Fells carries the load for Pack with 23

Senior regrets accidental punch

RALEIGH -- There was one moment during N.C. State's 69-56 defeat of High Point on Saturday night that Wolfpack senior Courtney Fells would like to have back.

In the third minute, Fells rebounded a missed layup attempt by teammate Javi Gonzalez. Fells laid the ball in the basket and pumped his fist.

That celebratory swing broke High Point freshman forward Steadman Short's nose.

"I kind of hit him in the face," Fells said. "I felt bad. I wanted to at least apologize."

"I'm sure it was an accident," High Point coach Bart Lundy said.

The referees apparently didn't see the swing and stopped play later to allow the bloodied Short to go to the bench. Fells said he did apologize, but he didn't take it easy on the Panthers for the rest of the night at Reynolds Coliseum.

He scored a game-high 23 points and shot 3-for-5 from 3-point range as the Wolfpack (2-0) pulled away late after leading by just six points with 10:10 remaining. After a feisty group of High Point fans taunted him as he sank two first-half free throws, Fells shushed them by holding his index finger to his lips.

Fells also got into a shoving match with High Point guard Eugene Harris before referees separated them.

"I just kind of shoved him back like, 'I'm here. I'm ready,' " Fells said.

N.C. State point guards Gonzalez and Julius Mays also proved they were ready with starter Farnold Degand out with a sore knee. After Gonzalez went to the bench with two early fouls, Mays handed out three assists in 14 first-half minutes.

A freshman, Mays scored his first college points on a 3-pointer from in front of the High Point bench. Gonzalez, whom coach Sidney Lowe has urged to shoot more, made two 3-point attempts in 62 seconds early in the second half after High Point cut the deficit to four points.

"He hit two and came back and had a third one and hesitated," said Lowe, still pressing for more. "I asked, 'Why are you hesitating? You just hit two in a row. You're wide open. Take the shot.' "

The game wasn't all good news for N.C. State. High Point (1-2), which lost 84-55 to Duquesne, made 11 3-pointers. Brandon Costner, who entered the game as N.C. State's scoring leader, missed all four of his second-half field-goal attempts.

Winthrop, which visits N.C. State on Tuesday, will have more post players who can bang with Costner and center Ben McCauley. But the emergence of Fells' leadership and intensity Saturday was a plus for the Wolfpack.

"What you saw tonight is what he is capable of doing," Lowe said. "He saw that we didn't have it going, and he ignited it."

Degand is expected to miss that game, as well.