Cedric Henderson Jr. goes in for a dunk on Monday night.
(Campbell Photo/Bennett Scarborough)
BUIES CREEK — Gediminas Mokšeckas came off the bench to score 14 points in his collegiate debut and Campbell rolled to an 85-51 men’s basketball win over St. Andrews on Monday at Gore Arena.
Cedric Henderson, Jr. (13), Jordan Whitfield (11) and Joshua Lusane (10) also reached double figures for the Camels (1-0), while Messiah Thompson and Jesús Carralero added eight points apiece.
The Camels led by as many as 41 against the NAIA member Knights before coach Kevin McGeehan emptied his bench over the final four minutes. CU held St. Andrews to just 29.6 percent shooting, forced 20 turnovers and held a 15-1 edge in second-chance points.
A freshman from Vilnius, Lithuania, Mokšeckas made all five of his shots from the field, including a three-pointer, and was 3-of-4 from the line in 16 minutes. Henderson added a game-high eight rebounds, while Lusane pulled down seven. Thompson (6) and Carralero (5) combined for 11 assists and just one turnover for the Camels, who shot 46 percent from the floor and made 20-of-29 from the stripe.
Myron Williams led St. Andrews with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Isaac Clay had 12 points.
Campbell broke open the contest with a 20-2 run midway through the opening half and led 38-18 at the break after limiting the visitors to just 16.7 percent shooting in the opening period.
Dray Burton’s spin move in the paint with 4:53 to play capped a 23-2 burst and provided the Camels with their largest lead (76-35).
The Camels won their 15th-consecutive home opener, including all 13 at Gore Arena, which opened in 2008. CU is 12-3 in its last 15 season openers with the only setbacks coming against Power Five conference members.
Following a break for final exams, the Camels return to action December 8-10 in the BSN Sports Dolphin Classic at Jacksonville, Fla. CU plays at host Jacksonville December 8 (7 p.m.) before facing New Orleans (December 9) and Florida National (December 10).
(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report)
