The Blue Hose rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit with an 18-2 run and led by three with just over five minutes to go, but succumbed to a 19-4 Camel run as Campbell defeated the Presbyterian College men's basketball team, 77-65, tonight at the Templeton Center in Clinton, S.C.
A back and forth battle for the first eight minutes turned into a double-digit lead for Campbell as the Fighting Camels used an 18-5 run, sparked by a three-pointer and jumper by Eric Griffin, over the next 10 minutes to build a 32-20 lead with 2:51 remaining in the half.
PC cut the margin to eight with 1:27 on the clock after Josh Johnson hit a lay-up and two free throws for four unanswered points. Campbell went back up by 10 with just over a minute left before Khalid Mutakabbir's lay-up with 23 to go made it an eight-point game. It was short-lived after Antonio Kalpic scored in the closing seconds to give the Camels the 10-point, 36-26 lead at half.
Campbell outscored the Blue Hose 10-3 just over four minutes into the second half and led by 17, 46-29, with 15:49 remaining.
Pierre Miller, with a three-pointer at the 13:30 mark, and Mutakabbir with a three of his own at 12:57 helped PC cut the deficit to 10 before Campbell made it a 12-point game again, 51-39, with a jumper at 12:42.
Miller wasn't done as he hit another three at 12:11 to make it 51-42 in favor of Campbell. It highlighted an 18-2 run that saw Miller score five more points as the Blue Hose erased a 16-point deficit to tie the game at 51-51.
The Camels ended a three-minute scoring drought with two free throws by Trey Freeman to go up 53-51 with 9:38 to go.
Mutakabbir made it 53-53 with 7:49 remaining but it was short lived after Freeman connected on his third three-pointer to make it 56-53. PC continued to fight every possession and after Al'Lonzo Coleman hit a jumper and was fouled on the play he hit his free throw to make it 56-56 with 7:05 on the clock.
Both teams traded baskets over the next couple of minutes before PC took the lead again with the three-point play by Coleman, who was fouled as he made jumper at 5:10 and then sank the free-throw to make it a 61-58 lead for the Blue Hose.
Campbell re-took the lead after capitalizing on a PC turnover with a Darren White three-pointer with 4:09 to go to make it 63-61. A PC foul gave the Camels the opportunity to extend their lead and they did not waste it, connecting on one of two to make it a three-point game.
The White three-pointer sparked a 5-0 run as Campbell took the 66-61 lead with 2:51 left on the clock. Coleman was fouled with 2:21 left and converted both free throws and the Camels led 66-63. Campbell scored seven unanswered, which included four by Rico Ferguson, to take the 10-point 73-63 lead with 44.7 seconds remaining.
Campbell rattled off four of the game's final six points as part of the 19-4 run that saw the Camels take the 77-65 win.
White led Campbell with 22 points, with Griffin following with 16 on the night. Two others scored in double-figures with Marvelle Harris and Freeman finishing with 10 apiece. Harris led the rebounding effort with eight, as the Camels held the 31-24 advantage on the boards. Campbell shot 56.9 percent from the field and was 14-of-20 from the free-throw line.
Mutakabbir and Miller led PC in scoring with 16 points each, while Coleman followed with 13. Joshua Clyburn pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds to pace the Blue Hose. PC shot 46.8 percent from the field for the game after hitting 50.0 percent in the second half. The Blue Hose were 13-of-19 from the charity stripe and eight-of-23 from beyond the three-point arc.
The Camels dominated the points in the paint, 40-26, but had one more turnover, 12-11.
The Blue Hose are next in action at Charleston Southern Thursday, Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m. It is the first of a two-game road trip with the Blue Hose at Coastal Carolina Saturday, Jan. 14 at 4 p.m.
The game will be broadcast on the radio at WLBG 860-AM and at www.GoBlueHose.com with the pre-game show starting at 7 p.m. Fans can also watch on-line at www.BigSouthSports.com for a nominal fee.
