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Campbell University

Florida Gulf Coast deals men's basketball 72-68 loss in A-Sun opener

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Reed Baker scored 26 points to lead Florida Gulf Coast to a 72-68 Atlantic Sun Conference victory over Campbell on Saturday at Alico Arena.

FGCU (3-6, 1-1) led 65-56 with 4:40 to go but almost blew the lead. Baker hit two free throws with nine seconds left and Delvin Franklin hit two more with 3.2 seconds to clinch it.

Derrick O'Neil added 16 points and Franklin had 14 for the Eagles, who won despite committing 24 turnovers.

Jonathan Rodriguez scored 12 points and Lorne Merthie had 11 for Campbell (2-5, 0-1), which rallied from a 12-point deficit to take a five-point lead in the second half. Miles Taylor added nine.

Campbell wrapped a 21-4 run around half-time and led by five. However, FGCU broke a 56-all tie with a 9-0 run to take the lead for good.

After trailing by 11 late in the contest, Campbell cut the lead to 65-62 with 3:04 left. Chad Thompson then cut the gap to 68-66 with 36 seconds left. On the next possession, FGCU's Ed Rolax turned it over and immediately committed a foul. Junard Hartley hit one of two from the line and the Eagles again turned the ball over on the ensuing possession.

However, facing a one-point deficit, Campbell was unable to get off a shot, and eventually turned the ball over with 9 seconds left. Baker and Franklin connected on four free throws in the final seconds to seal the victory.

The Camels entered the game leading the A-Sun in scoring (78.7) and field goal accuracy (.492), but hit just 42 percent of their shots. FGCU connected on 48 percent from the floor and made 22-of-32 from the line (.688), compared to 18-of-26 (.692) for the visitors.

Campbell continues its two-game A-Sun swing through Florida on Monday in a 7:00 p.m. tip-off at Stetson.

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Players Mentioned

Junard Hartley

#12 Junard Hartley

G
6' 3"
Sophomore
Lorne Merthie

#25 Lorne Merthie

G
6' 1"
Freshman
Miles Taylor

#32 Miles Taylor

G/F
6' 4"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Junard Hartley

#12 Junard Hartley

6' 3"
Sophomore
G
Lorne Merthie

#25 Lorne Merthie

6' 1"
Freshman
G
Miles Taylor

#32 Miles Taylor

6' 4"
Junior
G/F