Chris Clemons stayed hot and so did his Campbell basketball team, as the sophomore guard and his teammates overwhelmed Houston Baptist 98-79 at Gore Arena on Tuesday in the opening round of the CollegeInsider.com tournament. Clemons scored 39 points and teammate Marcus Burk added a career-high 27 to lead the Camels to victory in their first postseason game since a loss to Duke in the 1992 NCAA tournament. The win was their fifth in the last six games and marked the first postseason triumph in the school’s Division I history. The nation’s third-leading scorer, Clemons went 11 of 23 from the floor (4 of 8 on 3-pointers) and 13 of 16 from the free throw line in posting his ninth 30-plus point game of the season. That includes a school-record 51-point effort against UNC Asheville in the Big South Conference tournament quarterfinals a week ago. Burk, meanwhile, made 7 of his 10 3-pointers to beat his previous career high in scoring by 12. Shane Whitfield added a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with four assists while Andrew Eudy had eight rebounds and blocked a career-best six shots. Campbell (18-17) took charge early by jumping out to a 22-4 lead and never let up by shooting 61 percent from the floor in the second half. The Camels will now wait for their second round pairing, which will be determined after the CIT first round concludes on Thursday. Second round games are scheduled for Mar. 17-20.
