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Box Score (PDF)
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Andrew Ryan scored 21 points to lead four Camels in double figures and Campbell defeated Presbyterian 66-53 Tuesday night at Gore Arena.
Ryan and fellow fifth-year senior Reco McCarter (12 points) combined to shoot 13-of-22 from the floor, while juniors Luke Moyer (season-high 14 points off the bench) and D.J. Mason (13) also reached double digits for the Camels (9-15, 3-8 Big South), who took the lead for good during a 15-4 run to close the first half.
Freshman DeSean Murray led Presbyterian (7-17, 3-8) with 17 points and six rebounds. Janeil Jenkins added 11, while the Big South's sixth-leading scorer Jordan Downing had 10, but did not play in the second half after leaving the game late in the first half with back spasms. PC dropped its fourth game in a row.
Downing's 3-point play gave PC a 19-15 lead with 6:58 to play in the opening period, but Ryan started the period-closing burst with a triple. Ryan added another from beyond the arc and Moyer, who had not played in a single conference game, sank a trey in the span. Mason scored six of his points, including two dunks, in the burst for the Camels who led 30-23 at the break.
CU extended the margin to 10 on Ryan's triple with 15:29 to play, but PC answered with a 9-2 burst capped by Jankins' drive that trimmed the margin to 39-36 with 10:02 remaining. However, Ryan connected on a three on the next possession and the Blue Hose never got closer than four the rest of the way.
Moyer made both ends of a one-and-one, then hit threes on consecutive possessions in a personal 8-0 run to give CU its largest lead (64-48) with 1:47 left. On the night, he finished 4-of-5 from 3-point range, while Ryan connected on 5-of-9 beyond the arc.
Ryan matched his career high with 6 assists and along with fellow red-shirt senior McCarter grabbed a game-high 7 rebounds for Campbell, which finished with a 31-20 advantage on the boards and a 13-2 edge in second-chance points.
Over the last three games, Ryan is averaging 19.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists, while shooting 63 percent (22-35) from the floor and 60 percent (12-20) from long range.
On Tuesday, he moved into a tie for fifth place on Campbell's all-time 3-pointers made list while also moving past Fred Whitfield (943 points from 1977-80) into 16th on the school's Division I era career scoring charts (946 points). Ryan is on the verge of setting a new school record for career games played with his 122nd Friday at Gardner-Webb.
After PC made 68.3 percent of its shots in a 72-70 win 12 days ago at Clinton, S.C., the Blue Hose shot 48.8 percent (21-43) Tuesday, but managed only two offensive rebounds. Campbell, meanwhile, knocked down 10-of-25 threes after missing its first seven, and finished with 20 assists on 25 buckets overall. Quinton Ray matched Ryan with 6 assists in only 16 minutes of action.
"We challenged our team to be better on defense," said Campbell head coach Kevin McGeehan. "Since the last Presbyterian game, we figured out how we were going to come together and be better as a group. I was really happy in particular for Luke, because he hasn't played as much. He came out with some fight today and made some shots."
On the night, Campbell shot 47.2 percent (25-53) from the floor to win its second in three outings and second-straight at home. McCarter (6-of-10), Mason (6-of-9), Ryan (7-of-12) and Moyer (4-of-6) combined to go 23-of-37 (.623) from the field.
