Campbell Camels spoiled Holcomb's Homecoming with 40-point victory.

HOLCOMB, Mo. - The Holcomb Hornets were set to face the Campbell Camels for their Winter Homecoming game.

The Camels spoiled Holcomb's homecoming, however, with a 40-point victory. The final score was 85-45.

It was a different scenario for both teams, preparing for a Saturday competition. According to Campbell senior Layden Kellum, they did not let the weekend affect their approach to this game.

They started their weekend with a morning shootaround at Campbell High School to prepare for the game. For the Camels, it was all about being mentally tough for this game.

"We woke up, started shooting and stretching and just got mentally prepared for this game," Kellum said. "we have some big conference games coming up and we are shooting to be regular season Conference Champions. This was another stepping stone to get us there."

Kellum would finish as the top scorer for Campbell. He had 23 points in three quarters, leading his team to the largest margin of victory they've had all season.

Head coach Steve Fowler, going along with his team's mental toughness, he highlighted their strong start in the first half as a factor for this 40-point win.

"Sometimes we come up it's a gradual process, other nights we come in and get it done early," Fowler said. "I'm pretty proud of them. I thought we played pretty hard and we did a decent job on defense."

Holcomb main point of attack was from beyond the arc. They had a total of 10 three-pointers throughout the competition.

Juniors Stephen Bradshaw and Samuel Jacobs each had three three-pointers. Jacobs would lead the Hornets in scoring with 14 points while Bradshaw followed suit with 11 points.

However, for every three-pointer Holcomb made, Campbell would make one of their own. The Camels finished the game with 14 three-pointers as a team.

Senior Ben Rowland made eight of those three-pointers himself. His shooting performance led him to a 20-point game and placed him in the top 50 All-Time for most made three-pointers in a single game for the state of Missouri. He is tied in 43rd place along with 2022 Holcomb graduate Nate Rhew.

Rhew found the record books for this feat after making eight three-pointers on Feb. 14 in the final game of the season against Malden.

Along with Rowland's shooting and Kellum's game-high 23 points, junior Drew Fowler would score 15 points in the first half. This helped his team close out with a 57-24 point lead at halftime.

Caiden Mayberry would conclude with 11 points, ensuring four of Campbell's starting five scored in double-digits.

With this win, the Camels are now 6-1 since the turn of the new year and 15-2 on the season.

The Hornets will fall to 3-12. Their next matchup will be another home game against the Clarkton Reindeer on Jan. 28.

Campbell's next game will also be a home game on the same day against Senath-Hornersville. A win over the Lions will help them secure a regular season Champion title for the Bootheel Conference.

"After Christmas, we started to play a little sluggish," Kellum said. "We finally realize that our defense makes us a tough team to beat so we really picked up the intensity on that side of the ball and we saw a lot of improvement. We just need to keep doing that and let our offense flow from our defense."