North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Rallies Past Rider, 72-63
11/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TONY HAYNES
ORLANDO, Fla. Courtney Fells led four players in double-figures with 18 points Thursday, helping NC State (2-1) to a 72-63 victory over Rider (2-2) in the opening round of the Old Spice Classic. And like the rest of the Wolfpack, Fells was at his best in the second half.
In game two on Friday, the Pack will meet
Looking tentative and out of sync during a disjointed first half, the Pack trailed the Broncs 31-28 at the break. Among other things, NC State was outscored 18-0 from the 3-point line in the opening 20 minutes.
But after missing all seven of it first half attempts from the arc, NC State got it going from the perimeter early in the second stanza. It started with a Brandon Costner jumper from the right wing, followed by another Fells three that seemed to give the Pack a spark.
“That was big for us,” said NC State head coach Sidney Lowe. “We were getting some stops, but we couldn’t score early in the first half. The second half we came out and made a couple of big ones, and that really got us going.”
Trailing 43-38 with just over 15 minutes to play, the Wolfpack went on an 11-1 run to a grab a 49-44 advantage, a burst that opened with another Fells’ 3-pointer with 14:27 left.
On the defensive end of the court, Fells was equally as effective, holding Rider marksman Harris Mansell to just one field goal in seven tries after the break. Mansell, who finished with nine points, entered the game having hit 8-of-11 3-point attempts in Riders’ first three games.
“My strategy with him was to get to his body and not let the screen touch me,” Fells said. “If they screened me, then I had to do a great job of getting in front so he couldn’t drive.”
The Wolfpack still had its hand full with All-MAAC center Jason Thompson, who tallied his third double-double of the year with 24 points and 15 rebounds. Thompson, a 6-11, 250-pound center, did need 25 shots to get his points, hitting 10 field goals, including a 3-pointer with 1:52 remaining that cut what had been an 11-point NC State lead down to five at 65-60.
The Wolfpack didn’t make things easy for itself at the free throw line down the stretch. After knocking down 15-of-16 over the first 35 minutes, the Pack missed nine of its last 17 over the final five minutes
Point guard Farnold Degand struggled the most from the charity stripe, hitting just 2-of-6. Overall, however, Degand and back-up point guard Javier Gonzales did a good job most of the day, particularly with their on the ball defense when State was in man-to-man. The Wolfpack also mixed in some 2-3 zone for the first time this season.
Degand finished with nine points and seven rebounds, while Gonzalez, who’s working his way back from a broken hand, had five points, including his first career 3-point basket in the second half.
“I thought they both played exceptional,” said Lowe. “Javier came in and actually gave us a lift by playing great defense and knocking down that shot. Farnold played solid tonight and got us some big rebounds. I couldn’t ask for anything more from those two young men.”
Freshman center J.J. Hickson had 13 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes for the Wolfpack, which also got 11 points and eight rebounds from Costner and 10 points, six boards and six assists from senior Gavin Grant.
After averaging 26 points and 10 rebounds in the Pack’s first two games, Hickson did not start on Thursday. Ben McCauley opened the game at center, finishing with six points and two rebounds in 23 minutes.
“A team policy was broken,” Lowe said when asked why Hickson didn’t start. “It was nothing severe, but it’s definitely serious because rules are rules. I felt I needed to make that change; we have rules that are in place for a reason and one wasn’t followed.”
NC State made 48.9 percent of its field goal attempts for the game, shooting a red-hot 57.9 percent (11-of-19) in the second half. Rider converted on 25-of-69 field goal tries for 36.2 percent. The Wolfpack won the overall rebounding battle, 38-24.
“We just locked in mentally in the second half,” said Fells, who was 6-of-10 from the floor. “We knew what we had to do on the defensive end and knew who they were going to get the ball to. We just wanted to go out and play well and play together.”
