Saturday, December 03, 2005

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Dec. 3, 2005) - After ETSU junior guard Travis Strong (Memphis) tied the game with 7.7 seconds remaining in regulation on a foul shot, Lipscomb's Cameron Robinson rebounded teammate James Poindexter's missed 3-point attempt and put back the layup with just .1 second remaining to give the Bisons a 56-54 win Saturday in Atlantic Sun Conference play at Memorial Center.

The win marks the first in A-Sun play for Lipscomb (2-3, 1-1 A-Sun) this season, while the Bucs (1-4, 0-2 A-Sun) suffered their second-straight heartbreaking conference loss. On Thursday night, ETSU relinquished an 8-point lead with 43 seconds left in regulation and lost to Belmont 88-85 in overtime.

"We just weren't efficient enough on offense," said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow. "We knew going in they could defend by just looking at what they did against Kentucky. We have to get that rebound at the end. It's a mind set. It's toughness."

The game storyline mirrored the Belmont loss, as the Bucs built a lead of as many as 10 points in the first half and held a 29-21 advantage at the intermission. However, midway through the second half, the Bucs went cold from the field and Lipscomb took advantage with a 10-2 offensive run to take a 40-38 lead with 11:10 remaining in the game.

From there, ETSU battled back to tie the game late thanks to a 3-pointer and foul shot from Strong in the final 1:14 of the contest. However, Lipscomb was able to make the play when it mattered most with Robinson's lay up at the buzzer.

For Lipscomb, forward Eddie Ard finished with a game-high 17 points, while Poindexter posted 14. ETSU got a team-high 15 points from Strong, while senior forward Dillion Sneed (Chicago) ended with a double-double courtesy of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard Tim Smith (Newport News, Va.) also scored 10 points in the losing cause.

The Bisons only shot 31 percent from the floor, 20 percent from beyond the 3-point arc and 41 percent from the foul line, but the Bucs were equally ineffective on offense shooting 48 percent from the field, 15 percent from the 3-point line and 41.7 percent from the foul line. The main edge for Lipscomb came in the paint, where they outrebounded the Bucs 51-34 overall and a remarkable 28-9 on the offensive glass.

Foul shots certainly cost the Bucs - especially Sneed - who was 2-of-12 for the game and went 0-for-8 from the line in the second half. Most of those eight misses came in the final few minutes of the game.

ETSU will return to play on Friday, Dec. 7 on the road against ACC foe Clemson, with the tip scheduled for 7 p.m. Lipscomb will be back in action Saturday, Dec. 8 at home against Jacksonville State. For more on ETSU basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com.