BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Matt Frierson scored 24 points, Lew Stallworth added 21 and The Citadel defeated Campbell 82-76 Tuesday night at Gore Arena.
Zane Najdawi had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Kaiden Rice came off the bench to chip in 13 points for the Bulldogs (9-2), who extended their winning streak to seven games, the program's longest in 10 years.
Chris Clemons finished 10 points under his nation-leading scoring average (31.0) with 21, while
Cory Gensler contributed 18 points and
Andrew Eudy 12 for the Camels (5-5), who set a school record for 40 three-point field goal attempts.
Campbell held the nation's top-scoring team to 19 points below its average and a season-low seven three-pointers, more than half of its average (14.8 -also tops in the country), but the visitors knocked down 12 more free throws (23-31) than Campbell (8-11) attempted.
In a game that featured 15 lead changes and six ties, The Citadel led 33-30 at the break. However, Campbell grabbed a 47-44 lead on Gensler's corner three with 13:25 to play. Eudy's bucket cut the Citadel's lead to 57-55 with 7:41 remaining, but the Camels were unable to get closer the rest of the way.
Gensler's three again trimmed the gap to 77-74 with 25 seconds remaining, but Stallworth and Frierson combined to go 5-of-6 from the line in the last 24.1 to seal the victory.
Stallworth, a grad transfer from UTRGV, scored 15 of his points in the second period, pulled down 11 rebounds on the night and matched his season average for assists (7), a mark that stands 11th in the country. Frierson, who entered the contest second in the country in threes per game (5.1), knocked down 5-of-11 beyond the arc.
Overall, The Citadel shot 46 percent (26-56) from the floor, 23 percent (7-30) from 3-point distance and 74 percent (23-31) from the line while finishing with a 45-31 advantage on the boards. The Bulldogs have not lost since a 97-69 setback at Texas on Nov. 16. The Citadel's only other loss was in the season opener Nov. 6 at 22nd-ranked Clemson.
Clemons, who was held to a season-low point total, was harassed by double-teams and zone chaser defenses all night, moved into 54th place on the NCAA Division I all-time points list (2,532). He extended his double-figure scoring streak to 92 games, longest among active D1 players and fourth-longest in NCAA Division I history.
Campbell concludes its pre-Christmas schedule this weekend in the St. Pete Shootout at St. Petersburg, Fla. The Camels face Austin Peay Friday at 2:30 p.m., and will meet either Liberty or Alabama State Saturday.
