Saturday, January 27, 2001

BOONE, N.C. (AP) -- Forward Dimeco Childress scored a team-high 19 points as East Tennessee State beat Appalachian State 72-67 on Saturday.

The win, East Tennessee's seventh straight, gave the Buccaneers (12-7, 7-1 Southern Conference) their longest win streak since the 1991-92 season. The Mountaineers (6-15, 3-5) saw their two-game winning streak snapped.

All five Buccaneers starters scored in double figures. Childress led the way by hitting 7 of 11 field-goal attempts. Renaldo Johnson and Cliff Decoster each scored 12 points, while Adrian Meeks and Ryan Lawson each added 10.

The teams, which traded the lead 21 times in the game, were tied at 58 with 4:36 to play in the game before the Bucs went on a 9-2 run to take control. The Buccaneers hit their last three field-goal attempts while stopping the Mountaineers on their next five possessions to take a 67-60 lead with less than a minute to play.

Junior guard Charles Dearmon scored 19 points off the bench to lead the Mountaineers. Jonathan Butler added 17 points.