BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Trey Freeman scored 20 points and Campbell held Coastal Carolina without a field goal in overtime as the Camels defeated the Chanticleers 70-65 Monday night at Gore Arena.
Eric Griffin added 13 points, while Darren White and Lorne Merthie scored 10 each for Campbell (9-6, 3-0), which ended a five-game losing streak and improved to 7-0 at home this year.
Anthony Raffa led Coastal Carolina (10-4, 3-1) with 18 points. Chris Gradnigo added 16, Kierre Greenwood 13 and Jon Pack 11 for the Chants, who shot 64 percent (14-22) in the second half to overcome a 10-point deficit, but missed all seven of their attempts in the extra session.
Pack hit the second of two free throws with 4:29 left in the OT to give the Chanticleers a 63-62 lead. However, Coastal went the next 3:41 without a point.
Raffa's foul shots pulled CCU within 68-65 with 50 seconds to go and the Chanticleers had a chance to tie after White was called for a charge in the paint.
However, White blocked Raffa's 3-point attempt and Griffin rebounded, then hit two free throws with five seconds to play that sealed the victory.
Campbell entered the game ranked second in the country in field goal percentage (.515), but shot only 41.9 percent against the Big South's top defensive club. The Camels, however, converted 12 offensive rebounds into a 14-7 edge in second-chance points.
In addition, Campbell forced a season-high 20 Coastal turnovers that resulted in 15 points for the hosts.
Coastal finished with a 40-35 edge on the glass, paced by a career-high 9 boards from 6-foot-1 junior Danny Nieman. Griffin led the Camels with 7 boards.
Freeman finished with 5 assists and just one turnover, running his total to 12 dishes and only one miscue over the last two games.
The loss was Coastal's first on the road in Big South regular season play since Feb. 11, 2010 at High Point, ended an 11-game span of league wins away from home for the two-time defending league regular season champions.
Coastal jumped to a 10-2 lead early on, but the Camels held the visitors two only a pair of field goals over the final 10 minutes of the opening stanza and led 33-23 at the break. Freeman (11) and Merthie (9) combined for 20 of CU's points in the opening stanza.
Rico Ferguson's bucket gave Campbell its largest lead (41-29) with 17:31 to play in the second half. However, the Chants made 11 of their first 15 shots in the second period and rode a 25-10 flurry to a 54-51 advantage with 7:18 left.
Freeman's pull-up jumper pushed Campbell in front 59-54 with 3:14 to go, but the Chants rallied and tied the score on Raffa's steal and lay-in with 26 seconds to go. Greenwood blocked White's 15-footer from the left wing in the final moments to force the overtime period.
Campbell returns to the road Thursday at Charleston Southern (7:30) and Saturday at Presbyterian (7:30).
