BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Campbell closed the game on a 14-4 run and defeated Mercer 69-63 Friday night in men's basketball action at the Pope Center/Gore Arena.

In a tightly-contested game where the final margin was the largest lead for either team, Jonathan Rodriguez scored 22 of his game-high 24 points in the second half for the Camels (15-9, 10-5), who moved into a tie for first place in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings with their third-straight win.

Miles Taylor added 12 points, Lorne Merthie had 10 and Junard Hartley celebrated his 21st birthday with 10 points, 6 assists and 2 steals for the Camels.

Rodriguez, who made 8-of-10 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the line in the final half, moved into third place on the A-Sun career scoring list past Courtney Pigram of East Tennessee State, who tallied 2043 points from 2005-09. The Camel senior now has 2060 points in 115 career games.

"We've been preaching all week about the time of year we're in and how important each and every possession is, taking care of the ball," said Campbell head coach Robbie Laing. "We've kind of settled on a rotation out there, and people are starting to figure their roles out. When we started making plays in the second half, our energy level picked up and down the stretch we made some stops."

James Florence topped Mercer (12-13, 8-7) with 21 points, 18 in the final stanza, but missed a pair of free throws and two other shots from the field in the final 2:25 as the Camels overcame a four-point deficit.

Daniel Emerson added 12 points and E.J. Kusnyer 10 for Mercer, which shot 56 percent from the field - 65 percent in the second half - but gave up 12 second-chance points off 10 Campbell offensive boards.

The Camels finished with a 28-20 edge on the glass and allowed only 3 second-chance points by the Bears. Campbell forced 20 turnovers (while committing only 14) and bettered its average of 10.9 steals per game (5th in the country) with 13 thefts.

Campbell shot 53 percent from the floor in the final period and made 12-of-16 from the line after the break, compared to Mercer's 8-of-16 showing from the stripe over the last 20 minutes.

Florence's pull-up jump shot with 4:15 remaining gave Mercer a 4-point edge (59-55) matching its largest of the game, but the Bears went more than four minutes without a field goal during Campbell's game-ending run.

The Camels drew within two on the next possession as Hartley set up Rodriguez' lay-up with 3:29 to go that cut the gap to 59-57, then Merthie drew a charge on Florence on the ensuing trip down the floor.

The Mercer senior guard made the second of two free throws to give Mercer a 61-60 edge with 2:25 left before Rodriguez canned a pair from the stripe to put the Camels back in front 61-60 with 2:07 to play. Florence had the chance to give Mercer the advantage, but again made only 1-of-2 from the line with 1:33 to play and the score was knotted at 61-all.

William Kossangue drove into the lane and found Rodriguez open on the left blocks for a lay-up just 12 seconds later to give the Camels the lead for good. Florence then missed a 12-footer that Preston Dodson rebounded and Rodriguez converted twice from the stripe with 1:00 left for a 65-61 lead. Mercer was unable to get closer.

The contest marked the first-ever meeting of two 2,000-point scorers in A-Sun history. Florence stands second on the A-Sun career scoring charges with 2219 points.

Campbell moved into a four-way tie on top of the A-Sun standings at 10-5 with Belmont, Jacksonville and East Tennessee State. The Camels host Kennesaw State Monday at 7:00 p.m. in the second of a four-game home stand.