AUBURN, ALA. - Eric Griffin led five double-figure scorers with 20
points and Campbell defeated Middle Tennessee 97-90 Friday in the
first game of the Global Sports Hoops Showcase at Auburn Arena.
Lorne Merthie added 17, Martell Jackson 15, Keishawn Mayes 14 and
Preston Dodson 11 for the Camels (1-2), who trailed by as many as
16 in the first half before finishing with the team's most points
in a game since 104-82 win over Stetson on Feb. 8, 2007.
James Washington led Middle Tennessee (1-2) with 20 points. Jason
Jones and Kerry Hammonds added 12 each and James Gallman 11 for the
Blue Raiders, who dropped their second-straight game.
Mayes, Griffin and Jackson combined to make 20-of-25 shots from the
floor and Campbell shot 64 percent from the field (32-50), 77.3
percent (17-of-22) in the final stanza. A junior transfer, Griffin
scored a season-high while hitting double digits for the
third-straight game. He made 4-of-4 from long range, while Merthie
hit 4-of-7 beyond the arc for the Camels, who made 8-of-13
treys.
Dodson finished with a game-high 8 rebounds, plus a career-high 5
assists from his post position.
Campbell extended a 6-point halftime edge to 10 at 53-43 on
Keishawn Mayes' short bank shot, but Middle answered with a 17-4
flurry and tied the score at 57 on James Washington's 3 from the
left corner with 12:48 left.
On the next possession Griffin dunked in traffic to start a 14-4
Camel rally and the Camels led 71-61 on Jackson's foul shot with
7:58 to go. Griffin's 3 from the left corner at the end of the
shot clock pushed the margin to 74-63 with 7:08 left. The Blue
Raiders never came closer than 6 over the final seven minutes.
Middle finished the night shooting 45.9 percent (28-61) and made
10-of-24 threes (.417), while canning 24-of-31 (.774) from the
stripe.
Middle Tennessee finished with a 31-28 edge on the glass, but the
Camels outscored the Blue Raiders by a 44-32 margin in the paint.
Campbell's bench contributed 46 points - including Jackson, Merthie
and Amir Celestin, who had 8, plus 5 assists and no turnovers in 23
minutes of action. Hartley dealt 4 assists and made 4 steals.
Middle Tennessee made 9 of its first 13 shots, including 6-of-6
from 3-point range and jumped to a 27-11 lead with 12:26 left in
the opening half after Kyle Hunt scored underneath.
CU started a 24-6 burst with 11 unanswered points and took its
first lead (35-33) on Eric Griffin's follow dunk with 5:01
remaining. The Camels extended the advantage to a 35-12 run and
led 46-39 at the half when Merthie found Junard Hartley on a back
door layup just before the buzzer.
After the hot start, Middle Tennessee made just 3 of its last 16
from the floor, 0-of-5 from long distance the remainder of the
half.
Campbell shot 53.6 percent (15-28) from the floor in the first 20
minutes, 4-of-7 from 3-point range, and hit 12-of-13 free throws
while out-scoring the Blue Raiders 20-8 in the paint. Merthie and
Martell Jackson each scored 10 points in the opening period, while
Griffin added eight.
CU will also face host Auburn Saturday (4:15 CST) and former A-Sun
rival Samford Sunday (2:00 CST) in the three-day event.
