JOHNSON CITY (Nov. 19, 2011) – Junior guard Marcus Dubose (Hartsville, S.C.) scored a career high and game high 27 points, and three other ETSU players reached double figures scoring as the Buccaneers dropped non-conference foe Troy 81-71 in men’s basketball action Saturday afternoon inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center.

A crowd of 3,005 looked on as the Buccaneers improved to 2-1 on the season, while the Trojans dropped to 1-2. Along with Dubose, senior guard Tommy Hubbard finished with a double-double thanks to his 13 points and 10 rebounds, while junior guard Jarvis Jones (Memphis) pitched in 14 points and senior post Isiah Brown (Miami, Fla.) added 11. Senior guard Adam Sollazzo (Tampa) contributed to the effort with a season-high 11 assists.

“Marcus Dubose was just super today,” said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow, whose team will now go on a six-game road swing beginning Tuesday night at Charlotte. “I thought our defensive pressure was really good again tonight. Offensively, Adam was great with his 11 assists, Tommy had another double-double, and Jarvis showed what he can do scoring the basketball.

“Troy can be a very explosive team, so we were very happy with this win. It’s a good one.”

As they had done in their previous game against Appalachian State, the Bucs’ fullcourt pressure helped them bolt out to a 14-4 lead just four minutes into the contest. From there, Troy was able to get back to within four at 16-12, before ultimately trailing 48-36 at the break.

In the second half, a 10-4 run made it 56-38 in favor of the Bucs with 17 minutes left in the game, and ETSU would build their advantage to as many as 25 at 75-50 with 8:03 remaining. However, Troy used a late 14-2 run to make it 77-64, only to see the rally run out of steam, as the Bucs capped the game at 81-71.

For Troy, R.J. Scott led the way with 15 points, while Nic Combs added 10.

Offensively, Troy held a 46-41 edge on the boards and grabbed an impressive 22 offensive rebounds. Meanwhile, the Bucs forced Troy into 17 turnovers on 12 steals, and ETSU finished the game shooting 48 percent from the floor and 40 percent from 3-point range (8-of-20).

ETSU’s defense held Troy to just 36 percent shooting from the floor and 33 percent from 3-point range. The Bucs also dished out 16 assists and committed just 12 turnovers.

The Bucs will return to action on Tuesday evening, traveling to Charlotte to take on the 49ers at 7:30 p.m. ETSU will not play in the Dome again for a month, returning to face Milligan on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m.

For more on ETSU men’s basketball throughout the 2011-12 season, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s hoops link.