With an 11-man rotation and the rust shaken off, the ETSU men’s basketball team came prepared into Saturday’s exhibition game against Mars Hill.
After their first exhibition against Milligan on Nov. 1, Bucs coach Murry Bartow and his players expressed disappointment about some of their efforts, despite posting a 23-point victory margin.
“In the first game we were kind of uptight,” said senior guard Courtney Pigram. “This week we came out as a team, plus we got a few key guys back.”
The rejuvenated Buccaneers combined explosive offense and a solid defensive effort to win the game 100-73. Although they allowed more points from Mars Hill than they had Milligan, Bartow remained pleased with his team’s performance on defense.
“I thought we defended pretty well,” Bartow said. “They did get to 73 points, but it was over a 90 possession game.”
Defensively, the Bucs held Mars Hill to just 39.7 percent from the field, and soundly won the rebound battle 56-34. A bulk of ETSU’s rebounds came from freshman forward Seth Coy, who received a standing ovation as he took his first steps into the game. Coy, who was held out of the Milligan game due to injury, posted 12 rebounds and 11 points in 15 minutes of play.
“I practiced against a lot of bigger kids growing up,” Coy said about his rebounding. “I just wanted to get in good position, and that’s what I’ve done.”
“He’s getting a lot done,” Bartow said of Coy. “He can chase the ball down to get rebounds from his area, which is a little unusual for his size.”
Along with a solid rebounding performance, the Bucs were also able to force 23 turnovers, with 16 of those being steals. Tommy Hubbard, who also did not play in the Milligan game due to injury, led the team with four steals.
“It was a joy to come back and play with the guys,” Hubbard said. “(The Lions) stopped looking for me, so that’s how I got more into the flow of the game.”
In addition to his steals, Hubbard added nine points and seven rebounds.
Offensively, the Buccaneers had five players to score in double digits. Pigram led the game in scoring, posting 25 points on 62 percent shooting. In addition to Coy’s 11, sophomore Micah Williams scored 10, senior Kevin Tiggs had 14, and freshman Jarvis Jones scored 13.
“I tried to let the game come to me,” Jones said. “I just went out and tried to play hard every possession.”
Bartow’s lone criticism of his team’s performance was ball handling. The Bucs turned the ball over 20 times, five more than they had against Milligan.
“We had way too many turnovers,” Bartow said. “It’s still a major concern.”
The Mars Hill game was the second and final exhibition game for the Buccaneers before the start of the regular season. Bartow admitted that he has not yet decided on a starting lineup or rotation.
“We’ve got some decisions to make,” Bartow said. “I can see us certainly playing nine guys pretty easily.”
The Bucs open their season against Temple in the Charleston Classic, in Charleston, S.C., on Nov. 14. Their first home game will be against Wingate on Nov. 20.

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