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Buies Creek, NC- The Fighting Camels followed up an impressive showing in a loss at Virginia on November 6th with a home loss on November 10th to Saint Francis (PA). Saint Francis won both games of the home-and-home series with Campbell after a 78-76 win last season on December 30th, 2023.
What's the best way to regain your confidence after back-to-back losses? Beating up on a non-Division I opponent, which the Camels did Tuesday Night.
The first half featured one of the most impressive stretches I have ever seen in a game. Campbell led 32-2 with 8:57 remaining in the first half. The shooting woes from the loss against Saint Francis did not carry over to this game for Campbell, as they shot 50% (30-60) from the field, 52.2% (12-23) from three, and 100% (11-11) from the free throw line.
A key part of the efficient scoring performance in this game came from Penn State transfer guard Bragi Gudmundsson. Bragi has started the season shooting a blistering 12-13 from the field, 3-4 from three, and 13-13 from the free throw line.
He reached double figures for the second time this season last night with 14 points on 5-5 shooting from the field. I asked Bragi about his hot start to the season:
"I thought I missed one [shot] today but I guess not. I've always had a confidence [in my shot]...I'm shooting the ball great but as long as I can help my team, I'm happy."
The second half was much of the same. Campbell held Newberry to just 40 points in the game and no player scored in double figures for the Wolves. In the second half, Eric Van Der Heijden had back-to-back threes that were part of a 14-0 run in less than 5 minutes. Van Der Heijden has continued proving how versatile he can be in this Princeton concept offense as the stretch big man. His growth and comfort playing in this system will be a huge boost on offense for Campbell.
The Camels depart Buies Creek for a long road stretch that includes matchups against Navy, Ohio State, Evansville, and Green Bay to round out the month of November. One of those opponents is particularly tough; Ohio State picked up an impressive opening-night victory against Texas and, as of November 11th, is ranked 21st in the AP Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll.
Bragi Gudmundsson is familiar with opponents like Ohio State as he suited up for a Big Ten team last season, Penn State. I asked him what he learned about playing in the Big Ten and how that experience can help him with the upcoming game against the Buckeyes:
"Physical. It's all big grown men. They are strong. We just played a good Virginia team...It's nothing we haven't seen. They are all humans like us. We will be fine."
The key for the Camels to come out of this road trip heading in the right direction will be to continue to play within themselves offensively, be aggressive defensively, and rebound the ball at a high level. The first of the four games on the road is against Navy on Sunday, November 17th, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN+. The Camels defeated Navy in their season opener last year 59-48.
Follow along on X (@TrevorEverette) for live game updates, and for more of my work on House of College Hoops and House Enterprise, head here.