North Carolina State University Athletics
Fells, Pack Hold Off Virginia, 72-67
2/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. NC State’s Courtney Fells spent all afternoon trying to keep Virginia freshman Sylven Landesberg from scoring baskets with his sticky defense.
But when it came down to the final 10 seconds of Saturday’s game against the Cavaliers at the RBC Center, Fells also knew he had to take charge of Wolfpack’s offense to prevent a devastating collapse.
So the senior from Shannon, Miss., was eager to step up to the free throw line to seal the Wolfpack’s 72-67 victory over the Cavs, hitting four shots from the line, committing a preventative foul and grabbing the game’s biggest rebound all with less than 10 seconds on the clock.
The Wolfpack (15-10 overall, 5-7 ACC) had let a 17-point second-half lead evaporate to a single point when Landesberg hit a pair of free throws with 8.7 seconds remaining. Fells answered immediately on the other end, then fouled Landesberg right in front of the Virginia bench to prevent the freshman guard from setting up a 3-point shot for one of his teammates.
When Landesberg, an 82.9 percent free-throw shooter, missed the front end of his one-and-one opportunity, Fells was in perfect position to grab the rebound. He was fouled with 3.5 seconds to play and knocked down both his shots to seal the Pack’s third victory in its last four games.
“I was going to do everything possible to get that rebound and secure the game,” said Fells, who finished with nine points in the contest. “I was 110 percent sure I was going to make those shots.”
Virginia twice came back from big deficits to make the game interesting, as the Wolfpack had difficulty holding on to the ball and putting the game away. The Wolfpack had 20 turnovers total, including seven by sophomore point guard Javi Gonzalez.
But excellent shooting (the Pack shot 53.2 percent from the field for the game) and Fell’s strong defense on Landesberg (who made just four of 14 shots on the day) allowed Sidney Lowe’s team to jump ahead early and the maturing team managed to hold on in the end, something that did not happen earlier this year in losses to Davidson, Florida, Marquette, Florida State and Virginia Tech.
Since those losses, the Pack has won games over Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Virginia that came down to the wire.
Freshman C.J. Williams led the Wolfpack with 16 points, topping his previous career high, which he set last Saturday against Georgia Tech, by five points. Sophomore Tracy Smith added 13 for the Pack, while junior Dennis Horner had 12. Senior Ben McCauley had 10 points and 10 rebounds, the eighth double-double of the season and 14th in the career of the Wolfpack’s second-leading scorer and top rebounder.
The Wolfpack needed offensive help from different sources, since junior Brandon Costner, the team’s leading scorer, was held without a point, the first time that’s happened this year. Costner entered the game with a sore hand and suffered a bruised elbow early in the second half.
It’s the first time since Costner became a starter three years ago that the Wolfpack has won without him scoring.
“The good thing is that we were able to win without him scoring,” Lowe said. “The other good thing is that he wasn’t trying to force anything. We had other guys who were giving us points and good play.”
State jumped out to a 15-2 lead to start the game, as Virginia (9-14, 3-9) made just one of its first 12 field goal attempts. The lead eventually got to 18 points before a handful of things combined to allow the Cavaliers back in the contest.
NC State sophomore guard Javi Gonzalez picked up his third foul with six minutes to play, the Pack committed 10 turnovers in the first half and the offense went through a drought that allowed the Cavs to draw within two points just before halftime.
But Farnold Degand drove by the entire Virginia defense to score a layup with one second on the clock to regain a little momentum going into the lockerroom.
The Pack offense came out roaring in the second half, outscoring the Cavs 17-4 to open the half. That run was highlighted by six consecutive points from Horner, who hit a 3-point basket and made three free throws after being knocked down on another 3-point shot.
“I like where we are as a team, the way we are playing,” Lowe said. “We are trying to creep up that ladder. This was a big one for us here, to get us going in these last four games.”
The Wolfpack travels to Wake Forest Wednesday for an 8 p.m. contest at Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum. The Pack downed the Demon Deacons 82-76 earlier this season in Raleigh.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
