FORT MYERS, FLA – In the team's best defensive performance in at least 15 years, Campbell defeated Florida Gulf Coast 51-46 Saturday night in the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic at Alico Arena.
Campbell (5-2) held the host Eagles (2-7) to no field goals over the final 6:17 of the game, just 13.3 percent shooting (4-30) in the second half and 21.8 percent overall (12-55) from the floor on the night.
After Jalen Warren tied the game on a 3-point play with 6:18 remaining, FGCU missed its final 11 shots from the floor. In the meantime,
LaDarius Knight scored five points in an 8-0 Camel burst that gave the Camels a 49-41 edge with 3:02 to go. FGCU eventually trimmed the gap to 49-46 on Zach Scott's three free throws with seven seconds remaining, but
Austin McCullough made both ends of a one-and-one with six ticks left for the final margin.
The defensive effort was Campbell's best in seven seasons under head coach
Kevin McGeehan and the first time the Camels held a Division I foe below 30 percent shooting since Jan. 17, 2012 when Winthrop made just 29.8 percent of its attempts in a 54-51 Camel victory at Rock Hill, S.C.
Cedric Henderson (seven rebounds) and
Trey Spencer (six rebounds, three assists) led Campbell with 10 points each. Knight finished with eight points for the Camels, who shot 38 percent (18-47) from the field, made 6-of-18 threes and 9-of-11 from the line.
FGCU hit just 3-of-25 (.120) from 3-point distance, but made 19-of-22 (.864) from the line.
In a game that featured nine lead changes and six ties, neither team led by more than five until Knight's lay-in with 3:29 to play that extended CU's margin to 47-41.
Malik Hardy came off the bench to lead FGCU with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Warren finished with 10 points.
Campbell, which improved to 5-1 against Atlantic Sun foes since leaving the league to re-join the Big South Conference in 2011-12, concludes play in the FGCU Classic Sunday at noon against North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks (4-4) opened play in the event Friday with a 78-63 win over FGCU before defeating Georgia Southern 80-68 Saturday.
