BUIES CREEK – Campbell lost 78-75 in overtime to NC Central on the first day of the Creek Classic.
Anthony Dell'Orso scored a game-high 25, but it wasn't enough for the Camels as they suffered a third straight defeat.
Campbell falls to 1-3 on the season, while the Eagles move to 3-3.
Dell'Orso's 25 came on 8-16 shooting and 8-10 at the foul line. The sophomore has now scored 25 or more in two of Campbell's four games this season.
Tasos Cook chipped in a season-high 10 points, and
Mason Grant reached double figures with 10 as well.
Alex Kotov stuffed the stat sheet with 8 points, 8 boards, 3 blocks, a steal and an assist.
The Camels shot 50% in the first half and trailed 38-34 at the break. Campbell made NC Central work for its points in the paint with five blocks in the first, three coming from
Alex Kotov.
Tasos Cook already had a season-high seven points by the intermission, along with Dell'Orso and Kotov each scoring seven as well.
Campbell took its first lead since the opening minute on a breakaway dunk from
Tasos Cook with 17:19 left in the second half. The lead then changed hands 19 times again the rest of the way as the teams traded buckets.
The Fighting Camels found themselves down three with a minute to play but came up with a pair of stops and a Dell'Orso jumper to cut it to one. A transition foul sent
Alex Kotov to the line to shoot two, down one with 1.8 seconds to play. The big man missed the first and hit the second to force overtime.
The Eagles then outscored the Camels 7-4 in OT with Dell'Orso responsible for both of Campbell's buckets in the extra period.
NC Central shot only 43% on the night but took advantage of the offensive glass, hauling in 16 offensive rebounds leading to 17 second chance points. Fred Cleveland Jr. led the Eagles with 24 points including five made triples, and dished out six assists to go with it.
The Camels return to action tomorrow night at 7 p.m. against Idaho State. The Bengals lost at the buzzer to The Citadel in the 4 p.m. game today to open the Creek Classic.
