The diminutive superstar may have company in the club shortly.
During Campbell’s 76-71 loss to Presbyterian College Saturday afternoon, Camels star Chris Clemons became just the ninth player in the history of Division-I men’s basketball to breach the 3,000-point mark for his college career. His 3,006 career points put him just one made three-pointer away from passing Hersey Hawkins and moving into 8th-place on the all-time scoring list.
Currently the nation’s leading scorer at 29.8 ppg, Clemons finished Saturday with a game-high 28 points. It marked the sixth straight game in which the senior has scored at least 23 points.
Clemons has averaged no fewer than 24.9 ppg in each of his last three seasons, but has never been more electric than he has been as a senior. The 5’8 dynamo has scored 44 points or more on three separate occasions, and has breached the 30-point mark nine times.
The biggest highlight of Clemons’ final collegiate season to date came via deep three-pointer at the buzzer to knock off Big South-leading Radford on the Highlanders’ home floor.
Radford era prima e imbattuta nella Big South, poi però è arrivato Chris Clemons: 39 punti e buzzer beater da metà campo per la vittoria di Campbell! pic.twitter.com/deRPmCdw0C
— Basketball NCAA (@BallNcaa) January 31, 2019
The one accomplishment missing from Clemons’ collegiate resume is leading Campbell to the NCAA tournament. The Camels’ lone trip to the Big Dance came in 1992, when they lost in the first round to top-seeded Duke.
Thanks in large part to Clemons breaking the tournament scoring record, Campbell made a Cinderella run to the Big South title game two seasons ago before falling to Winthrop. Even with Saturday’s loss, the Camels sit alone in third place in the league standings, and are the only team in the conference to knock off 10-1 Radford.
1. Pete Maravich, LSU (1967-70) — 3,667 points
2. Freeman Williams, Portland State (1974-78) — 3,249 points
3. Lionel Simmons, La Salle (1986-90) — 3,217 points
4. Alphonso Ford, Mississippi Valley State (1989-93) — 3,165 points
5. Doug McDermott, Creighton (2010-14) — 3,150 points
6. Harry Kelly, Texas Southern (1979-83) — 3,066 points
7. Keydren Clark, Saint Peter’s (2002-06) — 3,058 points
8. Hersey Hawkins, Bradley (1984-88) — 3,008 points
9. Chris Clemons, Campbell (2015-present) — 3,006 points
10. Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati (1957-60) — 2,973 points
The 3,000-point club will almost certainly be expanding to 10 members before the end of the 2018-19 season.
South Dakota State senior star Mike Daum currently sits at No. 12 on the all-time scoring list with 2,943 career points. His 31-point effort in South Dakota State’s 78-77 win over North Dakota State moved him past Alfredrick Hughes on the all-time scoring list, and also moved him within nine points of passing former Kansas star/current Wake Forest head coach Danny Manning.