Box Score (PDF)
FAIRFIELD, CONN. – Evan Kelley scored a season-high 27 points, 19 in the first half, and Sacred Heart defeated Campbell 71-62 Saturday afternoon at the William H. Pitt Center.
Kelley scored 19 points in the opening half and finished the day 8-of-20 from the field and 11-of-12 from the line. De'Von Barnett added 11 points for the Pioneers (2-3) and Steve Glowiak scored all 8 of his in the second half.
Reco McCarter led Campbell (1-4) with 19 points off the bench in his season debut. He made 5-of-11 from the field and 8-of-10 from the line and grabbed six rebounds. Curtis Phillips had 13 off the bench on 4-of-5 shooting, while D.J. Mason finished with 11. Andrew Ryan scored 9 points (all in the first half) and pulled down a game-high 9 rebounds.
Campbell trimmed an 8-point halftime deficit to 40-38 on Mason's free throw with 14:42 remaining, but Sacred Heart scored 12-straight and led 52-38 after Barnett's steal and lay-in with 10:21 to go. Campbell narrowed the gap to 61-54 with 5:10 to play and Mason went to the line with the same score with 4:21 to go, but missed both shots. CU was unable to cut the lead closer down the stretch.
Sacred Heart ended a three-game losing streak by shooting 44.6 percent (25-56) from the floor, and making 3-of-11 threes (.273) plus 18-of-23 (.738) from the line. The Pioneers converted 17 Campbell miscues into a 20-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
Campbell dropped its fourth straight after shooting 37.3 percent (19-51) from the floor, 6-of-19 beyond the arc (.316) and 72 percent (18-25) from the stripe. CU finished with a 38-32 advantage on the glass.
Sacred Heart closed the first half on an 18-5 run to take a 37-29 lead at intermission. After D.J. Mason's lay-in gave the Camels a 24-19 lead with 5:15 to play, Kelley scored the next 12 Sacred Heart points. Kelley's driving bank shot at the buzzer pushed SHU's lead to its largest (8 points) of the game.
McCarter and Ryan each scored nine points in the opening half. However, Kelley eclipsed his previous season high (13) before the break with 19 first points, including 9-of-10 from the line. The hosts made 15-of-17 from the stripe in the first half, while Campbell hit 4-of-6 free throws.
Campbell concludes play in the Buckeye Classic Tuesday in a 7:00 p.m. tip-off at James Madison.
