BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Darren White scored 31 points and Campbell defeated Averett 74-55 Friday night in its men's basketball opener at Gore Arena.
A senior from Danville, Va., White hit 11-of-18 shots and 9-of-12 from the line while adding 7 rebounds and 3 steals in 26 minutes. He scored 24 points in the second half on 8-of-11 shooting from the field.
Darian Hooker came off the bench to add 15 points – 12 in the first half – plus 3 steals, while Trey Freeman chipped in 10 points, 5 assists and no turnovers in 29 minutes for the Camels (1-0). Marvelle Harris led all rebounders with 10.
Grant Chandler led Averett with 14 points, hitting 4-of-5 threes, while Marquis Scott added 11 and 7 rebounds. Sunil Ram scored 10 for the Division III Cougars.
Campbell scored 19 unanswered points early in the first half en route to a 35-15 lead at the break. The Camels built the margin to as many as 36 (70-34) when White scored with 5:44 remaining in the contest.
"I thought we played well defensively. We had pressure on the ball when Darian was in the game," said Campbell head coach Robbie Laing. "We were struggling on offense, and that's because we don't know each other yet. We're not getting the play we'd like, but we saw a big improvement from our pre-season game on the defensive end."
CU finished with a 25-16 edge in points off turnovers and scored 21 second-chance points off 14 offensive rebounds.
Averett shot just 39 percent from the field and made only 2-of-6 free throws. The Camels converted 16-of-23 from the line, while hitting 27-of-60 (.450) from the floor.
White's 31 point outburst was just two short of his career-high (and Gore Arena record) 33 he scored last year in wins over North Carolina A&T and Methodist.
CU improved to 6-4 in season openers under 10th-year head coach Robbie Laing and won its 5th lid-lifter in the last 6 seasons. The Camels ran their win streak to 7 in home openers, including all 5 at Gore Arena, which opened in Nov. 2008.
Campbell, which improved to 10-0 against non-Division I members under Laing, continues its 3-game, season-opening home stand Monday with a 7:00 p.m. tip-off against Northwestern State.
