Contact: Stan Cole

BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Eric Smith scored eight of his season-high 27 points in the second overtime and Campbell outlasted visiting Kennesaw State 88-85 Saturday in an Atlantic Sun Conference men's basketball thriller at Carter Gym.

Smith forced the second OT period when he rebounded a missed three by Stephon Griffin, then hit a triple from the left corner with 4.1 seconds left to knot the score at 73-all. He then knocked down a pair of threes in the final extra session and hit a pair of foul shots to put the Camels in front 86-80 with 1:16 remaining.

Andre Morgan's trey brought Kennesaw State (5-12, 1-4 A-Sun) within 86-83 with 1:09 to go, but Griffin made two from the line with 55 seconds left. Keonte Keith hit a pair of free throws to pull KSU within 88-85 with 45 seconds remaining. Campbell worked the shot clock before Jonathan Rodriguez lost the ball on the baseline with 12 seconds to go. However, Zach Berry and Andre Morgan missed 3-points attempts to preserve the final margin.

Smith finished 6-of-11 from 3-point range, 5-of-8 from the line, and grabbed five rebounds in 40 minutes. Jonathan Rodriguez added 16 points, including 10-of-13 free throws, and 10 rebounds in 46 minutes. Reggie Bishop chipped in a season-best 16 points, on 6-of-6 from the floor off the bench for the Camels (7-6, 2-1).

Golden Ingle led Kennesaw with a season-high 27 points on 9-of-25 shooting, plus 10 assists in 48 minutes. Morgan added 13, while Shuan Stegall, who entered the game as the league's leading rebounder (9.8) and second-leading scorer (16.8), was limited to 12 points and six boards in only 18 minutes due to foul trouble. Jon-Michael Nickerson pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.

Kennesaw's second-leading scorer, Ronell Wooten, who averaged 14.5 points through the team's first 15 games, missed the contest due to a death in his family.

Campbell shot 45.5 percent from the floor, made 7-of-16 threes (.438) and hit 31-of-42 foul shots (.738), including 12-of-14 in the two overtime periods. Campbell, however, committed 23 turnovers, 14 in the second half, that led to 23 Kennesaw points.

The Owls shot just 37.5 percent (30-of-80) from the floor and hit only 19-of-33 from the line (.576), missing 6-of-12 in the overtime periods.

Campbell improved to 6-0 at home this year despite blowing an 11-point lead in the second half. KSU rallied from a 50-39 deficit with 12:45 to go on the strength of a 15-4 spurt. Campbell led 65-60 with 2:36 to play in regulation after Ledell Eackles' lay-in, but Morgan's old-fashioned 3-point play brought the Owls within three with 57 seconds left.

Smith's jumper was blocked by Brent Ragsdale and Ingle tied the game with a running bank shot with 17 seconds to go. Kennesaw got the ball back after Eackles missed on a drive, but Rodriguez stepped in front of Stegall, who fouled out after he was called for charging with 3.8 seconds left. Rodriguez' 30-footer at the buzzer bounced off the left side of the rim and the game went into overtime tied at 65.

Kennesaw led 71-67 in the first OT when Morgan hit the first of two foul shots, but CU cut the gap to 72-70 when Smith went 1-for-2 at the stripe with 32 seconds left. Keith missed the second of two foul shots with 20 seconds to play, setting up Smith's eventual game-tying trey.

Bishop scored all eight of his first-half points during a 12-1 Camel run and CU led 37-29 at half-time. Kennesaw, however, scored 12 points off 14 Camel second-half turnovers to knot the contest.

Campbell, which is scoring an average of 97.5 points at home, hosts East Tennessee State on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. [Box Score]

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