NASHVILLE, TENN. - Jonathan Rodriguez led four Camels in double figures with 26 points and Campbell defeated Lipscomb 86-82 Saturday at Allen Arena to remain in first place in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings.
Miles Taylor added 14 points, Lorne Merthie 13 and Junard Hartley added 11 - including 8-of-8 from the free throw line - plus 12 assists and 7 rebounds for Campbell (12-6, 7-2), which won its fourth in the last five games.
Campbell shot 60 percent (12-20) from the field in the second half, and hit 20-of-24 (.833) free throws in the final stanza, 33-of-38 (.868) for the game. The Camels held a 34-17 edge on the boards.
"Our team exhibited a lot of poise, especially after when adversity hit and we were down eight," said Campbell head coach Robbie Laing. "It really helps Campbell University, our program and these young men to continue to up there at the top of the A-Sun standings. It sure makes it a lot of fun to go to work and go to practice."
Lipscomb (9-10, 6-4) led 56-48 after Josh Slater hit a pair of free throws with 13:48 to go. However, the Camels opened a 13-4 burst with seven-straight points and took the lead (61-60) on William Kossangue's baseline drive with 8:44 remaining.
The lead changed four times and the game was tied on three occasions - the last when Adnan Hodzic made the second of two foul shots with 3:29 left. Merthie's 3 from the right corner put the Camels in front for good (75-72) with 3:02 to play, then after Jordan Burgason missed a 3, which was contested tightly by Hartley, Preston Dodson knocked down a 17-foot jumper to make it 77-72 with 2:13 to go.
Burgason's triple with 1:52 remaining cut the gap to 77-75. William Kossangue then hit the second of two free throws with 1:30 left. Slater's drive pulled Lipscomb within 78-77 with 1:14 to go, but the Camels hit their final six free throws (four by Hartley) in the last 20.5 seconds to seal the win.
Hodzic and Slater led Lipscomb - the pre-season A-Sun co-favorite - with 26 points each, while Burgason added 19 (4-of-11 from 3-point range). Only two other Bison players scored - Brian Wright (6) and Michael Teller (5). Hodzic made 9-of-13 from the floor, 8-of-11 from the line and grabbed 6 rebounds, but committed six turnovers - two on charges in the final period. Slater hit 8-of-13 shots, 3-of-8 from distance, and 7-of-10 from the stripe.
Rodriguez hit 6-of-10 from the field, 13-of-15 from the stripe, and grabbed 7 rebounds for the Camels. Merthie made 3-of-5 from 3-point range and all four of his foul shots. Taylor connected on 5-of-8 from the field and 4-of-6 from the line before fouling out with 3:29 to play.
"If you want to be a contender, you have to win games on the road," said Laing of his Camels, who are 3-2 away from home in conference play. "Our goal for tonight was to relentlessly attack the rim. We went up eight in the first half; then got away from our formula. Then we got back to what was working for us and got to the line 24 times in the second half. We're not blessed with a tremendous amount of outside shooters on this team, and for us to be successful; we've got to attack the basket."
On the day, Campbell finished 51.1 percent (24-47) from the floor and 5-of-11 (.455) beyond the arc, and converted 12 offensive rebounds into a 14-6 edge in second-chance points. Lipscomb shot 52 percent (26-50) from the field, made 10-of-27 threes (.370) and 20-of-27 from the stripe (.741).
Lipscomb shot 56.5 percent (13-23) in the opening half - including 6-of-15 threes - and took a 44-39 lead at the break. Burgason scored 15 first-half points, canning 3-of-6 from long distance, while Hodzic had 12.
Rodriguez and Taylor scored 8 each in the opening half while Merthie added 7 for the Camels, who made 12-27 (.444) from the field, but made 13-of-14 (.929) from the line.
Kyle Vejraska's lay-up in transition capped a 9-0 Camel run and gave CU its largest lead (26-18) with 10:02 left in the opening half. Lipscomb countered with a 12-2 burst and extended the push to 23-9 to grab its biggest advantage (41-35) on Burgason's trey with 2:24 to go.
Campbell has won 6 of its last 8 games and stands 3-2 on the road vs. league foes. Saturday's loss was just the 15th at home for Lipscomb since the Bisons joined the A-Sun in 2004-05. Campbell has accounted for 3 of those setbacks.
Lipscomb dropped to 1-9 this season when its opponents shoot 50 percent or better from the field.
Nine of the last 13 games in the series have been decided by seven, or fewer, points. The visiting team has won seven times in the 16-game series. Campbell is now 3-6 all-time vs. the Bisons at Allen Arena.
The Camels continue a 3-game road stretch on Wednesday at East Tennessee State (7:00).
