BUIES CREEK, N.C. – With one game separating first and fifth place in the Big South Conference standings, Campbell hosts UNC Asheville Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
Campbell (12-10, 6-4) enters the contest tied with Gardner-Webb for fifth place. Asheville (14-9, 7-3) shares the top spot along with Winthrop and Radford entering this week's action.
The Camels are coming off a 75-64 setback Saturday at Winthrop.
Andrew Eudy matched his career high with 22 points, but the Eagles closed the game on a 9-0 run to end CU's three-game win streak. Since starting league play 0-2, Campbell has won 6 of its last 8 contests.
Asheville won its third-consecutive outing - and 6th in the last 7 - with an 84-77 victory Saturday over High Point. Ahmad Thomas (23) and MaCio Teague (21) led four Bulldogs in double figures and Asheville shot 55 percent from the field.
In the Big South opener for both teams Dec. 30 at Asheville, Ahmad Thomas scored 24 points and UNC Asheville held off a late Campbell rally to claim an 85-79 win. MaCio Teague added 14 points, Alec Wnuk and Kevin Vannatta 13 each and Raekwon Miller 11 for the Bulldogs, who shot 57 percent from the field and made 19-of-23 from the line.
Chris Clemons scored a game-high 25 points and had five in a late 9-0 run that cut the Bulldog lead to 77-75 with 1:52 to play.
Marcus Burk added 18 points,
Andrew Eudy scored 16 and
Cory Gensler chipped in 11 for the Camels.
LAST TIME OUT
Campbell –
Andrew Eudy scored a career-high 22 points, but Winthrop ended the game on a 9-0 run and defeated the Camels 75-64 Saturday at Rock Hill, S.C. Xavier Cooks led four players in double figures with 21 points, while Bjorn Broman added 18 for the Eagles, who won their sixth-straight game.
Marcus Burk added 15 points for Campbell, while the nation's fourth-leading scorer,
Chris Clemons, was held to a season-low 11, but matched his career high with 9 rebounds.
UNC Asheville jumped to a 43-26 halftime lead and never trailed in Saturday's 84-77 win over High Point. The Bulldogs shot 55 percent from the field, made 20-of-28 from the line, and finished with an 18-4 edge in fast break points. Ahmad Thomas scored 23 points, MaCio Teague 21 and Raekwon Miller 17 to lead Asheville to its third-straight win.
CAMELS ON TARGET
- Campbell enters Thursday's contest 24th nationally (and first in the Big South Conference) in team field goal percentage (.490). In 10 games against Big South competition, the Camels are shooting 47.4 percent from the floor - 3rd in the league.
- The Camels stand 2nd overall among Big South schools in free throw accuracy (.752) behind Liberty (.791). In league games, CU is shooting 80.4% from the line - tops in the Big South. Individually, Chris Clemons is shooting 87.8% from the stripe overall (2nd in the league), 87.2% in conference play. Marcus Burk leads the conference in Big South games only - making 93.3% of his foul shots (28-30).
- Through 22 games, Campbell ranks 28th in the nation - and first in the league - in 3-point shooting percentage (.393).
- Campbell owns an 8-1 record this season when shooting 50% or better from the floor.
CAMPBELL-ASHEVILLE NOTES
- Saturday's game is the 45th all-time between Campbell and UNC Asheville, dating to the 1967-68 season when both were members of the NAIA. CU won 5 of the 8 meetings between the schools while the Camels were members of the Atlantic Sun Conference (1994-2011).
- Campbell is 9-3 at Gore Arena this year, 4-1 against Big South members in Buies Creek. The Camels have won 7 of their last 8 at home, including 4-straight. The lone setback in that stretch was an 82-80 loss in OT Jan. 3 vs. Gardner-Webb.
- Asheville has won its last 19 home games at Kimmel Arena, including 14-straight vs. Big South foes. The Bulldogs are 4-8 on the road this year, 2-3 at Big South teams.
- Both Campbell and Asheville participated in the CollegeInsider.com post-season tournament (CIT) last year. The Bulldogs dropped an opening-round 89-75 decision at UT-Martin. Campbell topped Houston Baptist 98-79 in the first round and UT-Martin (73-56) in the second before bowing to Furman (79-64) in the quarterfinals.
- Campbell dealt 2017 regular season co-champ UNC Asheville an 81-79 loss in last year's Big South Championship quarterfinal round at Rock Hill, S.C. Chris Clemons scored a conference record 51 points as the seventh-seeded Camels (16-16) shot 55.8 percent from the floor and made 11-of-21 threes. Clemons scored 23 of Campbell's first 25 points and had 25 at the break as the Camels took a 36-35 half-time lead over the defending champs. Big South freshman of the year MaCio Teague led Asheville with 22 points, including 4-of-10 threes.
- In Campbell's first game against a Division I opponent at Gore Arena (and 2nd overall), Campbell defeated UNC Asheville 94-57 on Nov. 22, 2008.
Following Thursday's contest, the Camels are back in action Saturday with a 7:00 p.m. tip-off at High Point.
