@GoCamelsMBB | facebook.com/GoCamelsMBB | Campbell Tickets

Box Score (PDF)

CLINTON, S.C. – DeSean Murray scored 21 points and Presbyterian withstood a furious rally to defeat Campbell 72-70 Thursday night at the Templeton Center.

The Blue Hose (7-13, 3-4 Big South) shot 68 percent on the night and led 61-50 with 7:38 to go.  Campbell, however, answered with an 18-6 run and took the lead (68-67) on Andrew Ryan's deep three with 1:49 to play.

Murray scored on the next two trips to give PC the lead for good.  After his stick-back bucket put PC back in front with 1:25 left, Reco McCarter missed two free throws with 1:03 to play that could have put CU ahead.  Murray then scored underneath with 42 seconds to go. 

McCarter missed a three from the right wing and Jordan Downing hit the front end of a 1-and-1 to give PC a 4-point edge with 12.5 left.  McCarter's tip-in at the buzzer accounted for the final score.

Campbell (7-13, 1-6) dropped its sixth in a row despite making 13-of-29 from 3-point range.  After shooting 73 percent in the opening half from the floor, PC sealed the win by hitting 5 of its last 6 from the line.

Murray, a freshman forward, hit 8-of-11 from the floor and 5-of-8 from the line.  Downing added 13 points, while Davon Bell chipped in 10 and William Truss 9 for PC, which outscored the Camels in the paint by a 42-14.

Kyre' Hamer led five Camels in double digits with a career-high 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.  Ryan made 5-of-9 triples and finished with 15 points, while McCarter had 11, plus 5 assists.  Curtis Phillips and D.J. Mason added 10 apiece for the Camels, who shot 48.9 percent (23-47) from the floor, 11-of-17 from the stripe.

The Camels jumped to a 19-11 lead with 13:06 left in the first half thanks to an 11-3 burst.  However, the Blue Hose answered by hitting 9 of their next 11 shots from the floor and reeled off an 18-3 run to go in front 29-22 with 5:20 remaining in the period.

PC shot 73 percent (16-22) from the floor in the opening half and outscored the Camels in the paint by a 24-8 margin.  Campbell made 6-of-11 three-pointers in the opening frame and shot 58 percent (11-19) overall, but were plagued by 7 turnovers that resulted in 10 PC points.

Murray had 11 points in the opening half on 4-of-6 shooting.  Phillips led the Camels with 9 first-half points, including a pair from long range and 3-of-3 from the line.

Notes:

• Five of Campbell's six Big South losses have come by a total of 19 points (3.8 per game).  Overall, nine of CU's 13 losses have been decided by single digits.
• Red-shirt senior Andrew Ryan moved into 4th place on CU's all-time games played list Thursday (117). 
• The Camels play Saturday at Winthrop (4:00) before hosting Gardner-Webb Monday (8:00) in a game that will air on the American Sports Network.