Camels hold off Hornets in key league contest

CAMPBELL, Mo. -- The Holcomb Hornets made the short trip of Highway 53 Tuesday night to take on the Campbell Camels in a key conference matchup. With the Tri-County Conference Tournament looming in the near future, the game was an opportunity for Campbell to improve its seed in the tournament, while Holcomb went into the rivalry game searching for their first conference win of the season. When the smoke had cleared, it was the Camels that were still standing after a physical 55-47 victory.

The action was fairly slow-paced in the opening quarter as the two offenses stumbled out of the gate by combining to score only 15 points in the first period.

Both teams got it done on the defensive end in very different fashions as the Camels forced several turnovers with their high pressure man-to-man defense, while Holcomb's 2-3 zone defense confused Campbell and forced the Camels into numerous low-percentage shots from the field. After eight minutes of poor offensive basketball, the Camels took an 8-7 lead into the second quarter.

The scoring picked up in quarter No. 2, however, as Jordan Baggett -- who is more known for his reputation as a good defender -- tossed in six fastbreak points for Campbell to open the quarter. Holcomb received a solid offensive effort from an unexpected source as first-year player Michael Casey added seven of his nine points on the night in the period as Holcomb kept hanging around, trailing just 22-19 at halftime.

As play resumed in the second half, senior Jake Tinnon drained a pair of 3-pointers to give Campbell a nine-point lead that made it look as though Campbell was ready to drive the nail in the Hornets' coffin.

However, the Hornets simply would not go away as Heath Murdock added four of his game-high 17 points, to pull Holcomb back to within three points.

But much like Holcomb did with Casey, the Camels found an offensive spark from an unexpected source as junior Cote Harrelston came off the bench to knock down three treys to help Campbell preserve their lead.

Still, Holcomb continued to scratch and claw its way back into the game as the fourth and final quarter progressed. Finally with 3:46 to play -- after Chad Adams finding him wide open with a baseball-style pass -- Murdock dropped in a layup to tie the game at 42.

But that would be as far as the Hornets' comeback would go as Campbell proceeded to outscore Holcomb 13-5 in the final three and a half minutes of the contest.

Adams joined Murdock in double figures with 11 points.

For Campbell, the backcourt duo of Baggett and Tinnon lead the Camels' offense with 11 points apiece while Harrelston added 10 off the bench.