Campbell wins Big South opener behind Clemons' 27 points

BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- Chris Clemons scored 27 points with 4 of 12 3-pointers and Campbell rallied to beat Gardner-Webb 72-61 in Saturday night's Big South Conference opener.

Andrew Eudy scored 11 and grabbed 10 rebounds and made five assists and Jordan Whitfield added 13 points for the Fighting Camels (8-7, 1-0), who scored 18 points off of 14 forced turnovers.

David Efianayi scored 18 points, Jose Perez added 15 with seven boards and DJ Laster scored 14 and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Runnin' Bulldogs (10-6, 0-1).

Trailing 32-25 at halftime, Campbell closed to 38-36 on Noah Saunders' layup early in the second half, tied it at 51 on Eudy's jumper, then led 61-51 with 3:43 left after Clemons scored eight in a 10-0 run. The Runnin' Bulldogs closed to 66-61 on DJ Laster's tip-in, but Campbell iced it with six free throws in the final 35 seconds.