Mike Smith and Micah Williams were able to carry the Bucs to a third straight win Monday night against the resilient Mercer Bears.Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman had some interesting words to say about Smith after the game.

“Mike Smith was un-stinking-believable . Micah Williams was outstanding,” said Hoffman. “Those two guys set the tone. You couldn’t give them a crack at a shot or they’d make it.”

Smith’s 28 points was his second career-high in two consecutive games. This is his final season in an ETSU uniform and he clearly intends to make the most of it.

“It’s our last year here and we want to finish out right . we don’t want to lose any more ball games,” Smith said.

Smith set the pace right off the bat for the Bucs scoring the first five points with drives to the lane. Williams also got into the action very quickly with a couple of deep 3-pointers. Not to be outdone, Mercer nailed two from behind the arc within the first three minutes.

It wasn’t all good news early for Mercer. Senior forward Brandon Moore went down early to a knee injury. According to Hoffman, Moore was already playing with a knee injury. The Bears had already lost another starting senior, Jeff Smith, for the season. Despite the injury, Mercer was able to hang with ETSU for most of the first half. Every time ETSU went on a run that had the potential to blow the game open, Mercer would bounce right back.

Junior forward Justin Cecil kept his team in the game with incredible accuracy from behind the line. Although Cecil was averaging only 3.7 points on the season, he hit three of four 3-point shots in the first half to keep his team close at 38-34.

The second half started out much like the first. Though the physicality of the game was evident throughout, it escalated as soon as the teams stepped back out after the break. Bucs’ junior forward Isiah Brown picked up two quick personal fouls, then a technical within the first three minutes. The resulting free throws tied the game for Mercer at the 16 minute mark.

“Isiah’s a real energy guy. He bounces around and sometimes he can pick up quick fouls,” Bartow said after the game. “I couldn’t get him out of the game quick enough.”

In the absence of Brown though, other players emerged. Senior guard Justin Tubbs saw his first action since his ankle roll against Lipscomb. After missing a couple shots early, Tubbs provided a couple of big shots down the stretch that helped the team run away. Tubbs finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.

“What I keep telling him is to just keep shooting,” said Bartow. “He’s streaky. He might miss five in a row but he might make five in a row.”

The Bucs really put the game out of reach late in the second half when they went on a 16-4 run that included nine straight points by Williams.

With only seven games left in the A-Sun, it’s no secret what ETSU has to do.

“We just gotta keep winning,” said Bartow. “It’s not going to be easy, but we have to win them all.

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