Campbell eases by Montreat 90-64

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BUIES CREEK, N.C. – With a 52-15 advantage in bench scoring, Campbell defeated visiting Montreat 90-64 Saturday afternoon at Gore Arena. Four Camels scored in double figures as Campbell (5-6) won its fourth in the last five games.

Freshman center Nehemiah Mabson came off the bench to hit career highs with 15 points and 7 rebounds, fellow frosh Curtis Phillips added 13 points in a reserve role, while sixth man D.J. Mason scored 12 on 5-of-7 shooting and added a career-high 13 boards. Starting wing Andrew Ryan chipped in 14 points and four assists for the Camels, who led by as many as 35.

Joshua Foster led Montreat with 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Ryan Bethoney had 13, all in the second half, while Will Lews (11) and Demontre Jones (10) also hit double figures for the NAIA member Cavaliers.

Montreat led 8-7 after the first media time out, but the Camels reeled off a 21-5 burst to build a 29-13 advantage after Kyre' Hamer's drive to the basket with 7:32 remaining in the opening half. Montreat never cut the gap to single digits thereafter.

Campbell led by 21 at the break (44-23) and Montreat never was able to get closer than 20 the rest of the way. The Camels made six more free throws (24-34) than the visitors attempted (12-18) and held a 22-0 edge in points off turnovers, while outscoring the Cavaliers 42-22 in the paint.

The Camels finished with a 41-26 edge on the boards and limited Montreat to just three offensive rebounds all day. Six of Mason's 13 caroms came off the offensive end.

"We played hard and were good on defense," said Campbell head coach Kevin McGeehan. "Sometimes there are hard games to play. You have the tendency to get a little sleepy against a non-Division I opponent with Wilmington coming up next. We weren't gang busters early, but gained control and played well for the most part."

Ryan hit 2-of-5 threes and moved into a tie with Reggie Bishop for seventh place on Campbell's all-time 3-point field goals list (138). He also played his fifth-consecutive turnover-free game. No Camel played more than 24 minutes and CU hit 48.3 percent (29-60) of its shots, including 8-of-25 (.320) from 3-point distance.

Montreat shot 46.8 percent from the floor (22-47) and 8-of-18 from the arc, but its 16 turnovers led to 22 Campbell points, including a 13-0 deficit in points off miscues in the opening half.

Campbell concludes its three-game home stand Tuesday (Dec. 23) with a 2:00 p.m. tip-off against long-time rival UNC Wilmington. The contest marks the 100th in the series between the Eastern North Carolina schools. CU and UNCW have split the last six meetings with each winning their three home games.

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