Box Score (pdf)
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Davon Marshall led five players in double digits with 15 points and Liberty defeated Campbell 79-59 Saturday at Gore Arena.
Antwan Burrus added 14, John Caleb Sanders 13, Andrew Smith 12 – plus a game-high 9 rebounds – and Tomasz Gielo 11 for the Flames (10-19, 4-10 Big South), who ended a 7-game losing streak and spoiled Campbell's Senior Day.
Reco McCarter led Campbell (12-17, 6-8) with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Luke Moyer added 12 and Leek Leek 10 for the Camels, who lost their third in a row.
Liberty used a pair of 13-5 runs in the first half and led 42-29 at the break. The Flames shot 50 percent from the floor in the opening half, compared to just 33 percent for the Camels.
Burrus opened the second period with a baseline dunk to give the Flames a 15-point edge. However, Quinton Ray and McCarter hit back-to-back threes and Leonard scored on a put-back to trim the gap to 44-37 with 17:49 left.
The Liberty advantage stood at eight (55-47) after Leek made the second of two free throws with 8:16 remaining before a 9-0 Flames flurry again pushed the advantage to double figures.
"Again, even though it wasn't from the start, we dug ourselves a hole and it was just too hard to climb out," said Campbell head coach Kevin McGeehan. "We had it down to seven by driving and making some plays and the game easily could have gone the other way that that point. But when you're so far down, you have to almost play perfect."
Campbell battled the tallest front court in the league to a draw on the boards (34-34), but the Flames height advantage limited the Camels' effectiveness close to the basket. Liberty finished with a 38-20 edge on points in the paint and Campbell shot just 36 percent from the field.
Liberty finished the game shooting 47.5 percent from the floor and made 16-of-19 (.842) from the line while committing just 8 turnovers.
Marshall hit 3-of-5 threes and had 11 points in the opening half. Smith made 6-of-7 from the field on the game and Burrus connected on 5-of-7, plus 4-of-5 from the stripe.
Saturday's game marked the final home playing appearance for a quartet of Camel seniors – Marvelle Harris, who did not play due to a foot injury, Antonio Kalpic, Leek and Antwon Oliver.
The Camels hit the road for games at Radford (Wed., 7 p.m.) and High Point (Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU) before heading to the VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Championship, Mar. 5-9 at Conway, S.C.
