BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Riding a two-game win streak, Campbell hosts Big South Conference leader UNC Asheville Saturday in a 2 p.m. tip at Gore Arena.
 
Tickets start at just $8 and are available at GoCamels.com/tickets.  Kids 12 and under are admitted free.  Saturday's game also marks Hall of Fame Day in Buies Creek.  The 2023 Campbell Hall of Fame induction class will be recognized at halftime.
 
The Camels (9-12, 4-5) won their third-straight league road game Wednesday, 72-64 at High Point. Anthony Dell'Orso and Ricky Clemons scored 18 points each, while Jay Pal added 15 and Laurynas Vaistaras 10 for the Camels.  CU shot 54 percent in the 2nd half, used a late 12-2 run to take the lead for good, then knocked down 9-of-11 free throws in the final 1:57 to seal the win.
 
Asheville (16-6, 8-1) needed overtime to defeat last place Presbyterian 88-80, but Drew Pember scored a career-high 48 points to tie the Big South regular season record (set by Campbell's Chris Clemons vs. Hampton in 2019) and lift the 'Dogs to their 7th-straight win.
 
Three weeks ago, Pember scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half to lead UNC Asheville to a 58-55 win over Campbell at Kimmel Arena.  The Bulldogs trailed by as many as 18 points but got back in the game with a 21-5 run, and scored their final 12 points from the line.  Clemons led Campbell with 21 points, while Pal added 16.
 
NOTES:

• Asheville has won the last three games in the series with the Camels, but those contests have been decided by a total of 13 points.
• Campbell stands 4-5 at home this season, 1-3 vs. Big South teams at Gore Arena.  UNC Asheville is 6-5 in true road games, 3-1 at league opponents.  Asheville's only loss in conference play was a 62-60 setback on Dec. 31 at Winthrop.
• The Camels matched a school mark for most consecutive road wins in Big South play with Wednesday's victory at High Point.  The 2021 and 2012 teams also won 3-straight on the road against conference foes.  The 1996 team won its last four road games in the ASUN schedule.
• Fifth-year senior Ricky Clemons leads the Camels - and ranks 10th in the Big South Conference - with a 13.0 scoring average.  Anthony Dell'Orso (10.7) is the third-leading freshman scorer in the Big South, 19th overall.  Jay Pal (10.1), Joshua Lusane (9.5) and Devon Dunn (9.1) also contribute at least nine points per outing.  Jesus Carralero averaged 10.6 points over the first five games but has missed the last 16 due to injury.
• UNC Asheville is led by the inside-outside duo of 6-foot-10 forward Drew Pember, who tops the Big South in scoring (20.5), rebounding (9.8) and blocks (2.6), and guard Tajion Jones, who ranks 8th among league scoring leaders (13.6), first in 3-pointers made (2.8 per game) and 3-point accuracy (.463).
• Overall, the Bulldogs rank 1st in the league in team field goal percentage (.470) and 3-point percentage (.385), while standing second in FG defense (.421).
• Asheville was picked to finish 3rd in the Big South Conference preseason poll.  Pember was named preseason player of the year, while Jones was a 2nd-team preseason all-conference choice.
• Four members of UNC Asheville's starting lineup began their careers at other Division I programs.  Drew Pember, the 2022 Big South defensive player of the year, played his first two seasons at Tennessee.  Fletcher Abee (The Citadel), Caleb Burgess (Hofstra) and Nick McMullen (Murray State) are in their first season with the Bulldogs.
• Saturday's game marks the 52nd 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), but the Bulldogs have claimed 15 of 19 since Campbell re-joined the Big South in 2011-12.
• Asheville owns a 28-23 edge in the all-time series, but the teams have split the last 6.
• 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.
• UNC Asheville alumni include New York Times best-selling authors Wiley Cash and Ann B. Ross. Former MLB infielder Ty Wigginton, who played for eight different teams from 2002-13 and was a 2010 all-star as a member of the Baltimore Orioles and Mike Shildt, who was named 2019 National League manager of the year after guiding the St. Louis Cardinals to a playoff berth, also played baseball at Asheville.
• Following Saturday's game, the Camels host USC Upstate Wednesday (Feb. 1) at 7:00 p.m.