JOHNSON CITY, TENN. - Justin Tubbs scored 18 points, 13 in the
second half and East Tennessee State withstood a furious second
half rally to deal Campbell a 72-57 loss Wednesday night in
Atlantic Sun men's basketball action.
The Camels trailed by as many as 18 (40-22) with 17:17 to play.
However, Campbell clawed within 51-47 when Jonathan Rodriguez hit
the first of two free throws to cap a 25-11 run with 4:08 to
play.
Still trailing by four, Preston Dodson missed the front end of a
1-and-1 with 3:33 to go, and Jocolby Davis hit a 27-footer at the
end of the shot clock (his first 3 of the season) to push the lead
to 54-47. Tubbs then nailed consecutive threes to push the edge
back to double digits (60-49) with 1:50 to go.
A transfer from Alabama, Tubbs made 4-of-9 threes on the night and
led five ETSU players in double figures. Tommy Hubbard added 15 -
11 in the first period - plus 10 rebounds, while Isiah Brown
chipped in 12 points, 8 boards and 3 blocks. Micah Williams scored
11 and Davis finished with 10 for ETSU (11-10, 7-3), which pulled
into a 3-way tie with Campbell (12-7, 7-3) and Jacksonville on top
of the A-Sun standings.
Junard Hartley and Rodriguez led Campbell with 12 points apiece,
while Lorne Merthie scored 10 and grabbed five steals.
Campbell shot 50 percent from the field in the second period, but
just 39 percent (22-56) for the game. The Camels made just
11-of-19 free throws (.579) and only 2-of-11 from 3-point
range.
The Bucs finished the night shooting 58.5 percent (24-41) from the
floor, made 8-of-16 treys and held a 33-26 margin on the glass.
Campbell forced 20 ETSU turnovers, 12 in the final period.
ETSU led by as many as 17 points in the opening half (34-17) after
Isiah Brown's 3-point play with 2:14 left. But the Camels closed
the gap to 34-22 at the break.
The Bucs shot 57 percent (12-21) from the floor, including 3-6 from
3-point range, plus 7-9 from the line in the opening half.
Campbell shot just 28.6 percent (8-28) from the field before
intermission.
Rodriguez broke the school's all-time scoring record last week and
now stands just 14 points and 14 rebounds shy of becoming only the
101st player in NCAA Division I history to compile 2000 points and
1000 rebounds in his career.
The Camels return home for a 3:15 p.m. tip-off on Saturday against
Belmont.
