WRAL Sports Fan

Colleges

Northwestern State holds off Campbell rally 71-67

Nov 12, 2012

Buies Creek, N.C. — Northwestern State built a 21-point lead and held off a Campbell comeback down the stretch to secure a 71-67 win Monday night at Gore Arena.

DeQuan Hicks came off the bench to score 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting and grab 10 rebounds to lead the Demons (2-0). Shamir Davis added 10 points, while Jalan West scored 9 and dealt 6 assists.

Darian Hooker and Darren White led Campbell (1-1) with 15 points each. Trey Freeman added 13 points and 6 assists, while White pulled down a game-high 12 boards and dished 5 assists.

Northwestern State led 38-22 at half-time and built the advantage to 21 (52-31) on Hicks’ bucket with 14:46 remaining. Campbell responded with a 27-11 run to cut the gap to five (63-58) on Hooker’s 3 off White’s penetration and kick-out with 3:20 to go.

O.J. Evans knocked down a pair of foul shots to push the margin to 69-58 with 1:11 left, but Freeman and Andrew Ryan hit triples after missed NSU free throws and the Camels were within 69-65 with 24 seconds to go.

Freeman made a pair from the line to pull the Camels with 70-67 with 12 seconds remaining, but Gary Stewart hit the first of two foul shots for the final margin.

Campbell shot 43 percent (25-58) on the night, 51 percent (18-35) in the second half, but made only 12-of-21 (.571) from the line and 5-of-19 (.263) from 3-point territory.

Hooker knocked down 6-of-11 shots, including 3-of-7 beyond the arc and did not commit a turnover in 34 minutes of action. White produced his fifth career double-double, pulling down 6 offensive rebounds.

The Demons made 44 percent (28-63) from the floor, 2-of-17 (.118) from 3-point range, and 13-of-24 (.542) from the line. Northwestern State finished with a 42-36 edge on the glass.

After Marvelle Harris tied the score at 13-all with 12:00 to play, Campbell committed 7 turnovers in the next 5:54 as the Demons went in front 29-17 thanks to a 16-4 run. The lead reached 17 (36-19) with 2:04 remaining before Hooker canned a 3 from the left wing with 1:32 to go.

Campbell shot just 30 percent (7-23) from the field and made only 6-of-12 free throws, while turning the ball over 12 times in the first period. Northwestern State shot 47 percent (17-36) from the floor, making 16-of-26 from 2-point range in the opening half. The Demons outscored the Camels 18-6 in the pain and held a 14-5 edge in points off turnovers before the break.

Campbell returns to action Friday at 7:45 p.m. when the Camels host Appalachian State.