Tuesday, November 13, 2007

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 13, 2007) - Even a power outage which darkened the Memorial Center for nearly 20 minutes late in the second half could not stop the ETSU men's basketball team from taking a convincing 100-53 exhibition win over nearby Milligan College Tuesday evening.

Thriving off a total of 29 forced turnovers and 19 steals in the game, the Buccaneers rushed out to a 27-4 lead in the opening minutes and never looked back. ETSU was led by a game-high 22 points from fifth-year senior guard Travis Strong (Memphis), while sophomore guard Mike Smith (Vandalia, Mo.) pitched in 16 points and junior forward Kevin Tiggs (Flint, Mich.) added 14 in the winning cause.
           

"The intensity and the start of the game were great and I was really proud of our effort even though this was an exhibition," said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow. "This team really feeds off creating turnovers and our transition game. That was a key early because we were able to do that."

The Bucs, who are coming off a hard-fought 78-74 loss to Atlantic 10 foe Dayton in their season opener last Saturday, finished the first half with a 60-25 advantage and then coasted through the second half to finish with the 47-point win.

Along with forcing 29 turnovers and collecting 19 steals, the Bucs shot 59 percent from the floor for the game, including a 75 percent clip from the free throw line. ETSU out-rebounded Milligan 41-26 and dished out 25 assists to the Buffaloes mere 13.

For Milligan, only Isaiah Harris eclipsed the double figure scoring mark with 11 points.

The Bucs have now played their final exhibition of the year and will return to regular season action Saturday afternoon, hosting Ohio Valley Conference foe Eastern Kentucky inside Memorial Center. Tip is scheduled for 4 p.m.