CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — Coming into tonight, Campbellsville men's basketball was shooting 32 percent from the 3-point line. That mark went up drastically after tonight's contest, as the Tigers lit it up from deep, hitting 14-of-18 3-pointers, to down Wilmington College, 108-82.
Campbellsville's 14 3-pointers are the most since last years season opener vs. Ohio-Chillicothe (18), as
Hagen Tyler led the way hitting 6-of-7 from deep. Tyler finished hitting 11-of-16 overall to lead CU with 33 points – one shy of his career high.
Elliott Young eclipsed his career-high with 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting and knocked down two triples. Young also hit 5-of-8 from the free throw line and grabbed five rebounds for CU.
Playing in place of the injured
Kelton Ford, redshirt freshman
Byron Dean shined tonight running the point. Dean registered 17 points, dished out eight assists and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds – all career-highs.
"We shot the ball very well tonight and I thought coming into the season we would be a good shooting team," said coach
Brent Vernon. "Obviously we won't shoot 14-of-18 from the 3 every night but we have a lot of guys capable of making shots and it helps to have a few posts that can stretch the floor and step out and shoot the ball."
Campbellsville picked up the games first bucket and never looked back as it led for almost 38 of the 40 minutes played.
The 3-point shooting started early and didn't stop until after the buzzer sounded for halftime. CU nailed 10-of-11 from deep, while Tyler was perfect 6-of-6 for 26 first-half points. But Wilmington was close behind in the column, as the Quakers knocked down their fair share, 9-of-15 from 3.
"Hagen has struggled to start the season but he found it tonight," said Vernon. "He has put in some long hours in the gym the last few weeks and it'll pay off for him."
Trailing by one 43-42 with 4:02 on the clock, CU stepped up its defense late in the first half. The Tigers held Wilmington scoreless for over three minutes until Christian Jones nailed a 3 with 45 seconds remaining.
By that point, though, CU had the gas pedal to the floor by going on a 14-0 run and taking a 56-43 lead.
Campbellsville ended up finishing the first half on a 17-6 run, capped by
Zach Perry's running 3-pointer with time expiring.
Perry had a solid night off the bench as well, hitting 4-of-4 from deep and finished with 12 points.
Antonio Chapman was the final Tiger to score in double-figured with 12 as well.
"Zach was a little behind in the preseason after getting sick but he has taken advantage of opportunities," said Vernon. "Same thing with Antonio. It's great to see multiple guys stepping up when we are short-handed and only able to play seven players."
In the second period, Wilmington was able to hang around for awhile but CU ended up pushing its lead to 20 points, 87-67, as Dean made a runner in the lane with 10:10 left.
CU eclipsed the century mark with 5:14 left, as Young delivered 1-of-2 free throws to surpass his former career-high of 23 points he set his freshman season at University Rio Grande in double OT.
"Elliott is a senior and knows how to play in this league," said Vernon. "We are going through some adversity but Elliott has been the leader we have needed to begin the season. It's the next man up in our system when guys are out but that is what is expected out of your senior leader."
CU improved its free throw shooting tonight and took advantage of sloppy defense by Wilmington. The Tigers went to the line 32 times and made 24 (24-of-34) for 75 percent. Wilmington only went the line nine times, hitting 8-of-9 (89 percent).
Jones led the Quakers with 15 points, while Andrew Russell had 13 points and Jordan Hecker finished with 10.
Campbellsville will now host the Lou Cunningham Classic on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 11-12. The Tigers will play Ohio State-Mansfield on Friday at 8 p.m. and then host Harris-Stowe on Saturday at 4 p.m. More information will be posted on Thursday, Nov. 10.
