University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Campbell
Men's Baskeball Falls to Campbell 85-66
11.21.2009 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Jonathan Rodriguez scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Campbell downed homestanding UNC Asheville 85-66 at Justice Center Saturday night.
The Camels had four other players in double figures to run their record to 3-0. The Bulldogs received a career-high 26 points from sophomore guard Matt Dickey but fell to 0-3 on the year.
Campbell had Lorne Merthie contribute 13 points, while Amir Celestin added 12 points.
Preston Dodson finished with 11 points. Junard Hartley had 10 points and seven assists.
Dickey was the lone Bulldog in double figures. He went 8-of-13 from the field, 4-of-7 from the three-point line and added six assists.
The Camels led from start to finish as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead and later built the lead to 18-4 at the 11:48 mark on a lay-up from Celestin.
"We got off to a slow start, and you can't do that against good basketball teams," commented Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. "We battled and did some things a little better but just made way too many mistakes to beat a team the caliber of Campbell.
"Campbell is a good team that will win a lot of games this year," added Biedenbach. "We just made things way too easy for them at times tonight."
The Camels shot 59 percent (26-of-44) from the field, while the Bulldogs shot 42 percent (24-of-57). The visitors had a huge advantage at the free throw line as they went 29-of-39 for 74 percent, while Asheville was just 10-of-22 for 46 percent.
"We fouled them way too much and good teams make you pay for that," Biedenbach also said. "We really struggled at the free throw line and that hurt us because we started to come back a little but those missed free throws ended up costing us."
Campbell got points from four different players to lead 7-0 as the Bulldogs did not score until the 14:25 mark when Sean Smith scored on a lay-up.
Campbell maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the game. Asheville got as close as 37-26 late in the first half but the Camels got a three-point play from Rodriguez and a bucket from William Kossangue to push the lead to 42-26 at halftime.
In the second half, the Bulldogs could get no closer than 15.
Asheville travels to Georgia Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. contest that will be televised by CSS. Campbell hosts Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. on Monday night.
