BY BRIAN T. SMITH
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Johnson City, Tenn. – Jocolby Davis spent the first half of this season fighting for recognition and a consistent spot in East Tennessee State’s starting lineup.
Davis can stop fighting.
He’s earned it.
“He’s aggressive,” said Buccaneers coach Murry Bartow. “We’ve told him to try and get us eight or nine assists a game if he can. Score if it’s there, but just be an attack guy and get to the paint. He’s a hard guy to keep out of the paint … he’s doing a nice job right now.”
Davis, a 6-foot-1 junior point guard who transferred from Georgia Perimeter Community College, was a sparkplug for ETSU on Sunday afternoon.
He consistently mixed quick, agile moves with streamlined passes. And Davis’ ability in the first half to thread North Florida’s interior defense and find Buc teammates waiting open-handed on the perimeter keyed ETSU’s 92-68 win over the Ospreys inside the Memorial Center before an announced crowd of 3,562
The Bucs have now won three consecutive Atlantic Sun conference contests and are 6-2 in their last eight games.
“I’m just being more aggressive,” said Davis, who scored two points, dished out a team-high four assists and added two rebounds and a block. “I attack, find the open spot, and look for my shooters. I know they’re gonna come through for me and make big shots.”
Kenyona Swader poured in a game- and season-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Bucs (11-9, 5-2), while Travis Strong added 18 points and Kevin Tiggs recorded 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Stan Januska scored a team-high 17 points for UNF (1-18, 0-7).
Strong and Swader were the main beneficiaries of Davis’ selfless offerings. The duo combined to hit 54.5 percent (6 of 11) of their 3-point attempts, while ETSU shot 43.1 percent (28 of 65) from the field for the game and hit 80 percent (28 of 35) of its free throw attempts.
“Jocolby’s a real good point guard, a real good penetrator,” Strong said. “He keeps his head up and really sees the floor well. He gets us all going.”
Meanwhile, the Ospreys hit just 14.3 percent (2 of 14) of their 3-point attempts and provided ETSU with 24 second-chance points.
The Bucs’ offense found early success inside the paint. Andrew Reed (12 points) and Swader scored 10 of ETSU’s first 11 points, and all their baskets came within five feet of the goal.
A short-range jump shot by Reed gave the Bucs an 11-7 advantage with 15:35 remaining in the first half.
Yet ETSU’s interior defense was just as porous in the early going. North Florida pulled within 13-12 when Kyle Groothuis knocked down a layup, was fouled, and hit a free throw to complete a three-point play.
Davis, Strong and Swader then helped ETSU build its first substantial lead.
Davis’ quick first step off the dribble allowed him to exploit the Ospreys’ zone defense, and he consistently kicked out to Strong and Swader on the perimeter.
“Attack, attack, attack – that’s all the coaches tell me to do,” Davis said.
A deep 3 from the top of the key by Strong made it 28-16 Bucs with 6:35 remaining in the first half.
ETSU took a 48-32 lead into halftime.
The Bucs then stretched their advantage to 57-35 with 14:35 to go in the second half when Reed sprinted down the court to block an Ospreys dunk attempt, ETSU recovered the loose ball, and Strong hit a 3 from the left wing seconds later.
“Kenyona and Travis are really giving us an incredible lift right now,” Bartow said. “Kenyona’s playing great; Travis is shooting the ball great. Kenyona’s probably playing the best he’s ever played.”
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