ORLANDO, Fla. (Dec. 29, 2008) – Chicago State men's basketball opened the UCF Holiday Classic on a good note this afternoon behind a double-double from senior David Holston (Pontiac, MI/Avondale HS) (Pontiac, Mich.) as it captured a 98-89 victory over Campbell in a first round contest at the UCF Arena. The Cougars improved to 7-6 on the year, while the Camels saw their season record fall to 3-7.
Holston finished with a season-best 40 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field in addition to going 8-of-16 from three-point range and 8-of-9 from the free throw line with a season high-tying 10 assists in 30 minutes.
Campbell opened the first minute of the game with an early 5-0 advantage on a three-pointer from junior Kyle Vejraska before CSU posted a 17-4 run in four minutes with Holston scoring eight points en route to a 17-9 lead at the 14:28 mark. The Camels responded by scoring 25 of the next 42 points in an 11-minute span to tie the score at 34-all with 3:27 left in the stanza on a layup by junior Jonathan Rodriguez. A 17-10 scoring drive in the final three minutes, including eight points from Holston, gave the Cougars a 51-44 leading margin entering intermission.
An 11-7 scoring run over the first five minutes of the second half helped the Camels close within 58-55 at the 15 minute mark after junior William Kossangue hit a three-pointer. CSU then recorded a 21-12 scoring run over five-plus minutes to hike its lead to 79-67 after a four-point play by Holston at 8:18.
After Campbell posted an 8-2 run to close within 81-75 at the 4:54 mark on a Rodriguez layup, the Cougars scored 17 of the final 31 points down the stretch, including 13-of-16 from the free throw line, to provide the final margin.
Senior guard John Cantrell (Pontiac, MI/Northern HS) (Pontiac, Mich.) added 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting with four steals, four rebounds and three assists for Chicago State. Sophomore Carl Montgomery (Chicago, IL/Shepard) (Palos Heights, Ill.) posted 15 points and three blocks, while senior Mike Wilson (New York, NY/Mt. San Jacinto CC) (New York, N.Y.) tallied a career-best eight rebounds and tied another career high with seven assists.
Rodriguez paced Campbell with 22 points and six rebounds, while Kossangue added 16 points and six boards. Junior Matt Gwynne (16 points) and freshman Lorne Murthie (12 points) also scored in double figures for the Camels.
The Cougars advance to tomorrow night's championship game of the UCF Holiday Classic where they will face host Central Florida with a start time of 6 p.m.
~ CSU ~
