BOILING SPRINGS, S.C. – Coming off an impressive defensive performance, Campbell closes its Big South Conference road schedule Saturday in a 5 p.m. tip-off at Gardner-Webb
The Camels (14-14, 5-11) held Charleston Southern to 28 percent shooting Thursday in a 66-51 victory at the "Buc Dome."
Jordan Whitfield came off the bench to lead CU with 16 points on 7-of-8 field goals;
Cory Gensler added 14, while
Cedric Henderson, Jr., and
Trey Spencer had 10 apiece for the Camels, who outscored the Bucs by a 36-14 margin in the paint.
Gardner-Webb's 3-game win streak ended Thursday in an 87-77 setback at Hampton. Eric Jamison, Jr. had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Nate Johnson scored 20 and Jaheam Cornwall 14, but the Pirates made two more free throws (22-30) than GWU (11-15, 7-7) attempted (11-20). Jermaine Marrow scored 15 of his 33 points from the line for Hampton, which finished with a 46-31 edge on the glass.
Last month at Buies Creek, Gardner-Webb weathered a late Campbell rally and held on for a 67-65 win in the Big South opener for both teams. Eric Jamison, Jr., scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Nate Johnson added 17 points for the defending Big South tournament champions, who led by 10 with 7:31 to play. CU trimmed the gap to two, but could get no closer.
Henderson led five Camels in double figures with 14 points; Gensler added 11, while Whitfield,
Milos Stajcic and Spencer chipped in 10 apiece.
- With 71 victories over the last four seasons, Cory Gensler leads the most successful 4-year senior class in the program's Division I era. The 2019 class, headed by Chris Clemons and Andrew Eudy, won 69 games in a four-year span.
- The Camels own a 6-8 record on the road this season, 2-6 at Big South schools. Gardner-Webb is 5-5 at Paul Porter Arena - 3-4 vs. the league at home.
- Seven of Campbell's 11 losses in Big South play have come by single-digit margins, including five by six, or fewer, points.
- Gensler enters Saturday's game with 1,072 points - 25th overall in CU history and 14th in the program's Division I era (since '77-78).
- The Camels have led at halftime in 10 of their last 11 games, including a 41-21 margin Thursday at Charleston Southern.
- The Runnin' Bulldogs defeated both top-seeded Campbell (79-74) and second-seeded Radford (76-65) on the road en route to claiming their first Big South title and NCAA tournament appearance in 2019. GWU fell to number one seed and eventual national champion Virginia 71-56 in the first round of the Big Dance.
- Campbell has won its last two trips to Paul Porter Arena, including a 76-60 decision in 2017 and a 78-70 victory in 2018. CU did not travel to Boiling Springs in last year's unbalanced league schedule.
- Under head coach Tim Craft, the Runnin' Bulldogs have not endured a losing season in Big South Conference play in his six seasons. Craft's teams own a 67-51 record vs. the Big South, reaching at least 10 wins in five of his seven seasons.
- Over the last seven seasons, Gardner-Webb has five wins over Power 5 Conference schools - Clemson, Purdue, Nebraska, Georgia Tech (Dec. 17, 2018) and Wake Forest (Dec. 29, 2018).
- Campbell and Gardner-Webb have played each other on three different levels. The teams squared off twice as junior college members in the '50s, then played 3 times as NAIA members in the late '60s-early '70s. The teams also met as rivals in the Atlantic Sun Conference before GWU joined the Big South in 2008-09. Campbell, which was a Big South charter member from 1984-94, returned to the league in 2011-12.
- Seven Gardner-Webb standouts have gone on to play in the NBA, including Hall of Famer Artis Gilmore and All-Star John Drew.
- Following Saturday's game, the Camels return home to face UNC Asheville on Sat., Feb. 29 in the regular season finale.
