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SEATTLE — March Madness hit Climate Pledge Arena with full impact.
No. 12-seed Colorado State guard Jalen Lake hit a nearly game-winner to put the Rams up in the final seconds, only for No. 4 Maryland and star Derik Queen to get the final dagger with a runner at the buzzer to give the Terrapins a 72-71 win and spot in the Sweet 16.
Here's a look at what players and coaches from both sides said about the final sequence (including if it was a travel) and the game overall.
"First, that was my first game-winner and when coach drew up the play, my teammates trusted me, he trusted me. I was a little bit, like, nervous, but I knew we were due for one and I had to make this."
"Yeah, I run the same play at the end of the game now, ever since Isaiah Whitehead made a buzzer-beater against Villanova.
"I ran that for Isaiah Whitehead and we ran it twice this year for Derik and he scored. And I asked the guys, I said, 'Who wants the ball?' Because sometimes you can draw something up for a guy that maybe doesn't want the basketball, and his exact words: 'I want the M-F ball.' So once he said that, it was a pretty simple decision. And I could see everyone's body language kind of perk up a little bit because he was so confident in the fact that he wanted the basketball. So it was just a simple zipper, give him the basketball and let him go to work."
"It feels really good, to be honest with you, because we battled back, (Julian Reese) making the free throws. These guys have bounced back every time we've had a buzzer-beater. And really the gut punch was Michigan State. These guys have shown such character in how they have bounced back. That's all I told them in the huddle. I said, 'Guys, for the first time we have time left. It's our time to kind of make our moment happen.'
"We haven't had that chance, and so I was really just — they just bounced back. They're a great group. They do listen. And I'm just happy for them. I mean, this is a moment that they will remember for the rest of their lives."
"I mean, obviously, it was just an absolutely gut-wrenching loss for these guys. And you know, unfortunately, when you're the man in the arena and you put yourself out there and you compete at this level and you give everything you have to something, you can experience this. You experience the highs of hoisting up a championship trophy. What these guys have done this year is really one of the most incredible things I've been a part of coaching and unfortunately things happen too.
"I thought we did just about everything right in this game. It was an unbelievable college basketball game. Both teams going at it, trying to fight to go to the Sweet 16. These guys made a lot of plays. I thought we defended that last play pretty well. It's about all we could ask for, and he made a freaking unbelievable shot. That's what happens in March Madness and sometimes you're on their side of it and sometimes your on ours."
"Yeah, I can't even put it into words. I mean, this has been the best four years of my life, honestly, and I wouldn't be standing here, first, without God, and then I wouldn't be standing here without Coach Medved, just the belief he's had in me since I was a freshman. I mean, yeah, I just wish I could wear Colorado State for the rest of my life. I mean, it means that much to me. It's amazing how much I've grown not only as a basketball player, but just as a man."
"Well, we're up one, right, so obviously you can't just play three-point field goal defense, you got to play defense. We wanted to switch everything if they came together. There's really, there's no opportunity to double there. They ran through, they just ripped and he just caught it and put his head down on an iso. Again, I mean, I thought we extended the catch outside the three, he caught it and drove it, he was driving left, I thought we angled him off, forced him going left off the wrong foot, step back from whatever it was, made it. It's a heck of a shot. I don't really know what else you do to defend that. Hindsight's 20-20, if you knew exactly what it was going to be we would have done something. But again, I had no beef how we defended that. He just made a great shot."
"I haven't seen the video yet. It's going to be hard for me to watch. I'm sure I will at some point. I don't know. I don't know. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. But it doesn't matter, they didn't call one. So whether it was or wasn't, they didn't call one and they never go back and change the call. But again, he made a really difficult shot, guys. I mean, he made a really, really difficult shot and they just made one more play than we did."
Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Derik Queen, Maryland and Colorado State react after buzzer beater
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No. 12-seed Colorado State guard Jalen Lake hit a nearly game-winner to put the Rams up in the final seconds, only for No. 4 Maryland and star Derik Queen to get the final dagger with a runner at the buzzer to give the Terrapins a 72-71 win and spot in the Sweet 16.
Here's a look at what players and coaches from both sides said about the final sequence (including if it was a travel) and the game overall.
Maryland star Derik Queen on his game-winning shot
"First, that was my first game-winner and when coach drew up the play, my teammates trusted me, he trusted me. I was a little bit, like, nervous, but I knew we were due for one and I had to make this."
Maryland coach Kevin Willard on the huddle before the game-winning shot
"Yeah, I run the same play at the end of the game now, ever since Isaiah Whitehead made a buzzer-beater against Villanova.
"I ran that for Isaiah Whitehead and we ran it twice this year for Derik and he scored. And I asked the guys, I said, 'Who wants the ball?' Because sometimes you can draw something up for a guy that maybe doesn't want the basketball, and his exact words: 'I want the M-F ball.' So once he said that, it was a pretty simple decision. And I could see everyone's body language kind of perk up a little bit because he was so confident in the fact that he wanted the basketball. So it was just a simple zipper, give him the basketball and let him go to work."
Maryland coach Kevin Willard on being on the right side of a game-winner
"It feels really good, to be honest with you, because we battled back, (Julian Reese) making the free throws. These guys have bounced back every time we've had a buzzer-beater. And really the gut punch was Michigan State. These guys have shown such character in how they have bounced back. That's all I told them in the huddle. I said, 'Guys, for the first time we have time left. It's our time to kind of make our moment happen.'
"We haven't had that chance, and so I was really just — they just bounced back. They're a great group. They do listen. And I'm just happy for them. I mean, this is a moment that they will remember for the rest of their lives."
Colorado State coach Niko Medved on the game
"I mean, obviously, it was just an absolutely gut-wrenching loss for these guys. And you know, unfortunately, when you're the man in the arena and you put yourself out there and you compete at this level and you give everything you have to something, you can experience this. You experience the highs of hoisting up a championship trophy. What these guys have done this year is really one of the most incredible things I've been a part of coaching and unfortunately things happen too.
"I thought we did just about everything right in this game. It was an unbelievable college basketball game. Both teams going at it, trying to fight to go to the Sweet 16. These guys made a lot of plays. I thought we defended that last play pretty well. It's about all we could ask for, and he made a freaking unbelievable shot. That's what happens in March Madness and sometimes you're on their side of it and sometimes your on ours."
Colorado State guard Jalen Lake on the emotions after the loss
"Yeah, I can't even put it into words. I mean, this has been the best four years of my life, honestly, and I wouldn't be standing here, first, without God, and then I wouldn't be standing here without Coach Medved, just the belief he's had in me since I was a freshman. I mean, yeah, I just wish I could wear Colorado State for the rest of my life. I mean, it means that much to me. It's amazing how much I've grown not only as a basketball player, but just as a man."
Niko Medved on defending Derik Queen on the final possession
"Well, we're up one, right, so obviously you can't just play three-point field goal defense, you got to play defense. We wanted to switch everything if they came together. There's really, there's no opportunity to double there. They ran through, they just ripped and he just caught it and put his head down on an iso. Again, I mean, I thought we extended the catch outside the three, he caught it and drove it, he was driving left, I thought we angled him off, forced him going left off the wrong foot, step back from whatever it was, made it. It's a heck of a shot. I don't really know what else you do to defend that. Hindsight's 20-20, if you knew exactly what it was going to be we would have done something. But again, I had no beef how we defended that. He just made a great shot."
Niko Medved on if he thought Derik Queen traveled on game-winning shot
"I haven't seen the video yet. It's going to be hard for me to watch. I'm sure I will at some point. I don't know. I don't know. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. But it doesn't matter, they didn't call one. So whether it was or wasn't, they didn't call one and they never go back and change the call. But again, he made a really difficult shot, guys. I mean, he made a really, really difficult shot and they just made one more play than we did."
Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Derik Queen, Maryland and Colorado State react after buzzer beater
Continue reading...
