BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Belmont used a late 10-0 run and defeated
Campbell 66-55 Thursday night in Atlantic Sun Conference men's
basketball action at the Curb Event Center.
The Camels trailed 56-53 when Jonathan Rodriguez scored off Junard
Hartley's feed with 1:46 to go, but the Camels committed four
turnovers and missed a jumper in their next five possessions.
Belmont (10-9, 5-4) made 7-of-8 free throws in the final minute and
ended a 3-game losing streak.
Campbell (11-6, 6-2) saw its three-game win streak come to an end.
After hitting 50 percent of their shots in the opening period,
Campbell made just 7-of-26 (.269) in the last stanza and made only
11-of-20 (.550) from the line after the break.
Rodriguez' bucket gave him 1948 for his career to set a new
Campbell all-time scoring record. The senior from Bayamon, Puerto
Rico broke the old mark of 1947 set by Sam Staggers from 1973-77.
Miles Taylor added 14 points for the Camels, who were out-rebounded
43-28 and surrendered 18 second-chance points.
Keaton Belcher led Belmont with 17 points, including 5-of-6
threes. Mick Hedgepeth added 12 points, including 10-of-14 from
the line, and 12 rebounds, while Ian Clark had 10 points.
Campbell forced 22 Belmont turnovers and scored 19 points off those
miscues, but the Bruins made 15-of-18 from the line in the second
half (.833) to offset 38 percent shooting for the game.
Belmont opened the second half on a 17-6 run and took its largest
lead (47-36) when Jordan Campbell hit a 3 from right of the key
with 14:05 to play. However, the Camels responded with a 9-0 run
over the next 6:48 and cut the gap to 47-45 on Rodriguez' free
throw with 8:02 remaining.
The Camels finished the night shooting 37.5 percent from the field
(18-48), including just 1-of-9 from 3-point territory (.111) and 60
percent (18-30) from the stripe. Belmont extended its record
against the Camels in Nashville to 11-0.
The lead changed 17 times and the score was tied on six occasions
in the opening period as the Camels and Bruins played to a 30-all
deadlock at the break. Neither team led by more than five
(Campbell at 11-6 with 14:56 to go).
Taylor led the Camels with 11 first-half points on 4-of-4 shooting,
plus 3-of-4 from the line. The Camels shot 50 percent from the
field in the opening half and made 7-of-10 from the stripe.
Belcher hit a trio of threes in as many attempts and led Belmont
with 11 first-half points. However, the rest of the Bruins went
1-of-9 from beyond the arc, but Belmont stayed close thanks to a
12-0 advantage in second-chance points.
Ranked fifth in the nation in steals (11.06 per game), the Camels
swiped 14 on Thursday, including four by Junard Hartley.
The Camels continue their two-game trip to Music City Saturday in a
3:15 p.m. (CST) tip-off at pre-season league co-favorite
Lipscomb.