Campbell hosts MEAC pre-season favorite Savannah State Saturday in BracketBusters game

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Coming off two-straight wins, Campbell steps out of Big South Conference play Saturday when the Fighting Camels host MEAC pre-season favorite Savannah State at 4 p.m. in the Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters.

A 72-66 overtime win Tuesday at Radford lifted Campbell (12-16, 7-7) into second place in the Big South Conference North Division with two games remaining to be played. The top two seeds in each division earn a first-round bye in the VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Championship, Mar. 5-10 at Conway, S.C.

Andrew Ryan, who scored a career-high 27 points in last Saturday's 87-78 win over VMI, tallied 9 of his 20 points in OT Tuesday at Radford. Trey Freeman tallied 21, while Reco McCarter chipped in 14 off the bench for the 2nd-straight game. The Camels opened the 2nd half on a 29-13 run and never trailed in OT.

Savannah State (16-10, 10-2 MEAC) has won 11 of its last 12 games, the lone setback coming in OT vs. Hampton on Feb. 7. The Tigers have won 4-straight, including a 56-49 victory Monday over North Carolina A&T.

Campbell Game Notes
 

Savannah State Game Notes

Campbell vs. Savannah State Notes:

• Campbell is 0-1 all-time in BracketBusters games following last year's 100-86 setback at Northwestern (La.) State. As part of the BracketBusters agreement, Campbell will travel to Savannah State for a game during the 2013-14 campaign.
• During Campbell's 2-game win streak, Andrew Ryan is averaging 23.5 points, Trey Freeman 15.5, Reco McCarter 14.0 and Antwon Oliver is contributing 13.0 per outing.
• Savannah State entered the week rated No.-138 nationally in the latest NCAA RPI, ranked 5th nationally in scoring defense and has allowed just 54.4 points per game. Tiger opponents are shooting just 38.5% from the floor.
• Rashad Hassan (12.7 ppg) and Preston Blackman (11.7) have combined for 42 percent of Savannah State's total field goal attempts.
• Savannah State owns a 6-7 road record (5-0 in the MEAC) this year, while Campbell is 8-6 at home. SSU has won 5-straight away games.
• Trey Freeman dealt a career-high 14 assists last Saturday vs. VMI and has moved up to 18th among NCAA assists leaders (6.0). The 2012 Big South freshman of the year has 169 dishes this year, 5th all-time in CU single season records.
• Arnold Louis scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to power Savannah State to a 56-49 win over North Carolina A&T Monday in Tiger Arena. The Tigers won despite going the final 7:40 without a field goal. Jyles Smith only scored two points, but had 8 rebounds, 7 blocks and 3 steals.
• SSU head coach Horace Broadnax is a graduate of Georgetown, where he was a point guard for the legendary coach John Thompson and helped the Hoyas win the 1984 NCAA title. Broadnax received his law degree from Florida State College of Law in Tallahassee in 1991. The 2012 MEAC Coach of the year also coached five seasons at Bethune-Cookman, where he was twice named the MEAC's top coach.
• Campbell stands 20-19 all-time vs. current members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Big South schools own a 4-8 record this season against MEAC members heading into Saturday's BracketBusters games, which also include High Point hosting Morgan State. Savannah State has not faced a Big South Conference member in 2012-13.
• Campbell and Savannah State have met two mutual opponents this year. The Camels fell to both Robert Morris (61-58 on Dec. 4 in Buies Creek) and North Carolina A&T (85-60 on Nov. 23 at Las Vegas). Savannah State defeated Robert Morris 61-52 on Nov. 26 at Savannah. The Tigers then topped the Aggies 56-49 Monday at Savannah.

COURTESY CAMPBELL UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS