BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Akeem Richmond set a Gore Arena record with 37 points and East Carolina defeated Campbell 79-71 Thursday night.
Richmond made 10-of-17 three-pointers to also set building marks and ECU (11-4) won for the first time in its third trip to the arena. Michael Zangari added 13 points and Caleb White 12 for the Pirates, who connected on 13-of-23 (.565) from distance.
Reco McCarter scored a career-high 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting with 5 assists for Campbell (6-8), which saw its two-game win streak come to a close. Marvelle Harris came off the bench to add season highs of 16 points on 8-of-10 from the field and 12 rebounds (8 on the offensive end). Darius Leonard contributed 12 points.
Richmond hit his first three triples in the second half as ECU overcame a 39-37 half-time deficit. The senior from Sanford, N.C., knocked down 7-of-12 treys in a 24-point final period. East Carolina shot 57 percent (27-47) from the field on the night, 13-of-29 shots (.684) from the floor in the final stanza.
Harris' tip-in with 5:02 to play and McCarter's two foul shots brought Campbell within 70-68 with 4:14 to play. However, the Camels went without a field goal for a 4:39 span and ECU hit 6-of-7 from the line over the last 3:54.
"(Down the stretch), those were shots we get all the time, we just didn't make them at the right time tonight," said Campbell head coach Kevin McGeehan.
Campbell finished with a 35-32 edge on the glass and held a 27-5 advantage in second-chance points. A season-low 6 turnovers allowed the Camels to offset 5-of-30 shooting beyond the 3-point line and stay within striking distance.
"I thought we rebounded the ball really well; That effort on the boards was a key factor to making it a close game," said McGeehan. "Obviously Marvelle had a big game on the glass."
Campbell shot 40.9 percent from the field, but McCarter (10-16), Harris (8-10) and Leonard (4-6) combined to make 22-of-32 (.688) of those.
Both East Carolina and Campbell entered the contest ranked among the nation's top 30 teams in 3-point field goals made per game. However, the Pirates made 4.5 more than their season average (8.5), while Campbell fell 3.6 shy of its standard over the first 13 games.
Richmond hit a pair of threes then stole the ball and converted a transition lay-up to give the Pirates an early 8-0 lead. ECU made 4 of its first 7 triples and led 26-15 after Paris Roberts-Campbell connected from long distance with 8:52 to play in the opening half.
However, the Camels answered with a 12-2 run capped by McCarter's 3-point play that cut the margin to 28-27 with 4:25 left. McCarter's 3 from the right side tied the score at 35 with 2:00 remaining and Leonard's 3 free throws gave the Camels their first lead (38-37) with 1:08 left in the half.
McCarter hit the second of two foul shots and the Camels led 39-37 at the break. Campbell shot 43.8 percent (14-32) from the floor and made only 3 of 15 (.200) from 3-point range in the period, but held a 16-5 advantage in second-chance points.
A junior from Goldsboro, N.C., McCarter hit his season high with 18 first-half points, just 3 shy of his career high (21 vs. Savannah State last Feb.), on 6-of-9 from the field, 2-of-5 from the arc and 4-of-5 from the line. Harris came off the bench to add 8 first-half points, two on a thunderous follow slam, and 5 rebounds in 10 minutes.
Richmond scored 13 points in the opening period, while Zangari had 9 for East Carolina, which hit 14-of-28 overall, 6-of-11 threes and 3-of-5 from the line.
The victory marked the first for ECU over the Camels since Nov. 2010 and the first-ever at Gore Arena, which opened in 2008-09. Thursday's season-high attendance of 2865 at the 3095-capacity building marked the eighth-highest for a men's game in the facility.
Campbell continues its home stand Saturday with a 7:00 p.m. tip-off against Delaware State.
