Jan. 2, 2010

Box Score

Spartanburg, S.C. - Jonathan Rodriguez scored a season-high 27 points and Campbell used a trapping defense to force 20 Upstate turnovers as the Fighting Camels took an 82-69 victory over Upstate in A-Sun men's basketball action Saturday afternoon in the Hodge Center.

Campbell improved to a perfect 3-0 in the A-Sun with the win and 8-4 overall. Upstate fell to 1-11 overall and 1-2 in the league. Upstate plays host to ETSU Monday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. in the Hodge Center.

"We got beat by a pretty good team," said Upstate head coach Eddie Payne. "Things were going along pretty good and then when they made a few plays in the second half, our body language changed. We are in a tough spot, because we don't have the confidence to win. We turned the ball over too much and didn't make free throws. We didn't do the things we needed to win the game. It's not like we were terrible, we just didn't do what we needed to win."

Campbell forced Upstate into 20 turnovers in the game which resulted in the Fighting Camels owning a 21-12 points off of turnovers margin. Campbell also used its trapping defense and transition game to outscore Upstate 13-2 in fast-break points.

Early on, Upstate looked like it had control of the game. The Spartans opened the game with five straight points and dictated play en route to a 17-10 lead with 10:52 to play in the first half. That's when things started to turn around for Campbell. Upstate missed five shots, turned the ball over five times, and allowed six offensive rebounds over the next six minutes as the Fighting Camels fought back to take its first lead of the game, 22-20, with 4:39 to play.

Rodriguez nailed back-to-back three-pointers and started the comeback with a pair of free throws as Campbell went on a 12-3 run to open its 22-20 lead. The Fighting Camels would extend the lead to five points late in the half before Upstate's Nick Schneiders scored four straight, the final two on an alley-oop with less than a second to play, to cut the Campbell lead to 29-28 at halftime.

Upstate held Campbell to 37 percent shooting in the first half, but 11 Spartan turnovers led to 10 Campbell points. Upstate shot a shade under 43 percent in the half.

Campbell extended the lead to eight points with 15:29 to play in the game, but Upstate fought to stick around. The Spartans cut the deficit to three points, 48-45, with 11:31 to play. It would be as close as the Spartans would get.

After Carter Cook nailed a 22-foot three-pointer to cut the Campbell lead to five, 55-50, with 9:17 to play, Campbell used a 10-0 run over the next five minutes to essentially put the game away. Rodriguez and Preston Dodson each had five points in the run.

After Upstate cut the lead to 13, Campbell used six unanswered points open a 19-point lead, its largest of the game, with 3:11 to play and cruised to the win.

Upstate shot 55 percent from the floor in the second half, but couldn't make a dent in Campbell's offensive prowess. The Fighting Camels shot a scorching 60 percent from the field and 44 percent from the arc to keep the Spartans at bay.

Rodriguez finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and three steals to lead Campbell. Dodson added 15 points and three assists. Miles Taylor finished with 12 points and five assists, with all five assists coming on Campbell three-pointers. Junard Hartley was solid with seven points and a game-high six assists.

Schneiders led the Upstate cause with 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Josh Chavis added 13 points and six assists. Caleb Palkert was solid defensively with four blocked shots and three rebounds.