Showing posts tagged “Davidson”
Mike Potter ·
20 Nov 2009, 11:01 PM ·
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N.C. State coach Kellie Harper, with husband and assistant coach Jon Harper and Marissa Kastanek, #23, in the background, directs traffic during her 100th win on Friday night against Davidson. (Photo by Jeremy Lange).
REYNOLDS COLISEUM/RALEIGH Kellie Harper is quickly into her fourth home game in her short tenure as head coach at N.C. State, and tonight she has an opportunity to reach an early milestone.
The 32-year-old former Western Carolina coach, who comes into the game with a 2-1 record this season, can get her 100th career victory. Not in the realm of the 1,000-plus wins her mentor Pat Summitt has at Tennessee, but how many people have started careers as college or even high school coaches and never gotten to triple figures?
Tonight she’ll be facing an old foe, at least for her. Harper was 6-5 in her tenure at WCU against Southern Conference rival Davidson, which oddly hasn’t played the Wolfpack since 1976. The Wildcats, under former Wolfpack assistant Annette Watts, are 0-2.
And it’s a mismatch from the start, en route to a 79-54 Wolfpack victory.
The Wolfpack leads 3-0, then 10-2, then 41-15 at halftime.
Everything the home team does seems to work pretty well, as State outrebounds the Wildcats 30-11 at the break and shoots 47.1 percent to Davidson’s 24.1. Bonae Holston and Tia Bell are already in double figures at the break. Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, N.C. State, Women's Basketball Alex Thompson, Annette Watts, Ashley Lax, Bonae Holston, Brittany Strachan, Davidson, Jon Harper, Marissa Kastanek, Old Dominion, Southern Conference, Tennessee Lady Vols, Tia Bell, Western Carolina, William & Mary
Mike Potter ·
17 Nov 2009, 10:30 PM ·
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REYNOLDS COLISEUM/RALEIGH First-year N.C. State women’s basketball coach Kellie Harper is looking to get her team back on the right track tonight.
The former Western Carolina coach, who led Tennessee to three NCAA titles as a point guard, didn’t like her team’s effort in Saturday’s 72-65 loss to Vermont in the championship game of the Sheraton Raleigh Wolfpack Invitational and wants to see a much better effort against Florida Atlantic.
It’s the third of four straight home games to start the season for the Wolfpack, and a chance to get some much-needed momentum.
Both teams are 1-1, but the Wolfpack will be a solid favorite against the Owls, members of the Sun Belt Conference.
And for some reason State gets off to another slow start in what turns out to be a comfortable 84-70 win that was the 99th victory of Harper’s career.
Brittany Bowe, their 5-7 senior guard, is leading the Owls early, as they lead for most of the first half.
The advantage goes to 25-19 on a 3-pointer from Andrea Taylor with 8:07 left in the first stanza.
And then the Wolfpack kicks things up a notch and wakes up the small crowd in the venerable old house.
Freshman Marissa Kastanek, who had a forgettable night against Vermont, is showing why Harper has started her in every game so far. And she hits a 3-pointer with 5:31 left in the half to put her team up 26-25.
State never trails again, as the lead is up to 42-31 at the break after a 57.7 percent shooting half by the home team.
The second half is never close. The Wolfpack’s biggest lead is 59-36 with 14:52 to go on a three-pointer from Brittany Strachan, and the Owls’ closest approach after that point is the final score.
Amber White (pictured), who sat out all last season with an Achilles tendon injury, leads the way with a career-high 25 points. The new kid Kastanek adds a season-high 20, while Strachan ties her career highs with 13 points and seven rebounds. Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, N.C. State, Women's Basketball Amber White, Andrea Taylor, Brittany Bowe, Brittany Strachan, Davidson, Eastern Kentucky, Florida Atlantic, Kellie Harper, Marissa Kastanek, Sun Belt Conference
Mike Potter ·
19 Sep 2009, 6:14 PM ·
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O’KELLY-RIDDICK STADIUM/DURHAM N.C. Central finally gets a home football game, on a warm, partly cloudy day in the Bull City.
The 0-2 Eagles have played twice as road underdogs so far, but this time they’ll be favored on their brand-new Mondoturf field.
The opponent is Morehead State (1-1) of the Pioneer Football League, the only public Division I school in the country that does not offer football scholarships. It’s the same football-only conference in which Davidson - where NCCU coach Mose Rison was an assistant for one season - and Campbell compete. It’s the schools’ first meeting in any sport, and there is no return date to Kentucky.
NCCU has an “E-Town” entertainment area on the practice field behind the North end zone, and the new scoreboard at that end of the field is up but not yet operating.
Despite the hype it isn’t a good day for the host Eagles, as they lose 13-10 in the second overtime on a 45-yard field goal from Rainer Duzan.
NCCU takes the opening kickoff and quickly drives to the MSU 31, but the offense can’t do anything more with it.
And the visitors quickly show they can move the ball. It takes Morehead just four plays to go 80 yards, with Evan Sawyer finding Ronnie McDermott from seven yards out and Justin Mullins adding the boot at 11:22.
After that there is a lot of offensive ineptitude on both sides for the remainder of the half.
NCCU gets to the Morehead 15 late in the first quarter, but the snap is awry on Frankie Cardelle’s field-goal attempt and the ball never has a chance to clear the linemen.
Then at the end of the half, NCCU has three shots from the Morehead 9 before Cardelle’s field-goal try at the buzzer is wide left.
NCCU finally gets something going on its second possession of the second half as Michael Johnson seems to find his mojo. The hosts go 71 yards in eight plays after a big Alex Winters interception, with Johnson hitting old Hillside High teammate Geo Irvine (pictured) in the middle of the end zone from 23 yards out. This time Cardelle’s kick is good, and it’s 7-7 with 1:06 left in the third. Continue reading »
ACC, Duke, Football, N.C. Central Alex Winters, Butler, Campbell, Davidson, Evan Sawyer, Frankie Cardelle, Geo Irvine, Henry Hudson, Justin Mullins, Matt Ballard, Michael Johnson, Morehead State, Mose Rison, Phillip Barren, Pioneer Football League, Ronnie McDermott
Mike Potter ·
18 Sep 2009, 4:02 PM ·
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N.C. C
entral has been on the road for the first two weeks of the season, paying the kind of dues administrators knew Eagle athletes were going to have to pay when they committed to the Division I jump three seasons ago.
Now they’ll finally be home Saturday against Morehead State, in a guarantee game against a team that is decent at the Division I level that doesn’t allow football scholarships.
NCCU will be playing on a brand new Mondoturf surface, there’s a new “E-Town” fan fest area right outside the stadium, the Sound Machine band will be rocking in close quarters, and Mose Rison’s club should be a clear favorite.
After a trip to Hampton, a 31-24 loss in which the Eagles were slight underdogs but almost pulled off the upset, and another to Liberty, a 35-10 loss in which the Eagles were huge underdogs but stayed competitive until the fourth period, NCCU is glad not to be up against a monster this time.
But it’s not quite a “mail-it-in” victory.
“It will be a lot more comfortable setting because we’re at home,” Rison said. “This season has an opportunity to be a very fun season for all of us.
“I know Morehead State - I had some experience against them when I was (an assistant coach in 2005) at Davidson. They have a sound football program. The kids will be well-coached and play hard. We’ve just got to go out and play with some emotion.”
Junior free safety Jeffery Henderson (pictured) said he thinks the NCCU defense is steadily getting better. Continue reading »
Football, N.C. Central Davidson, Desmond Cox, Donald Laster, Evan Sawyer, Hampton Pirates, Jeffery Henderson, Josh Ballard, Liberty Flames, Michael Johnson, Morehead State, Mose Rison, Ronnie McDermott, Teryl White, Tim Shankle, Will Scott
Mike Potter ·
15 Sep 2009, 5:42 PM ·
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PEARSON CAFETERIA/DURHAM N.C. Central has been a vastly improved football team through its first two games this season - except down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles had a chance for a mild upset in their season opener on the road at Hampton before allowing the Pirates to score the winning points late in a 31-24 loss.
And on Saturday they were in position for a huge upset before allowing Liberty -then the No. 24 team in the FCS coaches’ poll - to score 21 fourth-quarter points in a 35-10 loss.
So even though the Eagles appear to be much better in many aspects, there hasn’t been much to show for it.
NCCU coach Mose Rison is aiming to change all that on Saturday when the Eagles take on Morehead State (1-1) for the first time.
Both teams are nicknamed the Eagles.
Not only is it going to be NCCU’s home opener, but also the first game on the new Mondoturf at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium on which the Eagles practiced for the very first time today. NCCU has won three straight games at home.
“I think we’re an improved football team,” Rison said during his weekly press conference. “You can really see the difference in where we are now and where we were last year after two ball games and also after the season was over.
“Now we have to finish games. When this team makes its mind up to finish a game, we’ve got a chance to be a really good football team.”
NCCU will finally get a chance to be a favorite - as it will be in all four of its home games - when the Eagles of the Pioneer Football Conference visit for a guarantee game NCCU will not return. Campbell and Davidson are also members of the PFC, the only Division I conference which awards no athletic-based financial aid in football.
MSU, coached by 16th-year mentor Matt Bullard (88-77), fell 31-0 on Saturday at St. Francis (Pa.)
“I told Coach Rison I don’t even want the guys to know it’s a game that some people say we’re ’supposed’ to win,” said NCCU quarterback Michael Johnson (pictured). “I don’t want them to know that from the media aspect. I just want everybody to stay on it and come up with the same intensity we had against Liberty.
“We have to be disciplined as a football team. We can’t be looking at the rest of the season. This week we have to concentrate on Morehead State.”
Football, N.C. Central Campbell, Davidson, Hampton Pirates, Liberty Flames, Matt Bullard, Michael Johnson, Morehead State, Mose Rison, Pioneer Football Conference
Jacob Swiger ·
29 Mar 2009, 8:05 PM ·
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While Duke fans grimaced at another season with UNC in the Final Four and the Blue Devils sulking in Durham, they might have just gotten some very important news.
Seth Curry, the brother of Cinderella, err … I mean Davidson, star Stephen Curry and son of NBA legend and Charlotte Hornet standout Dell Curry, decided to transfer to Duke.
Curry accepted a scholarship Sunday and will be eligible to play for the Blue Devils in the 2010-2011 season due to transfer rules.
Curry, a freshman guard for the Liberty Flames, averaged over 20 points this season, including a 35-point performance against VMI Jan. 17.
If Duke can wrestle any of the magic that Curry’s brother musters up night after night for Davidson, the Blue Devils might have just what they need to get back to the Final Four.
ESPN reported the transfer moments after UNC beat Oklahoma 72-60, unfortunately they claim father Dell Curry played for the Charlotte Bobcats.
After losing to Villanova, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski mentioned talent at point guard and center being an issue for the Blue Devils, who had seven McDonald’s All-Americans on the team this season, including three players who play point guard.
ACC, Basketball, Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill Davidson, Mike Krzyzewski, Stephen Curry
