When Murry Bartow described his ETSU team Monday, he said they had what Clark Kellog called “spurtability.”
As the Bucs won their 10th straight Southern Conference game 86-65 at Memorial Center, they held UNC-Greensboro to 37 percent shooting in possibly the best defensive showing for ETSU all season.
“Probably the thing that stands out most to me is out-rebounding them (UNC-G) by 20 rebounds,” said Bartow of ETSU’s 55 grabbed rebounds. “We really stressed defense throughout the year and talked about it a great deal this week.”
The Bucs (18-4, 10-0 SoCon) kept a tight reign on the Spartans, holding them to 21 first-half points and shooting 30 percent from the floor. James Anthony stepped up defensively again to hold the Spartans’ top scorer, Jay Joseph, to only two points before the half. Anthony led the team in three-point field goals with three and 15 points.
“I just think we are playing better and better as the year goes on,” Anthony said. We took the lead tonight and didn’t let them get back into it. We’re a second half team, and we just go out there and have fun.”
Every time UNC-G (6-13, 3-6 SoCon) would pull close to ETSU, the Bucs would hit a spurt. The Spartans aimed to do so in the first half, pulling within three points at 16-13, but then the Bucs started a 12-0 run on a Zakee Wadood basket that took him to the foul line.
The Spartans pulled within 11 points midway through the second half, but two Anthony three-pointers squelched the UNC-G comeback.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well,’ said Spartans head coach Fran McCaffery. “Every time we tried to get something going, ETSU would get an offensive rebound and score.”
Tim Smith and Brad Nuckles each scored double-doubles. Smith, a 5-foot-9 guard, grabbed 10 rebounds and scored 14.
“We are looking better and better every night,” Smith said. “We capitalized on the lead and took it further and further out.”
Outscoring the Spartans 51-44 in the second half, most everyone was involved in the attack. Five players scored in double figures, with Wadood leading the way with 22 points and nine rebounds. Travis Strong and Michael Tolliver came off the bench to combine for nine points coming off a three-pointers.
” Brad Nuckles was huge for us and Timmy having 10 rebounds is pretty unusual for us, said Bartow. “Zakee really carried us in the first half. Anytime you get a conference win by 21 points, it’s good.”
But the Bucs’ tenth win was not the only big news of the day. ESPN announced Monday that ETSU would face Fresno State on Bracket Buster Saturday.
Fresno State, (10-8) and ranked 82nd in the RPI, will play ETSU in California on Feb. 21.
“It’s a great challenge for our team,” said Bartow. “Fresno State is a nationally known team. One of the best parts about it for us is that it will be televised in some form or another.”
“We also like the fact that we get Fresno State back here next year. A big part of what we are trying to do is improve our home schedule.”
This is the second year of Bracket Busters. It’s only open to teams that have past achievements in NCAA tournaments, such as playing higher-seeded teams down to the wire, as the Bucs did with Wake Forest last year in the opening round of the NCAA men’s tournament.
The Bucs will face Appalachian State (7-14, 3-6 SoCon) at home Saturday at 4 p.m.

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