Cameron Athletics
Kenton Means, Sports Information Director
FORT SMITH, Ark. – The Cameron men’s basketball team erased a 14-point deficit by outscoring UAFS 38-27 in the second half to secure the 70-68 win; Brock Schreiner led the way with a career-best 24 points, 17 of those coming in the second half.
Schreiner’s 24 points was a game-high against the Lions and the most by an Aggie player this season. The sophomore shot 9-17 from the field, knocking down three triples and going a perfect 3-3 from the charity stripe. Schreiner also added a team-high seven rebounds and four assists to go along with a pair of steals.
Cameron also got a strong outing from senior Jordan Lewis, who had 11 points with three made treys and five rebounds, while Kinyon Parker made a pair of three-point field goals and grabbed four rebounds, including the game securing board in the final seconds.
Against the Lions, CU’s 48.4 second-half field-goal percentage was a key part of their victory. The knocked down five triples in both halves, going 10-24 for the full 40 minutes while converting on eight of their 10 free throw attempts. Cameron also controlled the glass by winning the rebounding battle 40-34, and turned the ball over 12 times which resulted in 17 points for their opponents compared to the Lions’ six giveaways that resulted in five Aggie points.
After trading points to start the first half, UAFS used a 7-0 run to take an 11-6 lead at the 15:24 mark. The home team continued to hold the momentum throughout the next few minutes as a three-pointer from Evan Anderson at the 9:55 mark gave his team a nine-point advantage.
CU was able to cut that back down to four thanks to a three by Parker and a layup by Hunter Quick. However, the Lions answered with six straight free throws to take a 30-20 lead with just over five minutes to play in the half. They extended their lead to 14 with under two to play, but five straight points from Schreiner in the final minute got the Aggies to within single-digits by the break, 41-32.
In the first half, Cameron shot just 36.7 percent from the field while going 5-13 from long range and 5-6 from the charity stripes. They also turned the ball over six times compared to UAFS’s three, while they were out-rebounded by one, 18-17.
Lewis led CU with eight points at the break, knocking down a pair of triples and two free throws. Schreiner added seven points, all of which came in the final two minutes of the first half.
Early in the second half, the Lions were able to go back up by 11 points, 45-34, but a 10-4 run by the Aggies got them back to within five by the under 16-minute media timeout; eight of those 10 points came from Schreiner. That run quickly turned into a scoring drought for the Black and Gold that lasted almost five minutes. Once the cold spell ended, the Aggies used an 8-0 run to get to within three points at 55-52 with just under 10 minutes left in the contest.
Cameron was able to cut the lead to just one on a three-pointer from Lewis at the 7:17 mark and then a few minutes later a Parker triple gave CU their first lead since early in the first half, putting his team up 63-62 with 4:06 left to play. The Aggies then got five straight points from Schreiner capped by an and-one conversion that gave CU a 68-64 advantage with 2:32 on the clock.
The two teams traded buckets making it 70-66 and then a made jumper from UAFS’s Matthew Wilson got his team to within two with 1:25 on the clock. Both teams missed looks at three in the final seconds and a big defensive rebound by Parker secured the two-point win for the Black and Gold.
Reigning Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week Brian Halums led UAFS with 20 points, scoring 14 of those at the charity stripe. Chris Rollins and Matthew Wilson each added 13 points, while Rollins and Halums each had eight boards to lead the home team.
Thursday night’s win improves Cameron’s record to 5-12 overall, 4-7 against the rest of the LSC, and 3-2 against their division foes. They will look to add one more win to their record on Saturday, Jan. 25, when they visit Oklahoma Christian for another LSC division showdown.