Campbell bows out of NIT as UNC Greensboro comes back

by Dunn Area Sports Staff | Mar 20, 2019 | Articles, Campbell, News & Features

Chris Clemons scores the basket that moved him into third on the NCAA career scoring list. (Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)

GREENSBORO — Isaiah Miller and Francis Alonso combined for 47 points and UNC Greensboro defeated Campbell 84-69 on Tuesday nighty in the opening round of the NIT at the Greensboro Coliseum.

In his final collegiate game, Big South Conference Player of the Year Chris Clemons led Campbell (20-13) with 32 points and moved into third place on the NCAA Division I all-time scoring list with 3,225 points.

Miller scored 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting and Alonso hit 6-of-12 threes for the Spartans, who trailed by 13 in the opening half, but made eight of their first nine shots to open the second period. Demetrius Troy added 14 points and five assists for top-seeded UNCG (29-6), which will host Lipscomb in the second round.

Isaac Chatman added 13 points and senior center Andrew Eudy chipped in 12 in his final contest for the Camels, who shot 42.9 percent on the night, but made just 6-of-20 (.300) threes.

Campbell jumped to a 19-6 lead on Chatman’s slam with 12:09 left in the opening half prompting UNCG coach Wes Miller to use his second time out.

However, Alonso hit four threes in the opening period and the Spartans closed the stanza on a 16-4 burst. Kyrin Galloway’s tip-in at the buzzer gave UNCG its first lead (33-32) since 2-0.

Alonso scored 12 first-half points for UNCG, which turned five offensive boards into nine second-chance points. The Camels missed eight of their last 10 shots and did not attempt a free throw in the opening period.

Clemons had 14 points in the first half, while Eudy added eight for the Camels, who shot 44 percent from the field, but made only two of 11 beyond the 3-point arc.

UNCG hit 65.5 percent of its shots in the final half and led by as many as 26 before the Camels ended the game on a 16-5 run.

Clemons’ drive to the bucket with 2:09 left provided his 24th and 25th points of the night and moved him by Lionel Simmons of La Salle, who scored 3,217 points in his career that spanned 1986-90. Clemons also extended his double-figure scoring streak to 115 games to tie Simmons for the longest such span in NCAA Division I history.

A senior from Raleigh, Clemons also finished his career fifth on the all-time Division I list for 3-point field goals made (444). He set a Big South and school single season marks for points (993) and scoring average (30.09). Clemons is the first player to average more than 30 points per game in a season in the Division I ranks since Charles Jones of Long Island scored 30.1 per outing in the 1996-97 season. He was the first Campbell player to earn All-America honors in its Division I era (since 1977-78).

The holder of 49 school records, Clemons and Eudy share the Campbell mark for most career games played (130). A second-team all-conference performer, Eudy finished his four-year career as the school’s all-time leader in blocked shots (199), while ranking fifth in offensive rebounds (202), sixth in total boards (640) and 11th in assists (282).

Under the guidance of Big South Coach of the Year Kevin McGeehan, Campbell claimed its first-ever number-one seed in its conference tournament and won the program’s second league regular season title in its Division I era. CU’s 57 victories over the last three seasons are the most in its Division I era and its three straight postseason berths (2017 CIT, 2018 CBI) are a first as well.

(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report)