there. We're really proud of the defense."

On how Bruno Fernando opened things up offensively for Jalen Smith:

"We wanted to get the ball to Bruno and Jalen on the block. I think we posted Jalen a little more than we have recently. It was good. We've been able to play through Bruno a lot, especially with Anthony [Cowan Jr.] sitting out most of the second half, it really helped us. It's just what we do, it's who we are. I thought we moved the ball a little bit better in the second half. They get in front of me, I can talk to them more. We were a little bit stagnant in the first half. Bruno was terrific again. His rebounding every night and his efficiency on offense was great. I told him I didn't like the three, only because he was exhausted and he wasn't playing defense at the other end. He works so hard I guess I can live with it."

On how reassuring it was that the team was able to maintain and grow the lead in the second half without Cowan playing:

"Anthony's a really good defender for us, so to continue to guard the way we guarded in the second half without Anthony was terrific. He was a great teammate in the second half. I can go through all the guys - Ricky Lindo Jr., Eric Ayala, Aaron Wiggins, Stix - might have been their best defensive games. Darryl Morsell was terrific on defense - Vic Law is a tough matchup. A lot of guys really played well defensively and that's really what carried us through. Then we were much more efficient in the second half, we got out and ran a little bit more and got the ball around the rim which was good."

On Fernando's play without Cowan on the court:

"Well, when he was fresh, he was terrific. We subbed Bruno more tonight, took him out of the game more. Short stints - one minute out, a minute and a half, TV timeout, whatever it was - and I thought he stayed fresh. That last one, I had to call a timeout for him because it wasn't a stoppage of play. When he was fresh, he was terrific. They weren't going to double him because we've been good against the double, and he just made good plays. I don't think he settled. He took one turn and face jump shot that I wasn't particularly in love with, but he can make that - we've been working on it, but he got to the rim and put pressure on them. I thought we put foul pressure on them all night, whether it through the post or through penetration."

On getting a win after going on a two-game losing streak:

"We're going to have games like that guys… hopefully not a lot of them. That was a heck of a January. 7-2, we had some good road wins, won a couple games we probably didn't think we were going to win, lost one game everybody thought we were going to win. But it was a really good January. I couldn't eat, I was upset, I came to practice yesterday and the guys were terrific. I put four pounds on at dinner last night because the guys were terrific. I just knew that they were ready to come back and play well. That's a really good sign for me - I've just got to remind them that they're a really good basketball team."

On Jalen Smith's performance tonight after a few down games:

"And he didn't start great did he? We need him. He's really been working. You've got a McDonald's All-American, playing different positions, all this kind of stuff, kind of been pushed around. Since the Michigan State game, he's got like three or four extra weight room lifts in, we've been beating on him with pads and things in practice. It's coming. It takes time. He looked really confident out there especially in that second half."

On how he thought the team would respond in tonight's game after Saturday's loss:

"The guys that needed to respond to lead responded. Our best players practiced hard. When they do that, everybody follows. So that's really what happened."

On Eric Ayala running point:

"Yeah, he was terrific. After the game Saturday, I went through each player - about with this tone of voice. Eric's really shot the ball well since he's been here, but we recruited Eric because he was a great passer. I was like, 'Don't forget who you are, Eric. We love the threes, keep shooting them.' He made some big ones tonight. 'But you're also a great facilitator.' He looked like Eric again tonight after a couple games where he didn't look that way. He was good. Anthony I think played four minutes [of the second half] and Eric was really good. We talked about penetrate and pitch against their man and we did that in the second half, got four threes that way. Guys are listening. Good to see Eric back because he's real important to us."  

 

Sophomore Forward Bruno Fernando

On earning a win after a two-game skid:

"It was positive for us, it was very encouraging being able to bounce back from the two losses we had and just move on from those games and just trying to win from now on because that's basketball."

On junior Anthony Cowan Jr. out for a majority of the second half and being able to play well:

"It feels good that the coaching staff trusts me so much to get the ball inside and either get it back or get my teammates involved. My teammates trust me a lot and they know where they are supposed to be when I get the ball, so we just play out of it and try to make plays and make points out of it."

On a strong finish to the first half and starting the second strong:

"It's extremely important. We've seen a lot of games where we hit a really good first half then we come out the second half and we don't start the way we are supposed to start. To do that its encouraging for us and our team because it means we are doing a lot of things right so we just have to keep it that way."

Sophomore Guard Darryl Morsell

On how yesterdays practice carried into tonight's game:

"We just focused on bouncing back and putting our past two wins behind us. I feel like we were really locked in. We knew this was a big home game regardless of their record we knew this game was important."

On how playing in the second half without Anthony was reassuring that the team had good offense:

"Yeah, knowing Ant being the scorer he is it was certainly reassuring. He is just a great leader, he kept the freshmen up. Eric struggled in the first half, Anthony kept talking to him and making sure he kept his confidence up. I think we just have a real one on the team and that helped us out."

On the maturity of the freshman is helping the team:

Yeah they are. They're very talented, they're like sponges. You always see Bruno talking to Jalen, Eric talking to Anthony, or me talking to Aaron and Serrel. They soak up everything we tell them. I looked out there one time while I was on the bench and there were five freshmen on the court. I said to Bruno and Anthony "there are five freshmen out there", that just shows the trust that Coach Turgeon has in them as well. They are doing well and we need them to continue to do well."

Freshman Forward Jalen Smith

On how it feels knowing his teammates have trust in him:

"It helps me a lot because coming in as a freshman you have your nerves and they are there as your back up, keeping you level and making sure that you stay confident."

On if he feels the results of few extra weight sessions on the court:

"Yeah, my little body has become a lot stronger now. When I take a hit I am able to withstand the hit now. Going to the weight room it helps me with being able to finish around bigger people and making sure that I maintain my balance."

On if he knew if that pass from Bruno was coming:

"He looked me in my eye so I kind of knew it was going to come. If it didn't come it was ok. Miraculously he passed and I just scored it."

-Terps-