BUIES
CREEK,
N.C. – Junard Hartley scored all 12 of his points in the
second half and Campbell rallied for a 61-57 Atlantic Sun
Conference victory over North Florida Monday night at Gore Arena.
Jonathan Rodriguez added 14
points – 10 in the second half – plus eight rebounds for
the Camels (7-10, 4-4), who ended a two-game losing streak despite
shooting just 34 percent from the field.
Stan Januska led North
Florida (3-15, 1-7) with 17 points, while Matt Sauey came off the
bench to score 14 and grab eight rebounds.
Campbell rallied from a 35-30 deficit
with 13:00 remaining by scoring nine unanswered points to take the
lead for good.
UNF cut the gap to just two
points (52-50) on Sauey's free throws with 3:35 to go. However, Rodriguez scored with 2:15 to
go on an offensive board and bucket; then blocked Sauey's lay-up at
the other end.
On the following possession,
Hartley hit a deep 3-pointer from the left wing near the end of the
shot clock for a 57-50 advantage with 46 seconds remaining. Januska's triple cut the deficit
to 58-55 with 26 seconds left and the Ospreys fouled Amir Celestin,
who missed both ends of a two-shot opportunity.
Rodriguez again came up with
an offensive rebound, his sixth on the attacking glass for the
night, and Hartley made 3-of-4 from the line in the last 18
seconds.
In a tight game where neither
team led by more than seven points, Campbell committed a season-low
six turnovers and made 18-of-27 free throws despite hitting just
19-of-56 from the field, including 5-of-17 threes. The Camels forced 16 UNF mistakes,
resulting in a 13-6 edge in points off turnovers.
The Ospreys shot 47 percent
on the night, 2-of-10 from long range, and 9-of-12 from the stripe,
while grabbing a 36-34 advantage on the boards.
UNF closed the opening half
with a 9-2 run to claim a 26-25 lead at the break. The Ospreys shot 55 percent from the
field with a 20-6 edge on points in the paint before
intermission. Sauey had
nine first-half points off the bench.
Campbell hit just 10-of-31 shots
(.323) in the first half, 3-of-13 from 3-point range. Despite grabbing nine offensive
rebounds in the first 20 minutes, the Camels converted those boards
into only two points.
The Camels return to action
Thursday at East Tennessee State in a 7:00 p.m. tip-off at Memorial
Center.
