BUIES CREEK – The Fighting Camels showed up on the national stage with a 97-82 win over Northeastern Saturday afternoon in Buies Creek. Campbell threw down a season-best seven dunks, while
DJ Smith poured it in from everywhere on the floor with a career-high 31 points.
The Camels move to 8-8, 2-1 in league play while Northeastern drops to 5-9, 1-2. Additionally, Campbell is now 5-1 in games on CBS Sports Network since joining the CAA three years ago.
The shorthanded Camels played just six players for the second straight game, with all six scoring at least nine points and five finishing in double figures.
Dovydas Butka logged his third straight double-double and sixth of the year with 15 points and 14 rebounds. It's his second game in a row with 14 boards.
Smith's 31 points marks a new career-high, and ninth 20-point game of the year. Smith shot 10-17 from the floor, connected on three three-pointers, and went a steady 8-9 at the foul line, with the lone "miss" being a lane violation.
An electric first half sent Campbell to the break leading 49-36. Campbell put together a 13-0 run to push the lead as large as 16 as the Camels hit their last seven shots of the half.
Muneer Newton provided a spark with dunks on three straight possessions to help Campbell shoot 58% in the opening 20 minutes.
DJ Smith led all scorers with 17 at the half.
Campbell struggled to get stops for much of the second half allowing Northeastern to shoot 57% after the break and draw things back to a seven point game with two minutes to play. A late burst by the Camels featuring two dunks and four-point play from Smith pushed the final tally to a comfortable 97-82 win.
The Campbell offense has now eclipsed 90 points five times this season, three times against D1 opponents. Campbell finished with 56 points in the paint, and 23 off Northeastern turnovers.
Northeastern was led by 23 points from Mike Loughnane as one of four Huskies in double figures.
Campbell stays home this week to host Hampton on Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. That game will be broadcast on FloCollege.
