BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Trey Freeman scored 17 of his team-leading 19 points in the second half and Campbell closed the game on a 16-7 run to defeat Longwood 83-73 Wednesday night at Willett Hall.
Freeman tied his career highs with 10 assists and 4 steals, while grabbing a season-high 7 rebounds and led five Camels in double figures. Marvelle Harris and Darius Leonard each provided 15 points and 7 rebounds; Darian Hooker scored 14 and Reco McCarter 10 for Campbell, which held the Lancers to just 2 field goals in the final 5 minutes of the game.
Campbell (7-9, 2-0 Big South) shot 51.6 percent (32-62) from the floor and made 16-of-18 from the line. The Camels out-rebounded the Lancers 37-33 and committed just 10 turnovers while winning their fourth-straight game. CU played without leading scorer Darren White (21.8 points per game), who injured his left knee in last Saturday's 3 overtime win vs. Gardner-Webb.
Michael Kessens' tip-in brought Longwood within 67-66 with 3:52 to go, but the Lancers didn't score again from the paint until Nik Brown's jumper went in with 19.7 seconds left. By that time, the Camel lead had reached double figures.
"When you go on the road and win in conference play with a bunch of young kids who are getting better and better, it's a great night," said Campbell head coach Robbie Laing. "We spread around the points, had balanced scoring with 5 in double figures, and out-rebounded our opponent, which was a big factor.
Campbell opened the second half on a 24-13 run and led 56-45 after Hooker knocked down a 3 from the right corner with 11:28 to play. However, the Lancers rallied and cut the gap to 65-64 when Jeylani Dublin made the first of two free throws. Kessens rebounded the miss, but was called for traveling and Harris made two from the line to start a 9-2 run.
"Sometimes when a team catches up, it's not because your team did something poorly, but it's sometimes because the other team does something well," said Laing. "We took away the paint from them pretty much, but didn't affect their 3-point shooters enough."
Tristan Carey led Longwood (3-13, 0-2 Big South) with 23 points, including 4-of-9 shooting beyond the arc. Dublin added 12 points and Karl Ziegler 12 for the Lancers, who shot 44 percent (27-61) from the field.
Longwood took its first lead of the game during a 14-4 run that gave the Lancers a 29-22 edge with 3:50 left in the first half after Carey's steal and dunk in transition.
However, the Camels closed the period on a 10-3 flurry as five different players converted in the span to leave the score knotted (32-32) at the break.
Campbell shot 50 percent (15-30) from the floor and made 2-of-2 from the line as the Lancers were whistled for only two fouls in the opening half. Longwood made 42 percent (14-33) of its shots, including 3-of-9 from the arc. Leonard hit double figures for the third-straight game with 10 first-half points.
The Camels improved to 2-4 on the road this season and won their second-straight away from Buies Creek after last week's 86-81 OT win at East Carolina.
Longwood dropped to 2-5 at home and lost its 6th-straight overall.
Campbell continues its 3-game Big South road stretch Saturday with a 7:30 p.m. start at Presbyterian.
