Tuesday, January 16, 2001

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) - Jerald Fields scored 14 points and Cliff Decoster added 12 as East Tennessee defeated Appalachian State 61-56 Monday night.

East Tennessee (9-7, 4-1 Southern Conference) jumped ahead 8-0 capped with a 3-pointer by D.J. McDuffy. The Buccaneers led by as many as 13 in the first half.

East Tennessee never trailed, but the Mountaineers (4-14, 1-4) made it interesting after the break. They cut the Buccaneer lead to as few as three points, 46-43, after a 15-3 run. A jumper by Charles Dearmon closed out the stretch with 8:40 to go.

The Buccaneers led by only three with five seconds to go, but free throws by D.J. McDuffie and Jerald Fields pushed East Tennessee's lead to five.

Renaldo Johnson and McDuffy both added 11 points for the Buccaneers.

Donald Payne led Appalachian State with 12 points and Josh Shehan had 10.