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Campbell University

Men's Basketball

Myrtle Beach Madness: Camels survive and advance 81-73 in OT against Presbyterian

CONWAY, S.C. -- Trey Freeman and the Fighting Camels presented Robbie Laing with a victory on his 55th birthday.  Freeman scored 22 points and Campbell withstood a Presbyterian rally to defeat the Blue Hose 81-73 in overtime Tuesday evening in the VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Championship.

 

Marvelle Harris added 15 points and 6 rebounds, Andrew Ryan had 13 points, and Antwon Oliver and Reco McCarter chipped in 9 apiece for the Camels, who improved to 4-0 in overtime games this season.

 

Khalid Mutakabbir led Presbyterian (8-24) with 19 points, including a deep 3 with 2.4 seconds left in regulation that sent the game into the extra period. Joshua Clyburn added 16 points, Eric Washington 12, plus 10 assists, and Jordan Downing 10 for the Blue Hose.

 

Campbell (13-19) will face Gardner-Webb Thursday at 6:00 p.m. in the quarterfinal round.  CU defeated the Bulldogs 93-81 in triple overtime on Jan. 5 in Buies Creek.

 

The Camels held PC without a field goal for a 10:59 span during the first half and led by as many as 17 before taking a 35-22 edge at the break.  Freeman stole the ball and hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to cap a 23-8 CU spurt that left CU in front 35-18 with 2:16 to go in the period.

 

However, PC wrapped a 27-10 run around half-time and claimed its first lead since the early going when Mutakabbir sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key that put the Blue Hose ahead 48-46 with 9:27 remaining.

 

Neither team led by more than 4 down the stretch until Freeman sank both ends of another 1-and-1 to put the Camels in the lead 67-62 with 19 seconds to go.  Washington drove the lane to cut the gap to 67-64 with 12.2 remaining.

 

The Camels inbounded the ball to Freeman, who was tied up by Mutakabbir, and PC gained control on the alternating possession.  The PC senior then sank a 22-footer from the right wing to send the game into OT.

 

Campbell won the tap and went ahead 69-67 on Harris' spin move in the lane.  William Truss answered with a 17-footer on PC's first possession.  While the Blue Hose missed on their next 3 shots from the floor and Clyburn missed 3 of 4 free throws, Campbell extended the lead to 78-69 as Oliver hit two from the line, Ryan hit a jumper and Harris scored twice from the field.

 

"It was a fantastic basketball game against a well-coached, gritty bunch," said Campbell head coach Robbie Laing, whose team snapped the program's 6-game losing streak in conference tournaments dating to the 2007 Atlantic Sun Conference semifinal round.  "We played really well in the first half and shared the basketball.  We obviously didn't play well in the first nine minutes of the second half, but that was the only time all night we didn't."

 

Campbell out-rebounded PC 21-9 in the opening period and held a 12-0 edge in second-chance points and a 20-4 margin on points in the paint.  PC made only 5 shots in the opening half, but stayed within reach by making 11-of-12 from the line.

 

Washington scored 6 points and assisted on a pair of buckets by Truss as PC quickly trimmed the margin to single digits in the second period.  Washington's 3-point play brought PC within 39-32 before the first media time-out.

 

"A game like this says a lot about our kids," said Laing.  We were coming off a heart-breaking loss Saturday at High Point where we led for about 39 minutes; then to have PC come back and tie it up late, we found a way to survive.  But our kids came back, got their dribble penetration stopped, and found a way to advance.  You never know what can happen at tournament time."

Campbell finished the game shooting 46.8 percent from the floor, but made 4-of-6 in the extra session.  The Camels owned a 36-26 edge on the glass and turned 16 offensive boards into an 18-4 advantage in second-chance points.

 

Harris made 7-of-12 from the floor, while Freeman made 6-of-9 from the field and 9-of-10 from the stripe.

 

Clyburn made all 6 of his shots from the floor for PC, which hit 69 percent (18-26) of its field goals in the second half and 53 percent (25-47) for the game.  PC finished 18-of-25 (.720) from the stripe, while the Camels knocked down 22-of-28 (.786) charity shots.

 

Campbell vs. Presbyterian Notes:

·         Second-team all-conference guard Trey Freeman (185) moved past Dan Pogue (183 in 1995-96) into 2nd place on Campbell's single-season assist list.  Pogue holds the record with 207 dishes in 1993-94.

·         Campbell improved to 10-9 all-time in Big South Tournament and won for the first time in the league championship event since a semifinal triumph over Radford in the 1994 event at Charleston.  Tuesday marked PC's Big South tourney debut.  Campbell was 2-12 in Atlantic Sun Conference tournament play during its 17-year (1995-2011) membership.

·         Presbyterian senior guard Khalid Mutakabbir ended his career as the Big South's all-time leader in minutes played (4542) and as 27th-leading career scorer (1576 points) among BSC players.

 

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Players Mentioned

Trey Freeman

#1 Trey Freeman

G
6' 2"
Sophomore
Marvelle Harris

#15 Marvelle Harris

F
6' 6"
Junior
Reco McCarter

#23 Reco McCarter

G-F
6' 6"
Sophomore
Antwon Oliver

#0 Antwon Oliver

F
6' 6"
Redshirt
Andrew Ryan

#20 Andrew Ryan

G
6' 5"
Redshirt

Players Mentioned

Trey Freeman

#1 Trey Freeman

6' 2"
Sophomore
G
Marvelle Harris

#15 Marvelle Harris

6' 6"
Junior
F
Reco McCarter

#23 Reco McCarter

6' 6"
Sophomore
G-F
Antwon Oliver

#0 Antwon Oliver

6' 6"
Redshirt
F
Andrew Ryan

#20 Andrew Ryan

6' 5"
Redshirt
G