BUIES
CREEK,
N.C. Jonathan Rodriguez led four Campbell double figure
scorers with 26 points and the Fighting Camels defeated visiting
Gardner-Webb 93-73 Friday night in front of a capacity crowd at
Carter Gym.
Jake Wohlfeil added 19
points, Reggie Bishop 15 and Kyle Vejraska 13 for the Camels (8-9,
3-2 A-Sun) who won their third-straight game by hitting season-high
scoring totals for a game and half (52).
Rodriguez had 18 points in
the opening period as the Camels built a 52-34 half-time edge by
closing the period on a 16-3 run. Gardner-Webb (8-11, 2-3) was able to
cut the lead to eight (72-64) with 7:40 left in the contest, but
the Camels closed on a 21-9 flurry to secure their first three-game
win streak since November 2006.
Rodriguez matched his season
high with 15 rebounds, while connecting on 8-of-14 shots from the
field and 10-of-13 from the line. He dealt five assists and had two
steals in 35 minutes of play. Wohlfeil canned 5-of-12 threes and
Bishop 3-of-5 from the arc as the Camels knocked down 11-of-23
(.478) from 3-point range.
Vejraska hit 2-of-3 from long
distance, blocked two shots and pulled down a season-high nine
rebounds for the Camels, who held a 50-31 advantage on the
boards. Campbell turned 17
offensive rebounds into a 15-7 advantage in second-chance
points. Freshman point
guard Junard Hartley chipped in a season-best nine points, plus
eight assists and seven boards.
Thomas Sanders led
Gardner-Webb with 24 points on 7-of-15 from the field and 10-of-16
from the line, plus 14 rebounds and five assists. Grayson Flittner added 18 points,
including 6-of-16 threes.
Aaron Linn chipped in 11, plus five assists.
Campbell held the Bulldogs to just
37.9 percent (11-29) shooting in the opening half and 43.1 percent
(25-58) for the game. The
Camels have limited their first five A-Sun opponents to a combined
39.3 percent from the floor.
Nate Blank's three brought
Gardner-Webb within 36-31 with 4:59 left in the opening half, but
the Bulldogs made just one field goal on Sanders' tip-in
with 2:59 to go in their last seven attempts of the
period.
Campbell led by as many as 23 (60-37)
on Vejraska's trey with 17:57 to go. However, Gardner-Webb assembled a 20-7
rally and closed the gap to 70-62 on Matt French's free throw with
9:13 to go.
GWU still trailed by single
digits when Flittner canned a three to cut Campbell's edge to 77-68
with 5:27 remaining, but Hartley answered with a triple from the
left wing that started a 14-0 burst to put the game out of
reach.
The Camels shot 55.2 percent
(16-29) from the floor in the final half, making 7-of-11 threes
(.636) in the process to defeat the Bulldogs for the
second-straight year at Carter Gym.
Campbell continues a three-game home
stand on Thursday in a 7:00 p.m. tip-off against Florida Gulf
Coast.