Tuesday, December 28, 2004

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Dec. 28, 2004) - East Tennessee State basketball fans will be treated to a late Christmas gift on Thursday night, Dec. 30, as the Buccaneers road game with the Memphis Tigers will be televised locally on Tri-Cities UPN (WAPK).

The live broadcast will air at 8 p.m. (EST) and will be carried throughout the Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia area. ETSU is 3-3 all-time against Memphis, having won the last meeting between the two schools - a 105-102 overtime thriller in 1991.

Having suffered through a string of injuries and inconsistent play early on this season, the Buccaneers are currently 4-6 and looking to turn things around following the Christmas break. The Bucs have done just that the past two years, as ETSU has started slowly but rebounded for strong finishes in January and February. The Bucs are a combined 13-9 in November and December the last two seasons, only to finish the two campaigns a combined 34-9.

ETSU will play at Appalachian State on Jan. 5 before returning home to host Furman on Jan. 8 at Memorial Center. The game with the Paladins will tip at 2 p.m. and will also be broadcast live on Fox SportsNet South.