Fayetteville Observer Coverage

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BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Reco McCarter scored 17 points, including a decisive 3-point play, and Campbell rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half to defeat Radford 65-63 and take over sole possession of first place in the Big South Conference North Division Wednesday night at Gore Arena.

Freshman Kyre' Hamer came off the bench to add a career-high 16 points, Darius Leonard chipped in 14 and Leek Leek 10  for Campbell (10-10, 4-1), which rallied from a half-time deficit to win in league play for the third time in five games.

R.J. Price led Radford (13-7, 3-2) with 12 points, but missed a contested 3-pointer from the right corner as time expired.  Javonte Green added 11 points and 10 rebounds while being limited to 20 minutes due to foul trouble.  Ya Ya Anderson scored 10 points for Radford, which shot just 31 percent (8-26) in the second half.

The Camels shot 59 percent (13-22) after the break.  Hamer finished the night 6-of-9 from the floor and 3-of-5 from the line.  McCarter hit 7-of-10 free throws and grabbed 7 rebounds, while Leonard went 6-of-11 from the field and also pulled down 7 boards.

Campbell trailed 43-30 with 18:22 left after Kyle Noreen scored on a drive to the bucket.  However, CU outscored the Highlanders 24-10 over the next 11 minutes and regained the lead 54-53 when Andrew Ryan connected on a triple from the right corner with 7:22 to go. 

McCarter's bucket with 6:36 remaining pushed the edge to 56-53, but the Highlanders rebounded with a 9-0 burst capped by Price's triple from left of the key with 2:36 to play. 

A free throw from McCarter and two by Hamer drew CU within 62-61 with 1:19 left; then Ryan stripped the ball from Green in the paint with 1:01 to go.  Hamer missed on a drive to the bucket, but the Camels retained possession and called timeout.  As the shot clock wound down, McCarter spun in the lane to score, then converted the free throw for a 3-point play for a 64-62 edge with 38.8 seconds remaining.

Price drove to the bucket, but his left-handed layup came up short and McCarter rebounded with 9.1 seconds to go.  The red-shirt junior hit the front end, but missed the second foul shot, giving Radford a chance to tie in the final seconds.  Instead, Leek found Rashun Davis with 4.7 remaining and the sophomore guard hit the front end of a one-and-one.

His second free throw missed, but Campbell could not hold on to the rebound and Radford had one final chance to tie or take the lead.  Price took the inbound pass deep in the right corner, but the 5-foot-11 guard could not get a good look at the basket over the 6-foot-9 Leonard and the ball bounced off the rim.

Radford led 39-30 at half-time, but suffered its first loss this year (11-1) after leading at the break.

"We were much more focused on defense and as the second half went on, we really solidified," said Campbell head coach Kevin McGeehan.  "It sure wasn't the easiest game.  In the first half we were out of sorts.  Radford was pressuring us and taking away passes.  As the game went along, however, we figured out what to do and were able to get the ball where it needed to go."

The Camels shot 45 percent for the game (24-53) and won despite making just 5-of-18 triples, 6 below their average through the first four conference games.  Radford finished with a 36-30 edge on the glass and shot 41 percent on the night (23-55).

Campbell remained unbeaten against Radford in Buies Creek (2-0 in Gore Arena, 4-0 in old Carter Gym) and improved to 4-0 overall against the Highlanders since re-joining the Big South in 2011-12.

The Camels played their 8th-straight contest decided by 10 or fewer points and improved to 5-3 in those games.

After Leek's 3-point play brought Campbell within 23-22 with 5:33 left, the Highlanders outscored Campbell 14-4 over the next 3:20 and took a 37-26 edge on Jalen Carethers' and-one with 2:13 left in the half.

Radford led 39-30 at the break behind 52 percent shooting and a 23-14 advantage on the glass.  The Highlanders had 7 first-half offensive rebounds that resulted in 9 second-chance points.  Price hit 3-of-6 beyond the arc in the opening half and led Radford with 9 points before intermission.

Green was limited to 2 points and 6 minutes in the opening half after he picked up his second foul with 14:02 to play. 

Leek had 8 first-half points for Campbell, which shot just 36 percent (11-31) in the opening period and made only 2-of-11 threes.

The Camels hit the road for the only time in a 5-game span Saturday in a 7:00 p.m. start at South Division foe Gardner-Webb.