BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The Jacksonville University men's basketball team (3-5) battled back from a 16-point halftime deficit at Campbell (4-1) on Monday night, pulling to within a single possession late in the second half but had to settle for a second-straight near miss, 57-62.
David Bell (Hodges Mazda Player of the Game) was the story once again on both ends of the floor for the Dolphins. The senior posted his third-consecutive double-double by scoring 12 of his game-high 14 points and pulling down nine of his game-high 11 boards in the second half. He added two assists, a block and a steal for good measure while shooting 7-8 from the floor across just 24 minutes of court time. He has increased his averages over the last five to 15.0 points, 10.6 rebounds per game.
Destin Barnes contributed nine points,
Kevin Norman had eight and both
DeAnthony McCallum and
Aamahne Santos had seven to bolster the scoring.
Bryce Workman added five points and seven boards off the bench.
For the game, Jacksonville actually out-shot (46.9-46.3) and out-rebounded (34-25) the Camels but 20 turnovers against just 10 for the home side created much of the difference in this one. After some back-and-forth early in the first half, the Dolphins trailed by just eight with 4:45 before the break but six-straight possessions that ended in a turnover allowed the Camels to jump out to a 16-point halftime advantage.
The Dolphins came out of the locker room re-invigorated. By the 15:21 mark the deficit had been cut in half and we were off to the races. Bell took advantage of his man and scored inside with 13:43 left to get it down to six but a turnover with a chance to make it a four-point game turned into a triple on the other end.
The Dolphins trailed by 11 with 3:32 to play in the game but a deep transition triple from Norman brought the JU faithful in attendance back to life. Campbell answered with a two on the other end but then Barnes broke free and buried his lone three ball of the night to make this a seven-point game with 2:35 to go, forcing Campbell to take a quick timeout.
Norman knocked down another triple with 41 seconds left to leave the deficit at just three and two free throws later Bell followed a Santos miss with a monstrous put-back slam to get it back to three with 13 seconds left but that was as close as JU came in this one. Two more free throws and a missed three on the offensive end brought the comeback effort to a halt.
The Dolphins will have another chance to pick up a road win in the Tar Heel State next Saturday when it makes the drive back up, this time to Greensboro for a date with North Carolina A&T. That game is set to tip at 2 p.m.
