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Campbell University

Men's Basketball

Powell's late bucket lifts Jacksonville over Campbell 67-65

BUIES CREEK, N.C. - In a game where the lead changed 14 times and the score was tied on nine occasions, Jacksonville made the final shot to claim a 67-65 Atlantic Sun Conference victory over Campbell Monday night at Gore Arena.

After Amir Celestin tied the score at 65 on two free throws with 8.3 seconds to play Russell Powell drove into the paint and fed Glenn Powell for a lay-up from the left blocks with one second to play.

Lorne Merthie's three-quarter court heave fell short and Campbell (7-5, 1-2) dropped its second-straight game.

Jacksonville (9-3, 3-0) extended its win streak to three games, the first of which came in overtime on Dec. 20 at 20th-ranked Florida.

A 5-foot-9 guard, Russell Powell led the Dolphins with 14 points, including 6-of-6 free throws in the final 3:36 of play, plus 5 assists and 3 steals. Ayron Hardy added 11 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals, while Glenn Powell added 9 points and 6 boards.

Merthie topped the Camels with 14 points, while Celestin matched his season-high with 13 on 5-of-6 shooting, plus 5 steals. Eric Griffin, Preston Dodson and Junard Hartley chipped in 9 apiece for the Camels, who dropped consecutive games for the first time since the first two contests of the season.

Neither team led by more than 4 points in the final half, which saw eight ties and 8 lead changes. Jacksonville finished with a 36-25 edge on the glass and had 13 second-chance points in the final period.

Campbell forced 20 turnovers and converted those into a 25-15 edge in points off miscues. The Camels shot 45 percent from the field and made more free throws (17-24) than Jacksonville attempted (10-16).

However, the Dolphins hit 51 percent (27-53) from the floor.

An 11-0 run propelled the Camels to an early 13-6 lead capped by Griffin's jumper with 13:53 remaining in the half. However, the Dolphins closed the stanza with seven unanswered points to secure a 29-26 edge at the break.

Celestin had 9 points and 5 steals in the opening has for the Camels, who shot 41 percent (11-27) from the floor and missed all four of their 3-point attempts. Hardy led the Dolphins with 7 first-half points. JU shot 52 percent (13-25) from the field in the first stanza.

Campbell saw its 8-game winning streak at Gore Arena come to a close and lost for only the eighth time in 34 games at the 3-year-old facility.

The Camels and Dolphins, who shared last year's A-Sun regular season title with Lipscomb and Belmont, have split the last 4 meetings in the series.

Campbell continues a stretch of four games in eight days on Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off against North Florida at Gore Arena. CU also hosts Kennesaw State Friday (7:00) and Mercer next Monday (Jan. 10) at 7:00 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Amir Celestin

#2 Amir Celestin

G
6' 1"
Junior
Preston Dodson

#51 Preston Dodson

F
6' 6"
Senior
Junard Hartley

#12 Junard Hartley

G
6' 3"
Senior
Lorne Merthie

#25 Lorne Merthie

G
6' 2"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Amir Celestin

#2 Amir Celestin

6' 1"
Junior
G
Preston Dodson

#51 Preston Dodson

6' 6"
Senior
F
Junard Hartley

#12 Junard Hartley

6' 3"
Senior
G
Lorne Merthie

#25 Lorne Merthie

6' 2"
Junior
G