Seventh-seeded Campbell gains Big South championship berth against UNC Asheville

Anthony Dell’Orso was asked the last time he had won a basketball game in the closing seconds.

“Where I come from, we didn’t lose very often,” Dell’Orso answered.

“I guess it’s been a while,” added Dell’Orso, a 6-6 freshman guard whose basket with 1.7 seconds remaining Saturday lifted upstart Campbell into Sunday’s championship game of the Big South Conference men’s tournament

Dell’Orso is from Melbourne – the one in Australia, not the one in Florida.

He scored 23 points in seventh-seeded Campbell’s 72-71 semifinal victory against third-seeded Radford. But none were bigger than the last two.

The Australian freshman’s game-winner put the Fighting Camels (16-17) into the title game against top seed UNC Asheville (26-7), which held off fourth-seeded USC Upstate 66-62 in Saturday’s first semifinal at Bojangles Coliseum.

Campbell and UNC Asheville meet at 1 p.m. Sunday, with the winner going to the NCAA tournament.

Freshman from Down Under

Dell’Orso played on a championship under-20 team in Australia, and his accent is straight out of “Crocodile Dundee.”

He averaged 12.5 points and 5.7 rebounds as a Campbell freshman, and Camels’ coach Kevin McGeehan said Dell’Orso is beginning to believe in himself.

“All season, he would come to me and ask, ‘Was that a good shot I took?’ ” McGeehan said. “Now he’s trusting himself.”

Radford had taken a 71-70 lead with 21.5 seconds remaining, when Shaquan Jules hit both ends of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity.

Campbell called a time out, and set up a play for guard Ricky Clemson.

The ball was batted free, and Dell’Orso grabbed it.

“I didn’t really have time to think about it,” he said. “I just took the shot.”

His 8-foot floater hit nothing but net.

McGeehan’s team has won three games this week in Charlotte, knocking off the second and third seeds. The Camels’ coach said there’s no reason why Campbell can’t do it again Sunday.

“We played a close game up there,” he said, referring to Campbell’s 58-55 loss in Asheville on Jan. 7. “Our guys aren’t afraid of anybody.”

But McGeehan acknowledged the challenge at hand.

“Drew Pember and Tajion Jones are probably better than anyone else who has played in this conference,” he said of UNC Asheville’s two standouts. “And they have great role players.”

Role players step up

Some of those UNC Asheville role players stepped up Saturday when the Bulldogs needed them.

The conference’s regular-season champs trailed USC Upstate for much of the game but came to life with about six minutes remaining.

Trailing 54-52, the Bulldogs tied the game on two free throws by Pember, then took a 57-54 lead on a Pember 3-pointer with 5:44 left.

UNC Asheville added to the lead and was up 61-54 with 4:17 left. One of those role players, guard Javon Battle, had a key defensive rebound and scored on a three-point play during that surge.

The Spartans came back, though, and got within 61-59 on an Ahmir Langlais layup with 2:43 remaining.

UNC Asheville surged back ahead 64-59, but Jordan Gainey hit a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left, and it was a 64-62 game.

“We had to work hard for this one,” UNC Asheville coach Mike Morrell said. “If you’re going to win in March, you’ll have to work hard for them.”

Another of those role players, Freedom High product Fletcher Abee, hit a free throw with seven seconds left. That gave the Bulldogs a four-point lead and made it a two-possession game.

“A lot of things didn’t go our way today,” Morrell said. “USC Upstate did a lot of things right.”

The Bulldogs shot only 40 percent from the floor.

Pember, a 6-10 senior who is considered an NBA prospect, was the bright spot – as is often the case.

He had another double-double, with 31 points and 10 rebounds.

“Drew is a unicorn,” Morrell said.

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle

This story was originally published March 4, 2023 at 6:03 PM.