Monday, November 28, 2005

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 28, 2005) - Despite what had been a rough start to the season, the ETSU men's basketball team shot a blistering 64 percent from beyond 3-point range and held Marshall to just 37 percent shooting from the floor to take a 91-63 win over the Thundering Herd in non-conference hoops action Monday night at Memorial Center.

The Buccaneers got double figure scoring from five players, including a game and career-high 20 points from freshman guard Courtney Pigram (Memphis) to grab their first win of the year and move to 1-2 on the season. ETSU will now prepare for its first-ever Atlantic Sun Conference game Thursday night against Belmont, which will be the second of three games in six days for the Bucs.

"This is a big week for us already this season and we were in desperate need of a win," said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow. "We started a bigger lineup tonight and I think we played better defensively in the zone. I think we got great energy out of a lot of guys and that should help to get us going heading into a big week."

The Bucs certainly did not waste any time early on, shooting 63 percent from the floor in the first half and 75 percent from beyond the arc to take a 47-30 lead at the intermission. Out-rebounding the Herd 20-14 before the break, ETSU scored their points in bunches, using offensive runs of 8-2, 12-0, 11-3 and 9-4 to build the advantage.

In the second half, Marshall's Tre Whitted hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 14 at 47-33, but the Bucs never allowed the Herd to get any closer. In fact, the Bucs would build their largest lead by the end of the game at 28 points, 91-63.

For the Bucs, Pigram was on fire from 3-point range, hitting on 6-of-8 from outside to net his 20 points. In addition, senior guard Tim Smith (Newport News, Va.) continued his solid offensive output with 19 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals in the game. Meanwhile, junior forward Brad Nuckles (Council, Va.) played his best game in some time with 16 points and nine rebounds, while senior forward Dillion Sneed (Chicago) and senior guard Ben Rhoda (Dayton, Ohio) pitched in 15 and 10 points, respectively.

On the boards, Nuckles was not the only Buc with nine rebounds, as Rhoda and sophomore forward Andrew Reed (Port Richey, Fla.) also had nine each. For the Herd, Mason Wooldridge led the way in the paint with six rebounds. In all, ETSU would outrebound Marshall, 41-32.

For Marshall (1-3), Joe Miles was the lone player to eclipse double figures with 15 points. The Herd shot 24 percent from 3-point range despite taking 37 shots from outside.

The Bucs return to action Thursday night against Belmont inside Memorial Center. Game time is set for 7 p.m. Meanwhile, Marshall returns home to play Maryland Eastern Shore Thursday at 7 p.m.