JOHNSON CITY (Dec. 19, 2011) – Junior guard Marcus Dubose (Hartsville, S.C.) scored a game-high 20 points and senior guard Adam Sollazzo (Tampa) pitched in 18 as the ETSU men’s basketball team cruised to an 83-43 win over Milligan College in non-conference hoops action Monday evening inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center.

Along with Dubose and Sollazzo, junior guard Jarvis Jones (Memphis) added 14 points in the winning effort, as the Buccaneers improved to 5-5 on the season. Meanwhile, the Buffaloes (4-7 overall) got a team-high 14 points from Tyler DeVault.

“I thought overall we did some good things, and it was good to be back in the Dome in front of our home fans,” said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow, whose team just concluded a six-game road stretch. “Marcus looked really good out there and it was nice to see him get back in the groove. Jarvis shot it well again tonight and Adam looked good out there too. It was a good game for us heading into Friday.”

The Bucs, who will take on in-state SEC rival Tennessee at 7 p.m. Friday night, will be looking for their first win over the Volunteers since Nov. 25, 1991.

After Milligan managed to tie the game at 2-2, ETSU dominated the rest of the first half. In all, the Bucs would outscore the Buffs 49-17 before the intermission, shooting 47 percent from the field and 44 percent from beyond the 3-point line.

It was the ETSU defense that made the lop-sided half possible, as the Bucs forced 14 turnovers on six steals and held Milligan to just 26 percent shooting from the floor.

In the second half, the two teams basically traded baskets with ETSU ultimately outscoring the Buffs 34-26 and finishing with the 40-point victory. The Bucs enjoyed a 32-18 edge on points in the paint and outscored the Buffs 21-8 off turnovers.

For the game, senior forward Tommy Hubbard (Boston) led the Bucs attack on the glass, grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds and helping ETSU to a 54-32 advantage in that statistical category. ETSU also improved at the foul line on this night, shooting 73 percent from the charity stripe.

ETSU forced 20 turnovers for the game on nine steals, and blocked seven shots.

The Bucs will return to action on Friday night in Knoxville. For more on the Bucs throughout the season, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s hoops link.