The ETSU men’s basketball once again had a very successful regular season that unfortunately ended much sooner than it would have liked.
The Bucs dropped their Southern Conference quarterfinal matchup with the College of Charleston, 76-75, in overtime last Friday night.
It is the second consecutive year that ETSU has lost their opening game of the SoCon tournament after finishing first in the North Division. The loss, however, should not diminish what this season’s team did accomplish and overcome.
It should also not take anything away from the careers of seniors Dimeco Childress and Jon Perry.
ETSU began this season with high expectations after last year’s surprising league-best 13-3 record, but had to overcome the loss of two starters before the Bucs even started their SoCon schedule.
Cliff Decoster and Cory Seels left the team due to illness and injuries which caused the Bucs to alter their starting lineup, making the team not as deep as had been expected. It also added some pressure to Childress.
ETSU began the conference schedule 3-5, losing four on the road and having its 18-game home winning streak snapped, but the Bucs did not roll over or feel sorry for themselves, instead they responded to the adversity with an eight-game winning streak. Childress led the charge, establishing himself as the best player in the conference.
During the streak, Childress not only secured the Southern Conference Player of the Year award, but also climbed all the way into the top 10 of the ETSU all-time scoring list. The Buccaneer senior made his final game at home in the Mini-Dome one to remember, scoring a career-high and Memorial Center record 42 points.
But Childress was not the only one who stepped up for the Bucs. Forwards Zakee Wadood and Jerald Fields asserted themselves as two of the top post players in the conference with Fields setting a Buccaneer single-season record for blocks and Wadood leading the conference in rebounding.
The ETSU backcourt also knew it would have to pick up some of the slack with junior Ryan Lawson taking over point-guard duties for the Buccaneers. Lawson not only showed that he could lead the team from the point guard spot, but showed he could score when needed as evident of his 32-point performance at Western Carolina on Feb. 4.
Lawson also proved himself to be one of the top free-throw shooters in ETSU history, shooting 93.2 percent from the line and missing only five free throws all year.
Also in the backcourt, freshman Tiras Wade stepped into the starting lineup and provided the Bucs with big baskets and offensive and defensive rebounds at key moments during the streak. Wade also averaged over 11 points and four rebounds per game and was named to the SoCon all-freshman team.
Behind the scenes, Perry – the team’s other senior – helped Childress with the vocal part of the leadership role that was left vacant with the loss of Decoster. Perry was there every game and practice encouraging the team and trying to teach the younger players what it takes to win in the league.
Even though the season may not have ended the way ETSU had hoped – with an NCAA tournament berth – it was a successful season nonetheless. The Bucs racked up numerous SoCon awards with Childress’ Player of the Year honor, head coach Ed DeChellis was named Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season, Wade made the SoCon freshman team and Childress and Wadood were named to the all-conference team.
The Bucs will lose both Childress and Perry to graduation and both will be missed for what they did contribute to the team’s success. ETSU will, however, return the rest of the team, including four in the starting lineup which should put the Bucs back in the thick of the SoCon race again next season.

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