By Brian T. Smith
Assistant Sports Editor / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: January 5, 2008

BY BRIAN T. SMITH
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Johnson City, Tenn. – The fans moaned.
And while one near the court sarcastically lamented, “Oh, we look awesome,” others screamed “Wake up!” and “Come on!”
This wasn’t how ETSU’s Atlantic Sun conference opener inside the Mini-Dome against one of the worst teams in Division I basketball was supposed to go.
What should have been a rout was instead a wake-up call.
ETSU held on to pull out a 67-60 win over University of South Carolina Upstate on Saturday afternoon before an announced crowd of 4,093.
Yet the victory wasn’t easy. It wasn’t even close to pretty. And Bucs coach Murry Bartow knew it.
“We didn’t make shots and we didn’t execute at times,” Bartow said. “Second half was a little ugly. Anytime you can get a win, you take it and you move on. You obviously have to work on things you didn’t do well. Offensively, I thought we were out of synch a little bit. We didn’t execute. Turned it over too much.”
Twenty-three times to be exact.
Add in that ETSU shot 27.8 percent (5 of 18) from the floor in the second half and connected on just 23.5 percent (4 of 17) of their 3-point attempts in the game, and it was a very rough day for the Bucs.
Bartow’s face alternated between a scowl and something worse and meaner than a scowl throughout the game.
He yelled out “Execute!” more often than he offered praise.
And 13 first-half turnovers by the Bucs (7-7, 1-0) only added to his bad day.
The Bucs’ offense lacked rhythm and flow. Fast-break possessions constantly fell apart. Mid-court plays ended in disarray. And while ETSU’s defense kept it in the game – the Bucs held the Spartans to 33.9 percent (19 of 56) shooting from the field – the Bucs’ offense sputtered.
“I think they got us playing their game out there,” said ETSU sophomore guard Mike Smith, who scored 13 points, grabbed five rebounds and had three blocks. “We didn’t get many transition points, didn’t get many deflections … we had a lot of turnovers.”
Andrew Reed scored a team-high 14 points (7-of-9 shooting) and collected seven rebounds for the Bucs, while Travis Strong added 10 points and Courtney Pigram scored 11 (1-of-10 shooting, five turnovers).
Jeremy Byrd led USCU with 14 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block.
ETSU was up 19-8 with 11 minutes, 57 seconds remaining in the first half when the Spartans came to life.
USCU began to beat the Bucs to loose balls and dominate the battle in the paint. And as the Spartans alternated between a man-to-man and 2-3 zone defense, ETSU went cold.
The Bucs then took a 39-27 advantage into halftime against a Spartans squad that fell to Bluefield (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) 93-77 on Dec. 15.
The second half only got worse for ETSU.
A 3-pointer from the right wing by Spartans guard Rashawn Brailsford made it 45-42 ETSU with 9:55 to go.
As USCU’s bench erupted, the Bucs’ looked completely stunned.
The Spartans did not go away.
A 3-pointer from the left wing by Strong with 5:15 remaining was followed by a 10-foot jump shot by Brailsford.
And when a smooth pull-up floater in the lane by Spartans guard Luke Payne rimmed in, it was 55-49.
Smith and Pigram said they knew little about USCU before the game started.
It showed.
The Bucs’ frustration then rammed into the ceiling when a layup attempt by Pigram was blocked, and the ball became stuck between the rim and the glass.
Meanwhile, ETSU junior forward Kevin Tiggs – who came into the contest averaging 15.2 points and shooting 58.2 percent from the field – was held to nine points as the ball seldom touched his hands. It was the second consecutive game that Tiggs has looked out of place in the Bucs’ offense.
“Well, it’s something we’ve got to address. Because he needs to get touches, he needs to get us 18 to 20 [points] a game,” Bartow said. “And I think some of it is us. I think some of it is on the player, you know?”
USCU outscored the Bucs 33-28 in the second half.
ETSU’s second-half points total tied a season-low – the Bucs were previously held to 28 points in the second period in losses to Oklahoma State and Saint Mary’s.
ETSU takes on Atlantic Sun foe Campbell at 7 p.m. on Thursday inside the Mini-Dome.
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ETSU 67, USCU 60
USCU (2-13, 0-1) – BYRD, Jeremy 5-9 2-3 14; UZOCHUKWU, Mezie 3-7 5-7 11; PAYNE, Luke 2-13 6-7 11; DAVIS, Bobby 4-8 2-3 10; BRAILSFORD, Rashawn 3-8 0-0 7; BOROS, Gabor 1-6 0-0 3; PRESTON, Matt 1-1 0-1 2; HOUSER, Justin 0-3 2-2 2; CHAVIS, Josh 0-1 0-0 0; SCHNEIDERS, Nick 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-56 17-23 60.
ETSU (7-7, 1-0) – REED, Andrew 7-9 0-0 14; SMITH, Mike 3-4 6-8 13; STRONG, Travis 2-7 6-8 11;PIGRAM, Courtney 1-10 7-8 10; TIGGS, Kevin 3-7 3-3 9; DAVIS, Jocolby 1-2 2-4 5; SWADER, Kenyona 1-5 1-2 3; HUBBARD, Tommy 1-2 0-0 2; WILLIAMS, Micah 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-46 25-33 67.
USCU 27 33–60
ETSU 39 28–67
3-point goals–USCU 5-28 (BYRD, Jeremy 2-5; PAYNE, Luke 1-9; BOROS, Gabor
1-6; BRAILSFORD, Rashawn 1-6; HOUSER, Justin 0-1; CHAVIS, Josh 0-1); ETSU
4-17 (DAVIS, Jocolby 1-2; SMITH, Mike 1-1; PIGRAM, Courtney 1-4; STRONG,
Travis 1-4; SWADER, Kenyona 0-4; TIGGS, Kevin 0-1; REED, Andrew 0-1). Fouled
out–USCU-DAVIS, Bobby; ETSU-REED, Andrew; TIGGS, Kevin. Rebounds–USCU 35 (DAVIS, Bobby 11), ETSU 36 (REED, Andrew 7). Assists–USCU 10 (BYRD, Jeremy 3), ETSU 9 (PIGRAM, Courtney 4). Total fouls–USCU 23, ETSU 25. Technical
fouls–USCU-None, ETSU-None. A–4093