Camels win on Senior Day

by Dunn Area Sports Staff | Feb 25, 2018 | Campbell, News & Features

Triton graduate Nick Parker is shown on Senior Day with (from left) Campbell coach Kevin McGeehan, dad, Scotty; mom, Paula; and sister, Leanna.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)

BUIES CREEK — Chris Clemons scored 23 points and tied his career high with nine assists to lead Campbell to a 72-56 Big South Conference men’s basketball win over Presbyterian on Saturday at Gore Arena.

The Camels (16-14, 10-8) secured the fourth seed in next week’s Big South tournament and will face fifth seed Liberty (18-13, 9-9) in Thursday’s 9 p.m. quarterfinal at Kimmel Arena on the campus of UNC Asheville.

Damontez Oliver came off the bench to add 13 points for Campbell, which knocked down 12 three-pointers, while senior Mogga Lado added nine points and five boards in his final home game.

Senior walk-on Nick Parker, an alumnus of Triton, had eight points in his first career start for the Camels, who shot 51 percent from the field.

J.C. Younger led Presbyterian (11-20, 4-14) with 16 points and nine rebounds. Reggie Dillard added 11 points and Davon Bell contributed 10, plus eight assists.

Campbell never trailed and used an early 17-3 run to open a 27-10 lead. The Camels held a 35-25 edge at the break after shooting 45 percent, while making made 8-of-16 triples in the opening half.

Younger’s wing three capped an 8-2 Presbyterian flurry and the Blue Hose cut the margin to 41-35 with 15:42 to play, but Oliver answered with a triple from the top of the key and Clemons found Lado for a slam.

Campbell extended the margin to as many as 17 down the stretch as the Camels hit 15-of-26 (.577) shots in the final period and finished with only six turnovers on the day.

The nation’s fourth-leading scorer (24.7), Clemons extended his NCAA Division I-leading streak to 78 consecutive double-figure games and logged his 19th game of 20 or more points this season. He made 4-of-7 threes Saturday and moved past Nick Barbour (2,121 points from 2008-12) of High Point into sixth place on the Big South’s all-time scoring list (2,124).

The Camels claimed their sixth consecutive win over Presbyterian, which finished shooting 36 percent from the floor and made 7-of-29 threes (.241).

(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report)