Monday, November 20, 2006

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Ruell Pringle scored a career-high 27 points and freshman Jonathan Rodriguez added a season-best 22 as Campbell rallied for a 100-94 win over UNC Wilmington Monday night at sold-out Carter Gym. The Fighting Camels rallied from a 12-point half-time deficit to record their first win over UNCW since a 74-52 decision on Dec. 12, 1995 at Wilmington.

Campbell (3-0) hit the 100-point barrier for the second time in three games this year and for the first time over a Division I opponent since a 100-78 win on Jan. 13, 1979 at Charleston Southern.

Jake Wohlfeil added 18 points for Campbell, while Russ Gibson had all 10 of his in the second half for the Camels, who won their first three games for the first time since the 1997-98 season. Rodriguez added eight rebounds and six assists, while Ledell Eackles added five assists and made four steals, while committing no turnovers in 29 minutes.

Point guard Temi Soyebo led five UNCW (1-2) scorers in double figures with a career-high 23 points before fouling out with 1:07 left in the contest. Vladimir Kuljanin added 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Jeff Horowitz came off the bench to score 16. Montez Downey and Daniel Fountain each chipped in 12 for the Seahawks, who have lost two-straight after a season-opening win over Belmont.

“I think our team was looking forward to this game with great anticipation, and we came into tonight thinking we could win. I kept telling them, if you keep running, keep running, keep running, you can win this in the end,” said fourth-year Campbell head coach Robbie Laing. “We’re trying to establish a culture at Campbell that is different from when I got here. When you start 3-0 and beat a team that’s been to the NCAA tournament four of the last seven years, it’s something you need to get excited about.”