LYNCHBURG, VA. – Tomasz Gielo scored 17 points and Liberty withstood a furious second-half rally to defeat Campbell 71-68 Tuesday night at the Vines Center.
The Camels trailed by 16 (43-27) late in the first half and 43-30 at intermission. However, CU scored the first 10 points of the second half – and eventually wrapped a 31-8 run around the break.
Leek Leek's trey put the Camels in front 55-53 with 9:47 to play and the Camels led 58-55 on Ryan's trey with 8:42 left. But a late 12-3 Liberty burst gave the Flames a lead they did not relinquish.
CU had a chance to tie at the buzzer, but Ryan's triple from the right wing bounced off the rim and Campbell's two-game win streak came to a close.
"We came out a little more aggressive and hungry in the second half and that translated into making more shots," said Campbell head coach Kevin McGeehan. "We just needed one more to go down."
Ryan led Campbell (8-10, 2-1 Big South) with a season-high 22 points, hitting 6-of-11 threes on the night. Leek Leek added a season-best 14, including 4-of-6 from downtown. Reco McCarter scored all 14 of his points after half-time and finished with a team-high 9 rebounds before fouling out with 7.3 seconds to play. Kyre' Hamer came off the bench to chip in 10.
Gielo made 6-of-7 from the line for Liberty (8-10, 2-1), which won its second-straight game and finished with a 45-27 advantage on the glass. Andrew Smith had 15 points, while Davon Marshall added 12. John Caleb Sanders chipped in 1, plus a game-high 6 assists.
Liberty made 17-of-23 free throws (.739) on the night, while the Camels hit just 5 in 9 attempts. The Flames shot 46 percent (25-54) from the field and made 4-of-11 threes. Liberty outscored Campbell by a 36-20 margin in the paint and 18-6 on second-chance points.
Campbell knocked down a season-high 13 three-pointers in 33 attempts (.394). The Camels finished 25-of-61 from the field overall (.410) and committed only four turnovers, the lowest since a school-record 3-turnover outing vs. Samford on Feb. 2, 1995.
Liberty extended a 10-0 burst into a 22-5 run midway through the first period. After Leek Leek's three put the Camels ahead 20-19 with 10:19 to go, John Caleb Sanders connected on a triple; then the Camels committed turnovers on their next three possessions to fuel the rally. Hamer came off the bench to score on a drive and hit a three for the Camels, but Andrew Smith's follow dunk and free throw pushed the Liberty lead to 41-25 with 2:29 left in the period.
The Flames' size advantage helped Liberty build a 20-8 advantage on points in the paint and 10-2 in second-chance points. Liberty out-rebounded the Camels 22-12 in the opening period while hitting 15-of-30 shots and all 10 of its free throws.
Ryan led Campbell with 11 first-half points, but two-time Big South player of the week Reco McCarter was scoreless on 6 field goal attempts in the opening period. Campbell made 6-of-18 triples, but did not attempt a free throw in the first 20 minutes.
Campbell returns home Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. start against VMI.
