BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Mike Loughnane went for a career-high 23 points to lead four Northeastern players in double figures, but Campbell (8-8, 2-1) shot 59% and got 31 points from D.J. Smith en route to a 97-82 win over the Huskies men's basketball team (5-9, 1-2) on Saturday afternoon at Gore Arena.
Campbell led for most of the day despite Northeastern cutting double digit deficits down to seven points on four occasions in the second half. The Camels made the most of their 31 opportunities at the foul line, going 24-of-31 on the day while the Huskies were sent to the stripe just 12 times, converting on 11.
Smith led five Camels in double figures on 10-of-17 shooting as Campbell scored 56 points in the paint while playing just six players in the contest. As a team, they finished 34-of-58 overall and 5-of-18 from three.
Northeastern, meanwhile, shot 31-of-59 overall to finish above 50% for the third straight game and fifth time this season. Loughnane, who was 10-of-15 from the floor and 3-of-6 from deep, was joined by
William Kermoury (16 points on 5-of-10),
Ty Francis (13 points, eight rebounds) and
Luca Soroa Schaller (13 points, seven assists) as the other Huskies to reach double digits.
The Huskies had no answer for the Camels' presence down low in the first half as Campbell shot 58% overall with 30 of their 49 first half points coming in the paint. Smith led the way with 17 points on 6-of-9 from the floor as Campbell led by as many as 16 before taking a 49-36 lead into the break.
Francis got off to a hot start for Northeastern with 11 points in the opening half as the Huskies shot 46% as a team, and recovered from a stretch of nearly five minutes without a made field goal to hit five of their final six shots of the half to cut into the lead.
It was an uphill battle in the second half, but Northeastern wouldn't go quietly as the Huskies chipped away at the gap over the final 20 minutes, including a triple by Kermoury with 1:16 left to make it 85-78. A 12-2 Campbell run from there, though, would ice it for the hosts.
The Huskies will return home for the first time in more than a month when Northeastern hosts UNCW for the first of three straight games at the Cabot Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on NESN+ and FloCollege.
