ETSU (14-8, 9-2 SoCon) vs. Georgia Southern (9-13, 5-6 SoCon)

Saturday, February 10, 2001 - 3:30 p.m.

Statesboro, Ga. - Hanner Fieldhouse (4,378)

Todays Game ... ETSU is 14-8 overall, 9-2 in the Southern Conference ... ETSUs conference start is their best since beginning the 1991-92 conference campaign with a 9-2 record ... ETSU finished that season 12-2 in the SoCon and won the regular season and tournament championship ... The Bucs are 3-1 against SoCon South teams ... The Bucs have swept their season series with Appalachian State and Western Carolina ... ETSU has won 11 of its last 13 games.

An Automatic Scooter ... Senior forward Renaldo Scooter Johnson has been almost automatic over the last seven games ... In that span, Johnson is shooting 70.0 percent (35-50) from the field ... He has not shot below 50.0 percent in any contest and has cleared 80.0 percent twice ... Johnson is averaging 12.1 points and 6.4 rebounds in that span.

First Win Against College of Charleston ... For the first time in program history, the Bucs defeated College of Charleston, 62-47, on Feb. 6 ... ETSU never trailed and outrebounded the Cougars by 21 (43-22) -- its largest margin of the season ... ETSU held the Cougars to 34.0 percent from the field and 12.5 percent from 3-pt. range ... With the Bucs leading by seven (49-42) with 6:07 remaining, Dimeco Childress scored the games next eight points and scored ETSUs next 10 points to secure the win.

Similarities Over the Last Two Games ... The Bucs have held their last two opponents -- Western Carolina (Jan. 3) and College of Charleston (Jan. 6) -- to 47 points ... Both the Catamounts and Cougars scored 25 points in the first half and 22 points in the second half ... Both teams starters scored 38 points while the bench scored nine ... ETSUs starters scored 52 points against WCU and 51 against Charleston.

Streaks ... Senior Renaldo Johnson has scored in double figures in five consecutive contests ... Johnson has averaged 13.2 points and 7.4 rebounds in that span ... Junior Dimeco Childress has missed a double-double by one rebound in each of the last two games ... Against Western Carolina, Childress recorded 18 points and nine rebounds (Feb. 3) ... He had 16 points and nine rebounds against College of Charleston (Feb. 6) ... senior Adrian Meeks has scored 10 points in each of the last two games ... The Bucs have nailed at least five treys in four consecutive games.

Recipe For Success ... When the Bucs accomplish certain feats they are a tough team to beat ... ETSU is 10-2 when it outrebounds the opponent and when it holds the opponent to 39.0 percent-or-less shooting ... The Bucs are 13-2 when leading at the half ... ETSU is 7-0 when shooting 50.0 percent or higher and 8-0 when holding its opponent to 60-or-fewer points ... On an individual basis, the Bucs are 8-2 when Cliff Decoster scores in double figures and 7-1 when he leads the team in steals.

Stingy Defense ... After 22 games this season, the Bucs lead the Southern Conference in field goal percentage defense (39.4 percent) and rank second in scoring defense (63.7 ppg) ... The Bucs held Western Carolina to 25.5 percent and College of Charleston to 34.0 percent from the field ... ETSU has not allowed its opponent to convert 25-or-more field goals in 17 consecutive games ... The Bucs have allowed its opponent to shoot above 45 percent only once in the past 12 games ... After 11 Conference contests, ETSU is holding its opponent to 38.2 percent from the field.

The Double-Double Club ... Senior forward Renaldo Johnson leads the Bucs with three double-doubles this season ... His latest double-double was a 12-point, 10-rebound performance against College of Charleston (Feb. 6) ... He recorded his second double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds at UNC Greensboro (Jan. 29) ... Johnsons first double-double came when he netted 12 points and grabbed 10 boards in the 87-76 loss at Vanderbilt (Nov. 24) ... senior Adrian Meeks recorded his double-double of the season (12 points, 11 rebounds) in the Bucs 66-47 win against Furman (Jan. 20) ... junior guard Dimeco Childress entered ETSUs double-double club with a 15-point, 11-rebound performance in a 73-63 win at James Madison (Dec. 30).

A Dominating Performance ... The Bucs played an almost flawless game in defeating Western Carolina 98-47 on February 3 ... The 51-point victory was the largest in a Southern Conference game in program history ... The previous mark was 36 points in a 102-66 win against Western Carolina in 1992 ... ETSU tied a season-high with 23 assists and its 18 steals was the second highest of the season ... The Bucs nailed nine three-pointers, their most since hitting 13 against Warren Wilson on Dec. 5 ... The ETSU defense held the Catamounts to 25.5 percent from the field, the lowest by an opponent this season.

Southern Conference Leaders ... After 22 games this winter, ETSU ranks among the Southern Conference leaders in many categories ... ETSU leads the SoCon in field goal percentage defense (39.4 percent), scoring margin (+9.1) and steals/game (9.36) ... The Bucs rank second in field goal percentage (45.2), scoring defense (63.7 ppg), rebounding (39.1), rebounding margin (+5.1) and turnover margin (+2.14) ... The Bucs rank third in scoring offense (72.8 ppg).

Individual Leaders of the SoCon ... Junior Dimeco Childress ranks ninth in the Southern Conference in scoring (13.8 ppg) ... Childress ranks sixh in the 3-pt. field goals made per game (2.14) and in 3-pt. field goal percentage (38.8) ... junior Cliff Decoster ranks 13th in assists (3.05 apg) and fifth in steals (1.82 spg) ... senior Renaldo Johnson ranks second in field goal percentage (59.2 percent).

Starting Lineups ... The Bucs used the same starting lineup in the first five games and have used the same lineup in each of the last 16 contests ... Records of starting lineup: (Decoster, Childress, McDuffie, Meeks, Johnson - 1-4 / Games 1-5); (Decoster, Childress, Carson, Johnson, Seels - 1-0 / Game 6): (Decoster, Childress, Lawson, Meeks, Johnson - 12-4 / Games 7-22).

In the Southern Conference ... ETSU is 34-38 (.472) in the Southern Conference since head coach Ed DeChellis took over in 1996-97 ... The Bucs are 9-2 this winter ... ETSU opened this winters campaign with 11 consecutive non-conference games, going 5-6.

The Head Coach ... Fifth-year head coach Ed DeChellis has compiled a 63-70 (.474) record at ETSU ... He now ranks fifth all-time in victories ... Madison Brooks won 370 games from 1948-73 ... DeChellis came to Johnson City after 10 years as an assistant at Penn State University.

On the Bench ... Joining head coach Ed DeChellis and second-year assistant Hilliary Scott are two new assistant coaches for the 2000-01 season ... Tom Conrad comes to ETSU after serving the past four years as head coach at Charleston Southern ... Conrad led the Buccaneers to their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid in 1997 ... Scott Wagers also joins the staff, after serving as a high school head coach for the past nine years ... Wagers compiled a 120-24 record at Robinson High School in Tampa, Florida in his five-year tenure.

The Buccaneer Radio Network ... WJCW-AM is the flagship station of the Buccaneer Radio Network. The network will broadcast every mens basketball game and the coaches show. Chip Kessler will serve as the Voice of the Bucs.