Fighting Camels rally behind Jasin Sinani's injury to win 6th straight, defeating Elon 76-58

Buies Creek, NC- As we turn the calendar to February, teams start to get their chances for revenge against previous conference foes. Campbell, who entered this game as one of the hottest teams in the country, was not pleased with their performance at Elon on January 13th. The Phoenix enter this matchup losing 3 out of their last 4, but with their exceptional offensive rebounding and three-point shooting, they can beat any team on any night in the CAA. Unfortunately, this was no ordinary night.

The first half started less sluggish offensively than usual for both teams. During this winning streak, Campbell's defense has given teams problems and not allowed them to establish an offensive rhythm, especially early in the game. The score was 9-8 at the first media timeout as both teams executed the type of offense they like to run. Campbell would go on a 21-7 run over 9:56 to give them a 29-16 lead. The next play was where things took a turn for the worse.

Campbell guard Jasin Sinani went on the fast break after a Nolan Dorsey steal. Sinani, who is an athletic, strong guard, went up for the dunk and was contested by Elon guard TJ Simpkins. Sinani was hit in the air and when he landed he suffered an injury I can only describe as gruesome. This is an injury seldom seen in basketball, and quite frankly, even in football. When he landed, the impact snapped his right leg, a similar injury sustained by Louisville's Kevin Ware in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. The Fighting Camels rallied around Sinani in the same way the Cardinals rallied around Ware.

Photo Credit: Campbell Athletics

Anytime something as shocking as Sinani's injury happens, it can be difficult for a team to keep their composure and finish a game. Elon Head Coach Billy Taylor said postgame that he felt his team "actually responded pretty well from that, which is a very difficult thing." He also shared his thoughts on the situation:

"I feel so awful for Sinani, who’s a great player, who’s a competitor. He has been a winner in this league. You never want to see anybody get hurt. It’s gut-wrenching. It does make you appreciate how lucky we are to play this game. Our heart goes out for the kid, the rest of the Campbell team."

Coming out of the break, Elon got some three-pointers to fall and a Matthew Van Komen dunk which helped them get Campbell's lead within 11 with 16:53 left in the game. Down the stretch to help secure the Camels their eventual victory, Tasos Cook poured in 14 points, his career high. He did so on 5-6 shooting from the field, 3-4 from three-point range. He also added 3 steals defensively, which I know Campbell Head Coach Kevin McGeehan is more pleased with than the career high in points. If the Camels try to maintain this win streak, guys like Cook will have to step up and fill the enormous void that Sinani leaves with his absence.

Campbell would go on to defeat Elon 76-58. Campbell improves to 7-3 in-conference, while Elon drops to 6-5. Despite the result, I believe the Phoenix are closer to the team they were when they started conference play 4-1. Elon has the most length in the conference, can shoot the ball well from deep, and has one of the best players on both ends in Sam Sherry. The combination of things they can throw at opponents makes this incredibly difficult to prepare for, especially on a shortened schedule and with the conference tournament just a month away.

As for the Camels, while this was their sixth win in a row, their spirits are certainly damaged after losing a guy like Sinani tonight. Campbell Head Coach Kevin McGeehan postgame spoke about the circumstances:

"We are going to pray for him...That is a difficult situation I have never been in before...There is no training for that. You try your best to support and bring your people together. I thought our guys did a really good job of responding after that situation."

I spoke to Jasin's father Kujt early Friday morning he shared that Jasin's surgery was excellent and he is expected to make a full recovery.

The way this Campbell team is built, their defense can potentially continue to sustain its level of dominance thanks to their cohesiveness. Offensively, there is no denying how big of a loss this is for the Camels, as Sinani was their second-leading scorer, rebounder, and led the team assists. That equated to 12.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game to go along with 1.3 steals per game. His loss can be motivation for this team to continue their winning ways and set themselves up to finish strong and win when it matters the most... March.

Elon's next game is Saturday, February 6th, 2025 at 6 p.m. EST on FloCollege. Campbell's next game is Monday, February 10th, 2025 at 8 p.m. EST with John Fanta on the call on CBS Sports Network. 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.