Wednesday, November 21, 2001

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn -- East Tennessee State senior guard Dimeco Childress (Columbia, Tenn.) came just one point shy of a career high, scoring 29 points, but it was not enough to stop Virginia Commonwealth University, as the Rams defeated the Bucs 79-71. VCU came out on a 12-2 run to start the game and led by as many as 13 (20-7) with 14:11 left in the first half. But East Tennessee clawed back into the game, led almost single-handedly by Childress. Dimeco scored 21 points in the first half, hitting 8-of-12 shots from the floor and 4-of-6 from three-point range. The Bucs took the lead at 27-25 with 8:51 left in the half and entered the locker room with a 37-35 advantage. The score remained close throughout the first eight minutes of the second half before VCU went on a 9-0 run to go from two points down (44-46) to seven points up (53-46) at the 11:39 mark. Willie had four points and Taylor three during that stretch. The Buccaneers would get as close as four points (74-70) on a trey by Zakee Wadood (Lonoke, Ark.) with 1:43 left, but the Rams hit all five of their free throws in the final minute to seal the win. Childress shot 10-17 for the night, 5-8 from three-point range. Wadood scored 16 points on 6-13 shooting and 2-3 from behind the arc. He also added a game-high eight rebounds. The Bucs return to action as they face South Carolina on Monday, Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m. from Columbia, S.C.