ORLANDO, FLA. – Penn broke open a
tight game with a 32-8 run midway through the second half and went
on to defeat Campbell 78-67 Tuesday in the consolation game of the
UCF Holiday Classic.
Five Quakers scored in double
figures and Penn (2-7) ended a five-game losing streak with
efficient offense and by capitalizing on Camel droughts in both
halves.
Jack Eggleston led the
Quakers with 16 points, while Cameron Lewis added 14, plus seven
rebounds and five rejections. Tyler Bernardini scored 13, Brennan
Votel 11 and Zack Rosen 10 for the Quakers, who shot 55 percent
from the floor, converted 18 Campbell turnovers into 21 points and
blocked 12 shots.
Jonathan Rodriguez led
Campbell (3-8) with 18 points and nine rebounds. Miles Taylor came off the bench to
score a season-high 17 on 7-of-12 shooting, while pulling down
seven boards. The Camels
shot just 37 percent from the field.
A 9-2 burst to open the
second period brought the Camels within 38-36 after Matt Gwynne's
tip-in with 17:26 remaining. Penn answered with a 17-4 flurry keyed
by seven points from Votel.
Bernardini's three from the right wing with 11:29 left gave Penn a
55-40 lead, and the Quakers extended the cushion to 70-44 on Lewis'
foul shots with 6:05 remaining.
Campbell missed 15 of its first 20
shots and trailed 26-13 after Jack Eggleston's free throw with 9:52
to play capped a 10-3 Quaker run and gave Penn its largest lead of
the half at 26-13. Penn hit
9 of its first 15 attempts from the floor (7 of 9 inside the
arc).
The Camels went 6:10 without
a field goal before Jonathan Rodriguez' bank shot ended the
drought.
CU clawed back into the game
thanks to a 9-2 run that came during a span of 6:41 when the
Quakers went 0-for-4 from the floor and committed six
turnovers. Amir Celestin's
three from the left side cut the half-time deficit to
36-29.
Rodriguez had 13 first-half
points on 6-of-8 shooting, while Taylor added seven. Eggleston scored 11 before the break
for Penn, which shot 55 percent (12-22) from the field in the
opening period; and Rosen had eight on a pair of threes and two
foul shots.
Campbell finished with a 38-29 edge on
the boards and collected 19 second-chance points from 20 offensive
rebounds.
The Camels return to Buies
Creek Saturday for a 3:15 p.m. tip-off against Mercer at Gore
Arena.
