The ETSU men’s basketball team didn’t quite pass its test this weekend. The Bucs defeated Lipscomb on Friday and then lost to first place Belmont on Sunday afternoon. Friday, the Bucs slipped past Lipscomb 68-67 despite a 27-point effort by Lipscomb guard Josh Slater. The Bucs did however hold conference leading scorer Adnan Hodzic (19.3 ppg) to only 14 points on eight field-goal attempts.

The Bucs were led by Senior guard Mike Smith who finished with 20 points and seven rebounds.

With the victory the Bucs sat alone in second place, only one game behind the Belmont Bruins, with a chance to tie for first. But the chance was lost as the Bruins came into the Mini Dome and defeated the Bucs 72-62 on Sunday afternoon in front of a rowdy crowd of 4,299.

The game only had one lead change, and that was when Belmont jumped ahead of the Bucs 5-3 with 15:25 left in the first half. Jon House hit a two-pointer. That would be a common theme, as he would lead the Bruins in scoring with 17 points. The Bruins played 12 players, and 10 of those players scored. Belmont’s bench outscored ETSU 29-2

The Bucs were led by senior guard Micah Williams who finished the game with 22 points, with 17 of those coming in the second half.

The Bucs went on a 12-2 run in the second half, but were unable to gain the lead after being tied 52-52 with 8:50 left.

The Bucs were without the services of senior guard Justin Tubbs, who sprained his ankle against Lipscomb. They resume play on Tuesday night against USC Upstate, and could be without forward Isiah Brown who hurt his ankle late in the second half against Belmont.

Head coach Murry Bartow said he hoped that his team would be able to bounce back on Tuesday, calling it a “classic trap game” due to the drain of this weekend’s games.

With the loss, the Bucs still sit alone in second place in the Atlantic Sun at 8-2. Belmont has now beaten every team in the A-Sun and are 10-0.

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