ETSU remained undefeated at home with an 87-81 win over The Citadel on Saturday.
The win was the Bucs 11th straight at home and moved them to 8-6 overall and 2-1 in the Southern Conference.
It didn’t come easy, however, as the Bulldogs fought back from double-digit deficit and upped their season average by 13 points.
“Every time we’re on the verge of putting someone away we shoot ourselves in the foot and do something foolish,” ETSU head coach Ed DeChellis said. “I don’t know if we’re running into hot shooters or making them hot.”
Citadel’s senior guard Clyde Wormley hit six 3-pointers and finished with 23 points. He hasn’t scored more than 17 this season.
“We played hard,” Bulldogs coach Pat Dennis said. “There were some very questionable calls down the stretch, but that’s life on the road.
“They were picked to win the conference, and we were picked last. When we take them to the wire, that’s pretty good for us.”
Dennis received a technical early in the game after a play that he called “ridiculous” among other things.
The Bucs never trailed in the game and had four players in double figures.
“I’m proud of the fact we never let them grab the lead,” said DeChellis. “We kept playing, playing, playing and didn’t look over our shoulders.”
Tiras Wade led Buc scoring with 19 points and was a perfect 9-9 from the foul line.
Wade dislocated his middle finger on his left hand early in the second half, but returned to game and was able to tack a few more points onto the final.
“I think I shot better with the dislocated finger.” Wade said. “I was 2-for-2 (from 3-point range) in the second half.”
Tim Smith and Zakee Wadood each scored 16 points. Wadood pulled down a game-high nine rebounds and blocked three shots.
Smith said the outside shots were what hurt most.
“We were trying to get the knockout punch and they kept hitting threes,” Smith said.
After two conference games the freshman now has a taste of SoCon action.
“I didn’t know this conference would be like this,” he said. “Every game is going to be a fight.”
Ryan Lawson added 12 points and Jerald Fields, who was listed as probable for the game, had nine. Fields also blocked four shots, including two 3-point attempts.
The Bulldogs trailed by nine points with a few minutes to go before the halftime break. But rallied with two 3-pointers to bring the score within three points at 40-37.
Gregg Jones netted 16 points in the loss and Erick Wilson scored 15. Terry Dante also posted double-figures with 10.
Jones had a game-high five blocked shots.
The Bucs host the College of Charleston tonight at 7:30. The game will be televised on CSS. The Cougars were upset by Chattanooga on Saturday 78-68.
NOTES: ETSU continues to lead the nation in steals with 174 and now averages 14.5 per game. The Bucs added nine steals in the win over The Citadel.
Foul shots also played a big role in the game. ETSU totaled 19 fouls and the Citadel got called for 28 of theirs. The Bucs were 28-39 from the foul line, connecting on their first 13 tries, while the Bulldogs were 16-19. ETSU was only 5-for-12 in the last three minutes.
The Bulldogs had three players foul out in the last five minutes.

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