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Box Score (PDF)

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The 100th men's basketball meeting between Campbell and UNC Wilmington certainly did not disappoint the crowd gathered Tuesday at Gore Arena.

In a game that featured 12 lead changes and seven ties the Camels outlasted the visiting Seahawks 69-63.  Campbell (6-6) extended its win streak to three games and won for the fifth time in its last six outings.  UNCW (5-4) saw its two-game win streak halted.

D.J. Mason, Reco McCarter and Andrew Ryan each scored 15 points for the Camels, who shot 54 percent from the field and held a 22-14 edge in points off turnovers and scored 16 fast-break points against the Seahawk press.  Kyre' Hamer added nine points, four assists and four steals, while freshman Troy Harper came off the bench to draw a charge and hit two big shots in the final 2:45.

Dylan Sherwood led UNCW with 12 points, Addison Spruill scored 11 and Craig Ponder and Jordon Talley 10 apiece for the Seahawks, who shot 41 percent from the floor and lost for the fourth-straight time in Buies Creek.

Ponder's three-point play cut the Campbell lead to 60-58 with 3:14 remaining.  On the next possession, Harper missed a corner three, but drew a charge on Ponder in the lane just eight seconds later.  After Mason made the second of two free throws for a 61-58 edge with 2:13 left, Hamer stole the ball from Ponder then drove the lane and found Harper open on the right wing.

The former All-Catholic league guard drained the triple and was fouled on the play to push the edge to 64-58 with 1:34 to go.  Harper missed the free throw and Talley sank a trey from the right side to cut the gap to 64-61 with 1:15 left and UNCW used a time out to set up its press.

However, the Camels broke through the pressure and Hamer found Ryan beyond the last Seahawk for a lay-in and a 66-61 edge.  Two Talley foul shots on the ensuing possession cut the margin to three again with 53 seconds to go, but Harper's crossover dribble set up an 18-foot jumper that hit nothing but net at the end of the shot clock and pushed the gap to five.  Talley missed on a drive in traffic and McCarter rebounded and made the front end of a one-and-one with 16 seconds to go for the final margin.

Mason, who was named Big South player of the week on Monday, hit all six of his shots from the field and dealt three assists.  McCarter was 6-of-12 from the floor, pulled down five rebounds, had three assists, two blocks and two steals.  Ryan made 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and was 6-of-9 from the floor overall.

Campbell jumped to a 9-2 lead and led by nine (15-6) after Andrew Ryan sank a three with 13:03 left in the opening half.  The Seahawks, however, answered with an 11-3 burst capped by Dylan Sherwood's corner three and pulled within 18-17 to 8:41 to go.

UNCW took the lead for the first time on Addison Spruill's bucket with 3:54 to play, and the lead swapped sides five times before Reco McCarter scored in the lane and the game was tied 35-all at intermission.  Campbell shot 62 percent (13-21) from the floor in the first half, but made just 6-of-10 from the line.

Notes:

• Campbell improved to 5-1 at Gore Arena this season, while UNCW dropped to 2-4 on opponents' home courts.
• Tuesday's game is the 100th in the series, which dates to 1952 when both schools were junior colleges. CU has won four of the last seven contests with each winning at home.
• The Camels close out the non-league portion of their regular season schedule Sunday in a 1:00 p.m. (CST) tip-off at Samford.