WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina State University

Fells hushes High Point, leads State to 69-56 win

By Ty Johnson

Nov 22, 2008

Senior Courtney Fells led the Wolfpack with 23 points and at one point literally "shooshed" a raucous High Point crowd in N.C. State's 69-56 victory Saturday night in Raleigh. The game was held in Reynolds Coliseum due to a scheduling conflict at the RBC Center. State is now 7-0 in games at Reynolds since moving to what was then known as the Entertainment and Sports Arena in 1999.

The Pack (2-0) struggled at times with its perimeter defense, allowing the Panthers to shoot 42.3 percent from behind the arc as the 13-point victory was much more difficult to secure than the scoreboard indicated when the final buzzer sounded..

State fans quickly realized Saturday night that the rustic acoustics of historic Reynolds Coliseum can be utilized by fans not wearing Wolfpack red as High Point University filled an entire corner of the "Old Barn" with frantic, purple-wearing Panthers fans, robbing the Pack of its coveted home-court advantage for the first ten minutes of the game. In fact, the loudest the home crowd got during the opening half was when Russell Wilson and several other State football players entered the Coliseum fresh off of their late afternoon win over rival UNC-Chapel Hill.

"They were deep with fans," Fells said. "I was really surprised. I just wanted our fans to outloud them."

Though the purple mass in the stands was loud and impossible to ignore, senior Ben McCauley said he wasn't concerned about the crowd from High Point dominating the atmosphere.

"I knew [our fans] would take Reynolds over and sure enough they did," McCauley said. "Our fans really came up big and really got us going."

In the opening ten minutes before Wilson and Co. showed up, however, High Point was busy showing it could go shot for shot against its in-state ACC opposition, building a four point lead at 21-17 before the Pack perimeter shooting heated up. The players said the football team's appearance was key to their intensity, and Fells cited the team as an inspiration.

"We kind of picked it up because we knew what they did today," Fells said. "They fought their butts off and got a big win and we just wanted to give the Wolfpack fans the same thing."

McCauley also said the team's presence and recent success was added motivation for the team.

"It kind of lit a fire underneath us," he said. "They were doing well so let's go out and play well as well, giving our fans what they deserve."

The reminder of the football team's win also got head coach Sidney Lowe excited, as the impact of the rivalry game win was not lost on the former State point guard.

"I was clapping...on the bench [when the football team came out]," Lowe said. "I was still in the game but you've got to acknowledge a win like that."

State went 4-11 from three in the first half and ignited the Reynolds Rowdies with a 16-4 run after Wilson's entrance. The Pack retired to the locker room with a seven point lead over the Panthers 36-29.

When the teams returned to the court, a High Point's Melvin Crowder hit a three to bring State's lead down to four before Javier Gonzalez sandwiched back-to-back threes around a jumper by High Point's Cruz Daniels to put the Wolfpack up 42-34.

"They were giving him that shot," Lowe said of Gonzalez. "We don't like to take quick shots but after we've moved the bal around we like for them to step up there and shoot it, and those were two big baskets he made for us

State's red menace of fans became relevant again with nine and a half minutes left when a Dennis Horner dish to Fells for a dunk in transition got the fans out of their seats again, putting the Pack up 51-43. Fells said the dunk was key to the team focusing down the stretch, especially when the Panthers had the ball.

"I was able to finish and it kinda got us going," Fells said. "And we stepped up our defense."

Fells added a three and High Point found itself trailing by double digits for the first time in the game with seven minutes to go. State kept the purple crowd out of the game and made shots when they counted to leave High Point on the losing end of a 69-56 score.

Fells played 32 minutes in the contest, was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line and, according to Lowe, was the second of two Russell Wilson performances today as the third year coach compared his senior shooting guard to the redshirt freshman quarterback who earlier led the Pack over the Heels in Chapel Hill.

"[Fells] had outstanding commitment. He took it upon his shoulders, and he ignited our defense," Lowe said. "Tonight, [Fells] was our Russell Wilson."