BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Andrew Ryan led a balanced attack with 21 points and Campbell opened the 2013-14 season with an 87-62 victory over Shenandoah Friday night at Gore Arena.
Darius Leonard added a career-high 18 points, Reco McCarter chipped in 12 and Antwon Oliver 10 for the Camels, who presented Kevin McGeehan with a win in his first game as a Division I head coach.
Campbell (1-0) shot 57.6 percent (34-59) from the field and had 23 assists on 34 field goals against the Division III Hornets. The Camels finished with a 48-24 edge on points in the paint and 14-2 in fast break points.
Ryan made his first six shots of the night and finished 8-of-11 from the field, while dealing 5 assists in 27 minutes. Leonard hit 8-of-12 from the floor and grabbed 9 rebounds. McCarter hit 5-of-8 shots and hit career bests with 6 steals and 3 blocks. Oliver came off the bench to make 4-of-7 from the floor.
Leek Leek and Luke Moyer added 8 points and D.J. Mason 7 for the Camels, who led 48-33 at the break.
"We played hard, shared the ball and were aggressive offensively," said McGeehan of his team that dealt 23 assists on 34 buckets. "On the defensive end, we have a ways to go, but I'll take 87-62 every time. The atmosphere was great, the student section tremendous and the band was fantastic. It was a lot of fun out there."
Jimi Starks led Shenandoah with 14 points and 9 rebounds, while Avery Green added 11 points. The Hornets shot just 33.8 percent (22-65) from the field.
Campbell jumped to an early 28-13 lead when Leek canned a triple with 9:39 left in the opening half. Moyer's deep trey from the left wing just as the buzzer sounded put CU up by 15.
The Camels outscored the Hornets 12-2 to start the second period as McCarter's steal and transition lay-in pushed the edge to 60-35 with 17:13 to go. Shenandoah cut the gap to 16 (64-48) with 9:12 left, but never drew closer.
Campbell improved to 7-1 in its last eight season-opening games and ran its string of victories in home openers to eight seasons. CU has not dropped its first game of the year since a 90-81 loss to San Diego on Nov. 18, 2005 in old Carter Gym.
The Camels travel to Appalachian State Tuesday (8 p.m.) for their first game in the Global Sports Shootout.
