CAMPBELL ONE WIN AWAY FROM CONFERENCE CROWN
CAMPBELL OH- A big game inside The MVAC Gray Division took place on Tuesday night. #1 Campbell-Memorial Red Devils hosted #5 Liberty for their second matchup with The Leopards this year.
The first time these two squared off was back on January 11th. The Red Devils snuck away with a road victory that day 61-59.
However, other than LaBrae, Liberty was the only conference team to challenge Campbell this year. Going into Tuesday night, much of the same was expected in round two of Liberty vs. Campbell.
Both teams started off strong defensively, with points being at a premium in the first quarter. Campbell took a lead late in the first quarter, and extended it to 15-11 with a Deshaun Will buzzer-beater three to end the 1st.
The lead Campbell had was one that they held throughout the first half. Liberty never faltered, staying within striking distance of The Red Devils at all times. A Jameer Weaver bucket to beat the halftime buzzer extended The Devils lead to ten points 34-24 at halftime.
The Leopards came out of the third quarter with a fury. Backed by some impressive scoring by senior D’Andre Venters. Including some great passing by Venters, he was a spark plug to start the second half for Liberty.
Liberty outscored Campbell 23-10 in the third to take a 47-44 lead over The Red Devils after three. The spark ran out of gas however, as The Leopards only scored 10 points in the fourth to flip the script, as Campbell won the fourth quarter 23-10 and won the game 67-57.
Kevin Moore had another 20+ point performance as he continues to inch his way to the 1000 point milestone. D’Andre Venters shined for Liberty, scoring 23 points on the night, as he haunted The Red Devil defense.
Campbell had balanced scoring on the night, with all five starters contributing eight or more points of offense. In all those contributions, it was Xavion Leonards stat line that stood out the most!
Xavion Leonard: 16 PTS 7 REB 5 AST 3 STL 4 BLK 8/15 FG (53%)
Contributing in multiple areas of the game, Leonard’s 16 points were second highest on the team for the night. The 5 assists and 4 blocks lead the team, while 7 rebounds were tied for the team lead with Kevin Moore.
Being present in the five major stat categories in basketball was more than enough to earn Xavion Leonard YSNs Player of The Game!
The win for Campbell (18-1) gives them a perfect 11-0 record in the conference. For Liberty (13-5) they will fall to 9-2 in conference play. The win for The Red Devils leaves them just one win away from at least a shar of The MVAC Gray Crown!
#5 Liberty (13-5) will host Champion (3-15) on Thursday, February 10th.
#1 Campbell (18-1) will play their final road game of the regular season, as they travel to Newton Falls (10-7) on Friday, February 11th in their first battle with The Tigers.
*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell
Postgame Interview With Xavion Leonard:
