Fields sparks Pack past ECU
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, December 19, 2006
From staff reports
Shayla Fields (Salisbury) scored 17 points on Sunday. She shared team scoring honors with Ashley Key and helped N.C. State’s women’s basketball team hammer East Carolina 64-38.
Fields also had four rebounds and three assists for the Wolfpack (8-2).
* Livingstone splits with Panthers
The Livingstone women’s basketball team won a CIAA road game on Saturday night, taking a 61-54 decision at Virginia Union.
Clintoria Bryant scored 18 points for the Blue Bears (2-5). Kim Westray had six rebounds.
Livingstone’s Lina Brown (13.4 points per game) is the No. 11 scorer in the CIAA.
* Livingstone’s men lost to Virginia Union 55-48.
Livingstone trailed by one point with 3:09 remaining, but Virginia Union (5-0) hung on.
Brent Cowles led the Blue Bears (2-6) with 19 points against the CIAA’s top defensive team.
Livingstone’s men have been the CIAA’s worst-shooting team (38.6 percent from the field), but they are second in scoring defense (67.4 points a game).
Livingstone’s Michael Duncan (16.0) ranks 13th in the CIAA in scoring.
* Prep wrestling
Davie County’s wrestling team beat West Rowan 46-30. West’s next match is Wednesday at home against Salisbury.
* Boys prep basketball notes
West Rowan coach Mike Gurley yells “Hercules!” at the top of of his lungs just about every time freshman Chris Smith touches the ball.
Gurley explained the reference isn’t to Hercules, the strongman from Greek mythology. Instead it’s a nod to Ernie “Hercules” Klump Jr. from the “Nutty Professor,” an Eddie Murphy comedy that appeared in the mid-1990s. Smith reminds Gurley of a scene from the movie, and he can’t look at Smith without smiling.
Smith has averaged 5.6 points in unbeaten West’s first five games and looks like a nice complementary player this season and a potential future stud.
“There were a lot of questions about whether Chris could play varsity as a freshman, much less start for us,” Gurley said. “But he’s such a good-natured youngster, and he keeps growing as a player every day.”
Gurley said he has at least seven starter-worthy players and plans to rotate the two spots alongside Jamel Carpenter, K.J. Sherrill and K.P. Parks, depending on the matchup. Soph Kaleb Kimber may be hard to keep out of the lineup, however.
* The East Rowan-West rematch looms on Tuesday in Granite Quarry. The first meeting, won by West 76-74, was the game of the year to date.
* East has hit 42 3-pointers in five games, including 11 by Kenan McKenzie. Justin Vanderford and Kurt Misenheimer have drained 10 apiece.
* Vanderford gets to the line a lot and is making his trips count. He’s 20-for-24 from the stripe.
* East point guard Spenser Davis hasn’t scored a lot, but he’s averaging 6.2 assists and 3.2 steals and averages just one turnover a game.
* East faces a tough back-to-back challenge this week, as it goes to Salisbury on Wednesday. Playing West and Salisbury on consecutive nights will be like a Christmas tournament semifinal and final.
* West (5-0), East (4-1) and Salisbury (3-1) are the teams with a shot at landing the top seed and a first-day bye in the Christmas tournament.
* Carson freshman post player Darius Moose has been impressive since being promoted to the varsity. Moose is averaging 9.3 points in three outings.
* South Rowan looks for revenge tonight when it plays Mooresville at home. South lost to the Blue Devils 79-70 on Friday.
* West YMCA programs
Registration runs through Dec. 18 for West Rowan Y’s indoor soccer programs. Programs are for boys and girls Pre-K to ninth grade. The cost is $35 for members and $59 for non-members.
* The West Y is registering players for boys basketball through Jan. 16. The programs are for grades 2-8. Cost is $35 for members and $59 for non-members. Contact John Peterson at 704-636-0111.