Post-Game Interview

WRALSportsFan.com Slide Show

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Darren White scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Campbell to an 86-81 overtime victory Wednesday at East Carolina.

In a game where the Camels led by as many as 16, Campbell (5-9) withstood a second-half Pirate rally, then rode a timely 11-0 run in OT to earn its first victory in Greenville since Feb. 27, 1985.

"I've been in a lot of different basketball games and that one was bizarre," said Campbell head coach Robbie Laing, whose team led 66-52 after Marvelle Harris scored underneath with 3:31 to go.

East Carolina (8-4) then outscored the Camels 19-3 and took its first lead (71-69) on Shamarr Bowden's triple from the left side with 38 seconds remaining.  Andrew Ryan's short jumper tied the score with 21 seconds to go and ECU called time out to set up a final shot.  Akeem Richmond got the ball in the right corner, but could not get a good look and his effort came up short at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

Ty Armstrong's lay-in put ECU in front 78-75 with 2:09 left in overtime, but with point guard Miguel Paul and power forward Maurice Kemp on the bench with five fouls each, ECU didn't score again until Richmond's trey at the final horn. 

White hit 9-of-17 from the field, including 2-of-2 threes, dealt 5 assists and made 3 steals for Campbell.  Harris scored 16 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and hit career highs with 5 assists and 4 steals for the Camels, who won consecutive games against ECU for the first time in the program's Division I era (since '77-78).  Darius Leonard scored a career-high 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and Leek Leek came off the bench to add 11.

Trey Freeman chipped in 8 points and 7 assist, while Ryan added 6 assists for Campbell, which finished with a 23-10 edge in fast-break points and out-rebounded the taller Pirates 42-41.

Richmond scored all 18 of his points after half-time for ECU, which lost for the first time at home this year after opening the season 7-0 at Williams Arena.  Richmond hit 6-of-13 treys for the Pirates, who missed their first 18 from beyond the arc.

Kemp added 18 points and 12 rebounds; Robert Sampson had 13 points and Armstrong 12 for ECU.  Paul finished with 9 points and 6 assists.  Corvonn Gaines dealt 8 assists, but missed two free throws with the Pirates trailing 81-78 with 56 seconds left and ECU got no closer.

"It was great to see a lot of Black and Orange in the crowd, and we felt them all night long," said Campbell head coach Robbie Laing.  "East Carolina has the potential to be such a great perimeter team.  We came out ready to play.  The whole team was tied together, particularly on the defensive end.  We rebounded better, competed on every possession, made some mistakes and never quit."

Leading 36-25 at the break, Campbell extended the margin to 45-29 on White's triple with 15:45 to play.  The Camel lead again reached 16 (60-44) on Leek's bucket with 7:44 to go before ECU made its late run.

Campbell closed the first half on an 11-1 run and led 36-25 at intermission.  After Sampson scored on a backdoor cut with 6:42 remaining in the half, ECU committed 6 turnovers and went 0-for-4 from the floor thereafter.

The Camels finished the opening period with a 12-2 edge in fast-break points.  White scored 10 points, while Harris added 9 before intermission for Campbell, which shot 48 percent (14-29) from the floor and made more free throws (8-13) than the hosts attempted (3-7).

ECU shot just 36 percent (11-31) from the field, including 0-for-10 from 3-point distance in the first 20 minutes.

On the night, Campbell shot 52.3 percent (34-65) from the field, including 6-of-9 in overtime.  The Camels made 16-of-26 (.615) from the stripe and had 25 assists on 34 buckets.  East Carolina finished 32-of-75 (.427) from the floor, 8-of-34 from 3-point distance, and made only 9-of-18 free throws.

Campbell has won 3 of its last 4 meetings with the Pirates, including last season's 76-74 victory in Buies Creek.

East Carolina saw its 11-game home win streak against non-conference foes dating to last season come to a halt as the Camels improved to 1-4 on the road this year and 2-19 all-time at Williams Arena/Minges Coliseum.  Campbell's last victory in Greenville came in a 60-58 decision on Feb. 27, 1985.

The Camels open Big South play Saturday at home against Gardner-Webb (8-6) in a 3:30 p.m. tip-off before heading back on the road for 3-straight league games.