Wilmington Star-News coverage
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BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Darren White scored 32 points, 23 in the second half, and Campbell defeated UNC Wilmington 72-60 Saturday at Gore Arena.
In his second game back after missing 4 with a hand injury, White made 14-of-22 shots from the from the field, grabbed 11 rebounds, including 8 on the offensive end, and had 4 steals for Campbell (4-9), which ended a 4-game losing streak. Trey Freeman added 18 points, 6 assists and 3 steals.
Campbell used a 13-1 run late in the game to open a double-digit lead and held the Seahawks (5-7) without a field goal for an 8:01 span during the decisive stretch.
Chris Dixon put UNCW in front 54-52 on a jumper with 8:45 remaining before Campbell responded. Freeman's foul shots with 6:06 remaining put the Camels ahead for good (55-54). White (23) and Freeman (12) accounted for 35 of Campbell's 41 second-half points, including the final 25.
White's tip-in put CU ahead 63-55 with 3:47 left; then he rebounded a missed 3 by Tyree Graham on the next possession and dribbled down the court for a pull-up jumper to extend the gap to 10. The lead reached 13 when Marvelle Harris produced Campbell's 12th steal of the game and White finished the sequence with a bucket for a 70-57 margin with 1:43 to go.
Campbell gained a 24-8 edge in points off turnovers, outscored the taller Seahawks 42-24 in the paint, produced 14 second-chance points off 14 offensive rebounds and finished with a 42-35 advantage on the glass.
Keith Rendleman led UNCW with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Craig Ponder added 12 points – 9 in the first half – for the Seahawks, who shot 38 percent from the floor, 33 percent (9-27) in the final period.
"This win did not come easy, we fought all day long," said Campbell head coach Robbie Laing. "I hope it's a turning point in our season. The last two days were the first time this season we had all 15 of our players participate in practice because of injuries. Every game is going to be a battle from here on out. I anticipate that the rest of the way the games will be decided in the 60s and 70s."
White, who missed 4 games with injured ligaments in his right (shooting hand) before returning last Saturday at Seattle, hit 10-of-11 shots in the second half.
"He's so strong; we had no match for him inside," said UNCW coach Buzz Peterson of the 6-foot-4 White.
UNCW wrapped a 7-0 flurry around half-time and led 37-31 after Rendleman's 3-point play with 18:45 remaining. However, the Camels answered with a 14-4 burst and grabbed a 45-41 edge on White's 3 from the left side (Campbell's only 3-pointer of the game) with 12:45 to go. Graham's triple cut the gap to 45-44 on the next possession and neither team led by more than 2 until Campbell's final spurt.
Campbell shot 50 percent (31-62) for the game, 57 percent (16-28) in the second half. The Camels made only 9-of-18 from the line, but committed only 10 turnovers, the team's second-lowest total of the year. CU had only 8 miscues in last month's 101-82 win over Appalachian State.
The Camels beat the Seahawks for the third time in the last five meetings (all in Buies Creek) in the 98-game series, which stretches to the 1951-52 season. UNCW dropped to 0-7 on the road this season, while Campbell improved to 4-3 at home. CU's 3 home losses (2 of those while White was sidelined) have come by a total of 9 points.
UNCW led 32-31 at the break after a back-and-forth first half. Ponder's 3 with 9:39 left capped a 12-2 run and put UNCW ahead 22-14. However, the Camels followed with an 11-1 burst, the last 5 points coming after Seahawk turnovers, to regain the edge at 25-23 with 5:32 to play.
Campbell shot 44 percent in the opening half, but only went to the line twice. UNCW shot 43 percent and made 4-of-9 threes.
The Camels return to action Wednesday at East Carolina (7:00 p.m.) before hosting Gardner-Webb next Saturday (3:30) in their Big South Conference opener.
