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BOX SCORE (PDF)

EDWARDSVILLE, ILL. – Campbell held Southern Illinois Edwardsville to just one field goal over the final seven minutes of play and the Camels defeated the host Cougars 77-74 Tuesday night at the Vadalabene Center.

In a game that featured 13 lead changes and 11 ties, freshman Chris Clemons scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 6 rebounds for the Camels (2-2), who used a late 15-2 run to take the lead and held a taller SIUE squad to just 35 percent shooting in the final period. 

Burak Eslik's three from the right wing with 51 seconds to play was SIUE's lone make from the floor in the final 7:00 and cut the CU's lead to 75-73.  The Cougars got the ball back on a turnover, but C.J. Carr missed one of two from the line to leave the Camels in front by one.

With 26 seconds to go Kyre' Hamer swished two free throws for what proved to be the winning margin. SIUE had two shots down the stretch to tie. Eslik missed on a drive in the lane, but the ball went out of bounds to the Cougars.  Carr, a 5-foot-7 guard, held for the final shot, but 6-foot-6 D.J. Mason contested and the 22-footer bounded off the front iron as the horn sounded.

Clemons made 8-of-14 from the floor, 4-of-8 threes, and all six of his foul shots.  His drive and dish to D.J. Mason with 1:03 left put CU in front 75-70.  Troy Harper added 12 points and Hamer 10, plus three assists.  Mason and Curtis Phillips added 9 points each for CU, which shot 59 percent in the second half.

Carr led SIUE with 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting, 0-of-4 from 3-point range. Six-foot-10 Grant Fiorentinos added 13 points, Eslik 12 and Carlos Anderson 11 for the Cougars, who finished with a 48-24 advantage on the glass and a 20-2 advantage in second-chance points.  Yemi Makanjuola, a 6-foot-10 graduate transfer from UNCW, grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds before fouling out with 3:53 left.

"I can't say enough about how hard our guys fought tonight," said Campbell head coach Kevin McGeehan.  "These road wins are really hard to come by.  It takes so much effort and fight. Clearly they had us out-manned on the boards, but we got some key ones when it mattered. We played really good defense down the stretch and made some plays."

Campbell committed just eight turnovers on the night and converted those into a 21-7 advantage in points off miscues.

SIUE matched its largest lead when Anderson hit an off-balance shot in the lane for a 66-58 edge with 9:05 to play.  However, the Camels responded with a 15-2 rally to take the lead for good.

The Camels finished the night 27-52 from the field (.519), 7-of-19 from 3-point range (.368) and 16-of-25 (.640) from the line.  SIUE shot 53 percent for the game (28-65), made 4-of-16 threes and hit 14-of-23 from the stripe (.609).

Clemons scored 17 first-half points on 5-9 shooting (3-7 threes) and 4-4 from the line.  Harper added 7 first-half points off the bench for the Camels, who held a 17-4 edge in points off turnovers in the opening period.

Fiorentinos came off the SIUE bench to score 9 points and grab 5 boards in 11 first-half minutes.  The Cougars held a 27-10 advantage on the glass in the first period and had a 9-2 margin in second-chance points.

SIUE built its largest lead (21-13) thanks to a 13-2 run capped by Keenan Simmons' bucket with 11:16 left in the opening period. 

The Camels answered with a 10-1 burst, including back-to-back Clemons triples to take a 23-22 edge with 7:47 to go.  Harper's 3-point play gave the Camels a 39-38 edge with 26.9 seconds remaining, but Devin Thornton hit a corner 3 for SIUE just before the halftime buzzer.

Campbell shot 47 percent from the floor, made 3-of-12 threes and 8-of-13 from the line in the first half.  SIUE hit 16-of-31 shots (.516), 2-of-8 triples, and 7-of-13 from the stripe in the opening period.

CU opens Big South Conference play at home Saturday in a 2:00 p.m. tip-off against two-time defending league champ Coastal Carolina.