BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Reco McCarter and Darius Leonard scored 21 points each and Campbell defeated VMI 97-93 in overtime Saturday at Gore Arena to stay atop the Big South Conference North Division standings. Leek Leek added 19 points, including 8-of-10 from the line, and Andrew Ryan 18 for the Camels (9-10, 3-1) in a game that included 25 lead changes and 13 ties.
Facing the nation's highest-scoring team, Campbell produced its season-high points total as Leonard and Leek hit career-high scoring totals and six players accounted for all 97 points. McCarter pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds, dealt 6 assists and blocked 3 shots for Campbell, which closed the game on an 8-3 run.
The Camels knocked down 11-of-27 threes (.407), including Ryan's triple from the right wing that gave them the lead for good (92-90) with 59 seconds to play in the extra period. CU made 22-of-29 (.759) from the line – extending its margin to 4 points on 5-straight makes from the stripe in the final 39.6 seconds.
Rodney Glasgow scored on a drive that cut the gap to 94-92 with 34.8 seconds to play before Ryan knocked down a pair. Leek then blocked Jordan Weethee's two-handed dunk attempt on the following possession and the Keydets were unable to score again from the field.
Glasgow led VMI (9-8, 2-2) with 20 points and 6 assists. QJ Peterson added 18 on 6-of-19 shooting, D.J. Covington had 17 and Brian Brown 14. Weethee came off the bench to chip in 8, plus a career-high 14 rebounds.
"We talked about how you rarely win playing the other team's game, and we did a good job of making the right decisions of when to go and when to be patient on offense," said first-year Campbell head coach Kevin McGeehan. "I think we're a good team and we have depth. Now that's starting to show. Even playing without two of our better interior players, we were able to go out there today and win a tough game against a very good opponent."
The largest lead for either team was 6 points in a game where both had chances to take the lead at the end of regulation. Trailing by a pair, McCarter drove into the lane and dumped off a pass to Leonard for a lay-in that tied the score at 84 with 51 seconds remaining.
Kyre' Hamer, who along with fellow freshman Quinton Ray finished with 9 points, stole the ball from Glasgow with 26 seconds and the Camels called timeout to set up a potentially game-winning shot. Again McCarter drove into the paint then kicked the ball out to Leonard, but the junior center's wide-open 3-point shot hit the rim and bounced off at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
Campbell finished the day shooting 45 percent from the field (3-of-5 in overtime). After the Keydets made 56 percent of their shots to take a 46-42 lead at halftime, the Camels held VMI to just 40 percent (16-40) shooting the rest of the way.
VMI finished with a 44-40 advantage on the glass and converted 18 offensive rebounds into 24 second-chance points. The Keydets made 19-of-27 free throws (.704), but just 6-of-22 (.273) from 3-point distance.
Leek connected on 3-of-6 threes while playing all 45 minutes (also a career-high). Ryan hit 3-of-4 from long range and all 5 of his free throws against the same team that he scored a career-best 27 points in Feb. 2013 during an 87-78 CU win at Gore Arena. Leonard hit 9-of-16 from the field and pulled down 7 boards.
VMI led by four at the break after a first half that featured 10 lead changes and six ties. After Leek's triple from the left corner put the Camels ahead 42-39 with 2:32 remaining in the period, the Keydets scored seven unanswered points, capped by Brian Brown's triple from the right wing.
Campbell made 6-of-13 threes (.462) in the opening period as all five starters connected from long range. Leek has 12 points before intermission, while McCarter scored 9 on 4-of-5 shooting in 14 minutes.
VMI shot 56 percent (18-32) from the floor in the first half. Glasgow had 9 points and 4 assists in the opening half, while Covington and Peterson added 8 apiece.
Campbell returns to action Wednesday when the Camels host Radford at 7:00 p.m.
