12/31/2012 12:00:00 AM

Campbell heads to East Carolina for Wednesday night contest

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell looks to make it two wins in a row over in-state rivals on Wednesday when the Fighting Camels travel to East Carolina for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.

The Camels defeated UNC Wilmington 72-60 on Saturday at Gore Arena behind Darren White's 32 points and 18 from Trey Freeman. The pair combined for 35 of CU's 41 second-half points and scored the team's final 25. White made 10-of-11 shots in the final period when the Camels outscored the visitors 41-28 in the second half and held UNCW without a field goal for more than 8 minutes.

East Carolina is 7-0 at home this year and has won its last 11 home games against non-conference foes dating to last season. The Pirates defeated Norfolk State 74-63 Saturday behind Maurice Kemp's season-high 23 points.

Campbell is 0-4 on the road this season (0-2 at neutral sites). The Camels and Pirates have split the last 4 games in the series with each team winning on its home floor following last season's 76-74 Camel victory in Buies Creek.

Last year at Buies Creek, Trey Freeman led 5 Camels in double figures with 20 points (12-12 FT) and CU overcame a 15-point 1st-half deficit to defeat East Carolina 76-74. Darren White added 11 points, 10 boards and seven assists and Antonio Kalpic came off the bench to score 10. Miguel Paul led ECU with 20 points (13-17 FT), while Robert Sampson added 14 plus 11 rebounds.

Following Wednesday's game, the Camels open Big South play Saturday at home against Gardner-Webb (8-6) in a 3:30 p.m. tip-off.

Notes:

CU is 4-3 at home this season. The Camels' 3 home losses have come by a total of 9 points.
Jeff Lebo ('89) is one of four head coaches who graduated from North Carolina that CU will face this year. Scott Cherry ('93) is at High Point, while Appalachian State is led by Jason Capel ('02) and UNCW by Buzz Peterson ('86).
Darren White (22.1) owns the nation's 6th-highest scoring average, but needs to play in 3 more games before he meets the required 75% of games played to qualify for the NCAA leaders. He was named Big South Conference player of the week by College Sports Madness. In 9 games, the 6-foot-4 wing is shooting 53 percent from the field and 59 percent from 2-point distance.
White has passed the 30-point barrier in a game three times this year and five times in his 2-season career. He is already tied for third among CU players for 30-point outings in a year and overall. Clarence Grier (1983-87) produced each of his eight career 30-point games during his senior year (1986-87) to set both school Division I era (since '77-78) records. Adam Fellers (1998-2002) had four of his six career 30-point games in 2000-01. White is currently tied with Jonathan Rodriguez (3 in 2007-08, 5 overall from 2006-10) for 30-point games in a year and career.
Trey Freeman is the only Campbell player to start all 13 games (and one of only 4 to play in every contest). He leads the Big South Conference in assists (5.92) and assist-turnover ratio (2.96).

ECU holds a 30-9 edge in the series since Campbell joined NCAA Division I ('77-78). CU ended an 8-game losing streak against the Pirates on Nov. 17, 2009 with a 74-68 win at Buies Creek. The Camels then claimed a 76-74 victory in Buies Creek on Nov. 14, 2011.
Campbell stands 1-19 all-time at Williams Arena/Minges Coliseum. The last time CU won at Greenville was Feb. 27, 1985, a 60-58 decision. Campbell's head coach at the time was Jerry Smith, now the color analyst on the CU Radio Network. When he was head coach at Chowan Junior College, Smith coached against ECU radio analyst Si Seymour (who was at Craven CC at the time).Both head coaches have connections to Auburn University. Robbie Laing spent 1994-96 as an assistant for the Tigers, while ECU's Jeff Lebo spent 6 years as head coach at Auburn (2004-10).
East Carolina junior forward Robert Sampson is the son of former Virginia and NBA great Ralph Sampson.
The Pirates have won eight straight home games dating back to last season (7-0 this year) and 11 straight home games against non-conference opponents. ECU is 20-3 at home in non-conference games under Lebo. ECU is 7-0 this season and 30-5 in the Lebo era when leading at halftime.