Despite the continuance of poor shooting from the free throw line and poor shooting from the field the Bucs still emerged from Monday night’s contest against Davidson with a 59-55 victory.
The Bucs shot just 32 percent from the field and 44 percent from the free throw line, but made key shots when they needed and improved their record to 7-7 overall and 2-1 in the conference.
“We didn’t shot the ball well, but the bottom line is we won,” ETSU Head Basketball Coach Ed DeChellis said. “Our guys reacted and did what we had to to win, we made key shots when we needed to.”
The Bucs got two important free throws from Senior D.J. McDuffie with 15 seconds left that gave them a 58-55 lead, McDuffie’s lone points in the game.
After a desperation shot by Davidson’s Peter Anderer, Sophomore Ryan Lawson grabbed the rebound and made the first of two free throws to seal the game for the Bucs.
Lawson led the Bucs with 17 points and nine rebounds in a team high 32 minutes of action.
“He’s been up and down all season, but he stepped up and played well,” DeChellis said. “He’s played well in all the games we’ve won on the road. He’s made perimeter shots and played well defensively.”
The Bucs also received a strong night by Renaldo Johnson, who scored 15 points on 7-11 shooting and grabbed five rebounds in 26 minutes.
DeChellis was pleased with his team’s defensive play and the way they rebounded the ball, as they grabbed 45 rebounds as a team with 19 of them offensive, to help overcome their poor shooting night.
“I’m not happy with our offense continuity wise, but I am happy with our rebounding,” DeChellis said. “I like our team’s cohesiveness, they enjoy playing together and being together and that will help us win the close games.”
The Bucs will be back in action at 7 p.m. Saturday when they travel to Western Carolina.
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