DeLAND, FLA. - Jonathan Rodriguez scored 24 points and Miles Taylor
added his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 boards
to lead Campbell University to a 65-47 victory over Stetson
Thursday night in Atlantic Sun men's basketball action.
Lorne Merthie came off the bench to add 9 points in 25 minutes,
while Junard Hartley had 8 points, 6 assists and 3 steals in 35
minutes for the Camels (13-9, 8-5), who ended an 8-game losing
streak on Stetson's home floor.
Rodriguez made 9-of-9 from free throw line, grabbed 7 rebounds and
made 3 steals. A senior from Pensacola, Fla., Taylor connected on
8-of-11 from the floor, and had 5 offensive rebounds as he set a
career-high for boards, while equaling his top scoring effort set a
year ago vs. Penn. All seven of his double-figure scoring games
this season have come on the road.
Campbell used a 16-2 run midway through the first half to build a
double figure edge and led 31-20 at the break. Stetson missed 14
of 21 shots and committed 13 turnovers in the opening period.
The Hatters cut the gap to 8 on three occasions, but could get no
closer. After Tyshawn Patterson's free throw pulled Stetson within
51-43 with 6:38 remaining, Campbell answered with a 10-0 burst to
claim its first win at the Edmunds Center since 2000.
"I thought Miles Taylor was huge for us tonight," said Camel head
coach Robbie Laing. "We made the conversion to put him inside. He
withstood the physical play underneath and made plays with
contact. Rodriguez started slow, but came on to have a really nice
game, and Hartley was a floor leader all night long. He was
feeling what we needed to do to have the best chance for
success."
Joel Naburgs led Stetson with 13 points and Patterson added 11 off
the bench on 4-of-12 shooting. Mark Lohuis had 9 points and 7
rebounds, while Ridge Graham chipped in 8 points and 7 boards for
Stetson, which shot just 32 percent for the game (16-50) from both
2-point and 3-point range (8-25).
Campbell improved to 4-3 on the road in Atlantic Sun Conference
play by forcing 19 turnovers and converting those into 17 points.
In addition, the Camels outscored the Hatters 40-14 in the paint
and had a 10-4 edge in second-chance points, thanks to 11 offensive
rebounds.
The Camels hit 46 percent of their shots on the night, and knocked
down 12-of-13 from the line in the second half, 15-of-19 (.789) for
the game. Stetson made just 7-of-12 foul shots.
"If we want to make a move for the A-Sun Championship, we've got to
win on the road," said Laing. "I still don't think we're playing
our best basketball. But, if we can build a little more
confidence, we may be playing our best basketball at the right
time."
Stetson made just 7-of-21 shots in the opening period, and missed 2
of 10 field goals while committing 8 turnovers in the final 10:03
of the half.
Stetson (5-17, 3-11) lost its 5th in a row and is in last place in
the league standings. Campbell swept the two-game series from the
Hatters for the first time since 2000.
Campbell entered the game ranked 5th in the nation in steals
(10.71) and 11th in turnover margin (+4.33). The Camels had 10
thefts on the night and committed just 12 miscues, seven fewer that
the hosts.
Rodriguez is just the 2nd player in the Atlantic Sun Conference
and the 101st in NCAA Division I history to compile 2000 points
and 1000 rebounds in his career. He enters Saturday's game at
Florida Gulf Coast (5:15 p.m.) with 2025 points and 1010 rebounds
in 113 career games. The senior from Bayamon, P.R., stands only 19
points shy of moving past Courtney Pigram of East Tennessee State
(2043 points from 2005-09) into 3rd place on the A-Sun career
scoring charts.
Stetson entered the game attempting 41 percent of its shots behind
the 3-point arc. The Hatters played without leading scorer A.J.
Smith (14.8), who was not in uniform for Thursday's contest.
After winning just once in a 9-game stretch against the Hatters,
Campbell has now won 4 of the last 6 meetings between the
schools.
