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Campbell University

Campbell Comeback Stops Upset-Minded North Florida 54-49 at Carter Gym


BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Jonathan Rodriguez and Eric Smith each scored 14 points and Campbell rallied to defeat upset-minded North Florida 54-49 in Atlantic Sun Conference men's basketball Thursday night at Carter Gym.



The Fighting Camels (9-10, 4-5 A-Sun), who entered the game ranked 10th nationally in scoring offense at 82.8 points per game, won despite hitting season-lows for points (54) and field goal percentage (.310).



North Florida
(2-18, 0-10), which led by as many as 11 in the second half and by 10 with 11:02 remaining, dropped its eighth-consecutive game while losing for the 26th-straight time away from home.



Rodriguez matched his season-high with 15 rebounds, while Reggie Bishop chipped in 10 points, including the last seven of the game. The junior from Gadsden, Ala., canned a three-pointer from the right corner that put the Camels in front 50-49 with 3:46 to go, then scored on an offensive rebound and short jumper with 1:46 left.



Bishop's steal with six seconds to play and two foul shots with 0:04 remaining sealed Campbell's eighth win in 10 games at Carter Gym this season.



James Grimball led North Florida with 15 points, while grabbing seven rebounds, but fouled out with 4:51 remaining when he was whistled on a double-technical foul along with Campbell's Stephon Griffin.



Campbell endured its worst shooting half of the year when the Camels opened the game by hitting just 7-of-26 from the field (.269) before intermission.



A 12-0 run gave the Camels a 20-13 lead with 8:07 to go in the opening half, but the Camels made just one of their next 14 shots as the Ospreys wrapped a 20-2 run around the half. CU committed 11 of its 18 turnovers during the drought, which spanned 11:29 until Smith's three cut the gap to 33-25 with 16:19 to play.



UNF led 42-32 with 11:02 remaining, but made just two field goals the rest of the way. Campbell tied the game at 44 on Ledell Eackles' lay-in with 6:44 to go that capped a 12-2 spurt.



Germaine Sparkes' lay-up with 3:59 to play put UNF up 49-47, but the Ospreys, went 0-of-4 from the floor, 0-of-2 from the line and made three turnovers in the last 3:14. UNF entered the game last in the league in scoring (53.8) and free throw shooting (.569), while ranking ninth (of 10 members) in field goal accuracy (.395).



Campbell finished the game shooting 31 percent (18-58) from the floor, 7-of-31 (.226) from 3-point range and just 11-of-19 (.579) from the line. The Camels entered Thursday atop the league in scoring, field goal shooting (.462), 3-point shooting (.360) and third in free throw accuracy (.717).



North Florida
shot just 40.4 percent (19-47) from the floor, made 3-of-11 threes (.273) and hit only 8-of-16 free throws (.500), while committing 23 turnovers. Campbell finished with a 42-37 edge on the boards.



The Fighting Camels conclude their four-game home stand on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. vs. Jacksonville. North Florida travels to Gardner-Webb Saturday in an 8:15 p.m. start.

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Players Mentioned

Jonathan Rodriguez

#3 Jonathan Rodriguez

F
6' 5"
Freshman
Eric Smith

#11 Eric Smith

G
6' 1"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Jonathan Rodriguez

#3 Jonathan Rodriguez

6' 5"
Freshman
F
Eric Smith

#11 Eric Smith

6' 1"
Senior
G