VolQuest.com - NC State takes break from ACC action

February 3, 2009

NC State senior shooting guard Courtney Fells might have found a home at his old position.

Fells has been on a roller-coaster in his last year for the Wolfpack.

The 6-foot-6, 210-pounder from Shannon, Miss., was off to a good start, with 23 points against High Point on Nov. 22, and then 22 vs. UNC Greensboro on Nov. 30. Fells was making the adjustment to playing small forward and guarding bigger players sometimes on defense.

The Fells' season took a detour when he suffered a deep bruise near his ankle against Davidson on Dec. 6, limiting him to four points in 22 minutes against the Wildcats. Fells missed the next two games, and then only played six minutes in a tune-up against Lipscomb Dec. 20.

Fells played heavy minutes from the Marquette game on - 31 minutes against the Golden Eagles on Dec. 22 - but the explosive scoring binges never came back while he worked through his injury.

Fells scored between four and 12 points during a nine-game stretch, reaching double figures in six of them. He also was switched back to shooting guard during the second half of the Boston College game Jan. 24, which might have sparked his shooting touch.

Fells scored a career-high 24 points against Miami on Jan. 27 with a career-best six three-pointer's (on nine attempts), and followed with 20 of his 22 points in the second half against North Carolina last Saturday, including going 4 of 8 from three-point range.

"He's getting more opportunities right now with the inside-out action, he's getting some shots," NCSU coach Sidney Lowe said. "He's playing both two and three and is able to get some looks. He's just comfortable with it. I'm just glad that it is paying off for him with the extra work he has put in."

The senior is 47 points away from reaching the 1,000-point milestone, where he would join teammates Brandon Costner and Ben McCauley for crossing the barrier.

"I think he is just getting better," Lowe said. "He realizes that this is it for him. He worked extremely hard this summer."

North Carolina Central preview

NC State 2008-09 roster

NC State schedule/results

NC State season stats

North Carolina Central roster

North Carolina Central schedule/results

North Carolina Central season stats

Game facts

North Carolina Central (2-22) at NC State (11-8, 2-5 ACC)

Game time: Tonight, Feb. 3, 7 p.m. - RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C.

Television: None

Probable starters

NC State

PG - 12 Farnold Degand (6-3, R-Jr., 5.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 2.5 apg)
SG -4 Courtney Fells (6-6, Sr., 11.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.0 apg)
SF - 23 Tracy Smith (6-8, Soph., 8.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.4 apg)
PF - 33 Brandon Costner (6-9, R-Jr., 14.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.1 bpg)
C - 34 Ben McCauley (6-9, Sr., 12.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.2 spg)

North Carolina Central

PG - 12 Bryan Ayala (6-3, Sr., 11.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.1 apg, 2.6 spg)
SG - 10 Jamar Briscoe (5-10, Fr., 16.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.5 spg)
G - 24 Vincent Davis (6-2, Soph., 11.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.7 spg)
F - 0 Joshua Worthy (6-5, Jr., 3.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.8 apg)
PF - 22 Nick Chasten (6-7, Fr., 6.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.8 apg)

Scouting North Carolina Central

Location: Durham, N.C.

Nickname: Eagles

2007-08 record: 4-26

2008 postseason: None

Coach: Henry Dickerson 10th season overall (117-166) and fifth season at NCCU (45-93)

The all-time series with NC State: NC State leads 1-0

Last meeting: NC State won 54-29 on Jan. 9, 2008, in Raleigh, N.C.

Notes

North Carolina Central: Eagles' center Stevy Worah-Ozimo broke his right arm against Savannah State on Jan. 31. The 6-foot-9, 220-pounder from Gabon, West Africa, was averaging 7.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. He had 18 boards against Michigan and 12 vs. Miami … Ayala became the school's all-time leader in career steals with 179, and he is third in assists with 340, 69 away from the career leader, Michael Wright … Briscoe is one of the top freshman scorers in the country, getting a season-high 34 at Duquesne on Dec. 22, 32 against Chicago State and 31 vs. Chowan. He also had 24 points on 6 of 10 shooting at Arkansas … NCCU assistant coach Ray Martin spent eight years as an assistant coach under Jim Valvano from 1980-88 … The Eagles will play teams from 14 different conferences, including NC State, Miami and Wake Forest from the ACC.

NC State: NC State's top four leading scorers are all shooting above 47 percent. McCauley leads the way with 55.2 percent, Smith is at 50.8, Fells has risen to 47.2 and Costner 47.1 … The Wolfpack have committed 29 turnovers in their last three games against Boston College, Miami and North Carolina … NC State has shot 25 of 52 from three-point range in its last two games.

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