GoCamelsMBB | Facebook | Instagram | Campbell Tickets 

BOX SCORE (PDF)

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – D.J. Mason led four Campbell players in double figures with a season-high 17 points and the Camels defeated two-time defending Big South champion Coastal Carolina 79-73 Saturday at Gore Arena. 

Mason added a career-high 14 rebounds, while Chris Clemons (16), Kyre' Hamer (14) and Curtis Phillips (11) all hit double digits for Campbell (3-2, 1-0), which won its second-straight outing.

The Camels made 11-of-23 three-pointers (.478) on the day, 6-of-10 in the second half and overcame a 10-point deficit after the break.  Coastal (3-3, 0-1) shot just 36 percent in the final period after making 60 percent in the opening period to take a 41-35 lead into the dressing room.

Shivaughn Wiggins led Coastal Carolina with a career-high 24 points on 8-of-12 from the floor, plus 7-of-11 from the line, while dealing seven assists with no turnovers.  Elijah Wilson added 11 points and Badou Diagne 10 for Coastal.

Campbell shot 49 percent (27-55) for the game overall, and made 14-of-20 from the line (.700) to win its Big South opener for the fifth-straight year.

"Part of evolving as a program is putting together consecutive good performances," said Campbell head coach Kevin McGeehan, whose team rallied for a 77-73 win Tuesday at SIUE.  "We were able to come back today and play tough and physical and with the kind of grit that it takes to win this kind of game against a very good rebounding team."

After leading by six at the break, Coastal extended the margin to 50-40 on Wilson's trey with 17:16 to play.  However, the Camels responded with a 19-7 run and took their first lead (59-57) on Rod Days' bucket with 9:00 to play.

Clemons' triple pushed the Camel edge to 62-59, but Wiggins' three-point play gave Coastal a 64-62 lead with 5:34 left.  However, Mason started a decisive 12-2 Camel burst on a one-hand turnaround jumper in the lane.

Again Clemons scored from long range to give Campbell the lead for good (67-64) with 4:23 to play and the Camel lead reached eight (74-66) when Hamer knocked down two free throws with 1:25 remaining.  Coastal pulled within 74-70 on four foul shots from Wiggins, but the Chants made only two shots from the floor in the final 5:00.

Hamer sealed the win by hitting 5-of-6 from the stripe in the last 1:08 for the Camels, who had lost twice by three-point margins to Coastal in each of the last two seasons.

Mason made 8-of-12 from the field, while Clemons knocked down 4-of-8 threes, including 3-of-4 in the second half.  Hamer hit 10-of-11 free throws, while Phillips finished with five assists.

Coastal made 10 of its first 12 shots and jumped to a 24-12 lead on Marcus Freeman's bucket in the paint with 10:37 to play.  Campbell, however, responded with a 17-7 run and cut the lead to 31-29 on Shane Whitfield's back door layup with 4:15 remaining.  Rod Days started the rally with a three and six different Camels scored during the stretch.

The Chanticleers shot 60 percent (18-30) in the opening half and 30 of their 41 points came in the paint.  Wiggins had 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting, plus 6 assists and no turnovers before the break.  Campbell hit 12-of-25 first-half shots, including 5-of-13 beyond the arc.

CU returns to action Monday when the Camels host former Big South rival VMI at 7:00 p.m.