Sports Editor

Following a close home win over Nicholls State, the Troy State Trojans will head to Buies Creek, N.C., to resume Atlantic Sun Conference play against Campbell University.

TSU is 1-1 in league play so far this season. Wednesday’s game against Campbell (2-5 overall, 0-2 A-Sun) will be the last conference contest for the Trojans until the first of the new year. Troy State (4-3 overall) plays host to Atlantic Sun favorite Georgia State on Jan. 2, 2002.

Despite their poor overall record and 0-2 start in conference play, the Fighting Camels have three players who are averaging double figures so far this year. The high man is Adam Fellers (18.4 ppg), followed by Jonte’ Edwards’ 13.4 points per contest and Tarick Johnson, who is averaging 12.6 points per game.

The Trojans swept Campbell in both regular season contests last year, winning the first in Troy, 89-71, and the second on the road, 92-85, in overtime. Fellers scored 32 points for the Fighting Camels in the rematch at Buies Creek.

The Troy State men’s basketball team has never lost a game to Campbell, winning seven straight.

Troy State fought off a second half surge by Nicholls State and guard Earnest Porter on Saturday night to win 98-86. Porter finished the game with 36 points as the Colonels got hot from the three-point arc after intermission and at one point, with just under four minutes left in the game, cut the Trojans’ lead to just five.

TSU, however, ended the game on a 13-6 run.

Head coach Don Maestri was pleased that his team didn’t panic in the latter stages of the contest and allow, what had been a sure win by halftime, slip away.

He was also glad to see other players besides leading scorers Lemayn Wilson and Robert Rushing chip in offensively. Senior Donnie Pemberton added a season-high 11 points and guard Ben Fletcher scored 12.

"It was good to see Ben come along and score some points for us tonight," said Maestri about the junior college transfer from Selma. "We needed someone to step up and take some of the load off of Lemayn and Robert and it was nice to see Donnie and Ben do that."

Following tonight’s game, the Trojans will have a ten day lay-off until Dec. 29-30, when they travel to Bozeman, Montana to compete in the Holiday Stores/Touch America Classic. TSU will play San Diego in an opening round contest on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.. Hampton and Montana State will play in the other scheduled contest.