Chris Clemons gets a defensive rebound in an 83-62 win Saturday.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)
BUIES CREEK — Chris Clemons scored 39 points to lead Campbell to an 83-62 Big South Conference men’s basketball win over Longwood on Saturday at Gore Arena.
The nation’s leading scorer, Clemons tied an arena record with 10 three-point field goals and the Camels knocked down 17-of-33 from long range, the most triples ever by the home team in the facility’s history.
Cory Gensler added 14 points, 12 in the opening half, for the Camels (13-9, 6-2), who won their second straight and fifth in the last six outings.
Shabooty Phillips and Juan Munoz led Longwood (13-12, 3-7) with 14 each, while JaShaun Smith scored 13 points for the Lancers, who dropped their third-straight and fifth in the last six contests.
With 2,875 points in 119 games, Clemons moved by Larry Bird of Indiana State (2,850 from 1976-7men’s 9) and Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina (2,872 from 2005-09) into 13th place on the NCAA Division I all-time scoring list. He extended his double-figure scoring streak to 104 games, the longest among active Division I players and fourth-longest all-time.
Clemons added five assists and had just one turnover in 32 minutes while hitting 12-of-21 from the floor, 10-of-18 beyond the arc and all five from the stripe. Since finishing with a season-low 14 points in last Saturday’s loss at Hampton, Clemons has turned in back-to-back 39-point outings in wins over Radford and Longwood and raised his scoring average to 29.2.
The Camels shot 48 percent (24-50) for the day and made 18-of-20 (.900) from the line and finished with a 25-11 edge in points off turnovers. Longwood shot 64 percent (14-22) in the final period, 51 percent on the day, but committed 21 turnovers.
Campbell jumped to an 11-1 lead and never trailed while taking a 39-20 margin into the dressing room. Clemons dealt out four assists in the opening period and scored 20 first-half points to move by Bird into 14th place on the NCAA Division I all-time scoring list.
Gensler added 12 first-period points on a trio of threes and an old-fashioned 3-point play and the Camels took advantage of 13 Longwood turnovers to score 16 points.
Longwood never drew closer than 15 in the final period and the Camels stretched the margin to as many as 27 (63-36) when Jordan Whitfield connected on a triple with 12:05 to play.
Campbell is off to its best 8-game start in Big South play since rejoining the league in 2011-12. After a trip to High Point on Thursday (Feb. 7), the Camels return home for two straight games, Feb. 9 vs. USC Upstate and Feb. 13 against Hampton.
(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report)
