Ricky Clemons brings the ball up the floor for the Camels on Monday night.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)
BUIES CREEK — Ricky Clemons and Jay Pal scored 13 points each and Campbell opened the season with a 79-62 win over St. Augustine’s Monday night at Gore Arena.
Freshman Anthony Dell’Orso came off the bench to add 11 points for the Camels, who led by as many as 26.
Jayden Wingard led St. Augustine’s with 13 points, while Christopher Hill chipped in 11 for the Falcons, who shot 46 percent from the floor and made 7-of-17 threes but surrendered 16 second-chance points.
In his first game in a Camel uniform, Pal, a grad transfer from Jacksonville State, hit 4-of-7 shots from the floor, 4-of-5 from the line, grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and blocked four shots in 24 minutes.
A preseason all-conference choice, Clemons finished 3-of-3 from the field, 6-of-8 from the line, hauled in seven boards and drew eight fouls. Dell’Orso made 4-of-5 shots and hauled in six rebounds for the Camels, who shot 43 percent from the floor overall, made 9-of-24 (.375) threes, but canned 28-of-38 (.737) from the line.
Campbell closed the opening half on a 15-1 run and led 39-22 at the break. The Camels forced 13 first half turnovers and did not allow the Falcons to make a shot over the last 5:28 of the period.
The Camels stretched the margin to 73-47 on Elijah Walsh’s free throws with 3:15 remaining in the game before the Falcons made six of their last seven shots to close the gap to 17.
Campbell has won its last 17 home openers, including all 15 since the Pope Center/Gore Arena opened for the 2008-09 season… CU has won 14 of its last 17 season openers with all three losses coming at Power Five conference members – in 2010 at No. 21 Virginia Tech, in 2016 at Oklahoma State and in 2017 at Penn State.
The Camels have won their last 24 games against non-Division I opponents.
The Camels return to action Friday for a 7 p.m. tipoff at NC State.
Lady Camels down Wesleyan
Shy Tuelle tied her career high with 23 points to lead the Campbell women’s basketball team to an 83-40 win over North Carolina Wesleyan in the season opener for both teams Monday night at Gore Arena.
A graduate student from Hampton, Tennessee, Tuelle also matched her career best by making seven 3-pointers, while adding five assists and six rebounds in just 21 minutes.
After leading the Division III Battling Bishops (0-1) by just three after one period, Campbell (1-0) held Wesleyan to 14 points over the next two quarters and led by as many as 43.
Tuelle became the first player in Campbell women’s basketball history to make 200 career 3-point field goals. Her fifth triple of the night, a wing three with 6:07 left in the second quarter, was No. 200 in her career and gave the Camels a double-figure lead (30-20). The Battling Bishops were unable to cut the gap to single digits thereafter.
NC Wesleyan (0-1) took its only lead (16-15) on Nadia Simmons’ layup with 59 seconds left in the opening quarter. However, the Camels answered with a 19-4 rally and led 45-26 at the half.
Tuelle scored 20 first-half points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 6-of-9 beyond the arc.
Brittany Staves added nine points, while grad transfer Ericka Joseph and sophomore Courtney Dahlquist finished with eight apiece for the Camels, who shot 48.5 percent from the floor and made 11-of-30 threes.
Campbell forced 23 turnovers and converted those into 28 points. CU also outscored Wesleyan 23-4 on the break. The Battling Bishops made just 24.6 percent (15-61) of their shots.
Areina Harris led NC Wesleyan with nine points, while Kayrisma Harrison pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
The Camels return to action Saturday with a 2 p.m. tipoff at N.C. Central.
(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report)
Shy Tuelle shoots a 3-pointer for the Lady Camels.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)
