ETSU Beats Kennesaw State, While Lady Vols Fall

In need of a confidence boost and looking to get his ETSU men's basketball team back on the winning track, senior guard Courtney Pigram (Memphis) responded to the fans' pregame chants of "Let's go, CP!" by scoring a game-high 16 points and dishing out seven assists in the Buccaneers 81-46 win over Kennesaw State Thursday night inside Memorial Center.

The crowd of 3,149 was treated to one of the Bucs' best performances of the season, as they shot 49 percent from the floor and held the Owls to just 26 percent shooting. ETSU improved to 19-10 overall, 13-6 in A-Sun play, while Kennesaw State fell to 7-21, 3-16.

"First, I want to thank the fans for staying with me and standing behind us as a team," said Pigram, who has now scored 1,934 points in his career. "I got a lot of e-mails this week from the fans and having the signs all over the Dome really meant a lot to me. Hitting that first shot relieved a lot of stress. Now I'm just ready to play like I can and keep it rolling."

ETSU head coach Murry Bartow was glad to see his two-time All A-Sun first teamer get back to playing well.

"I thought the crowd really got behind him and he broke out - which was good to see," Bartow said. "I think we did a lot of good things tonight and we had a good practice yesterday, so I think there's a lot of spirit left in this team. We've had a lot of close losses the last couple of games on the road, but I think this showed there's still a lot of fight in this team."

After several tough games shooting the basketball, Pigram looked more relaxed on a night when the ETSU fans began chanting his name even before the tip. The senior led all scorers with 10 point in the first half, going 4-of-10 from the field in the first 20 minutes and helping stake the Bucs to a 34-25 halftime lead.

The Bucs defensive effort was also stellar in the first half as ETSU's fullcourt press attack was initiated from the outset and held the Owls to just 29 percent shooting the first half. Meanwhile, the Bucs hit on 47 percent from the field and outrebounded Kennesaw State 20-14.

In the second half, the Bucs only turned up the heat and outscored the Owls 47-21 to leave no doubt about the game's ultimate outcome. For the game, the Bucs outrebounded KSU 47-31 and forced 21 turnovers on 12 steals.

Along with Pigram's 16, ETSU got 13 points from freshman guard Jarvis Jones (Memphis), while freshman Adam Sollazzo (Tampa) and senior forward Kevin Tiggs (Flint, Mich.) pitched in 11 apiece.

For Kennesaw State, only one player reached double figures with Kurtis Woods scored 12 to lead the Owls.

ETSU will return to action Saturday, as the team plays its final regular season home game of the year against Mercer. Tip is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the team will be celebrating Senior Day for Pigram, Tiggs and senior forward Greg Hamlin (Flint, Mich.).

Typically it has been the second half where the Lady Bucs dominate this season, but on Thursday night it was the exact opposite.

Junior guard Siarre Evans (Griffin, Ga.) posted her sixth straight double-double and a 41-point first half performance was just enough to hold off a physical and scrappy Kennesaw State team 73-66 inside Memorial Center.

Evans finished the game with 26 points, 12 rebounds and a career-tying six steals. Now in seven games this month the Griffin, Ga. native has averaged 21.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.4 steals in 34.6 minutes of work.

The win marked ETSU’s fifth straight and moved the Lady Bucs into a tie for first-place with Florida Gulf Coast (currently in progress at Campbell). ETSU pushed its record to 18-9, 16-3 in A-Sun, while Kennesaw State had its four-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 15-13, 11-8. Should FGCU win at Campbell, the Lady Bucs need to win Saturday afternoon against Mercer to earn a share of the regular season crown.

“We came out focused and ready to play early on,” commented head coach Karen Kemp, whose team knocked off Kennesaw State for the seventh straight time. “When we were down there in mid-December, we didn’t feel like we played well, so our focus was to come out and take control early. Hopefully we can continue to take command like that during the rest of this season.”

“Siarre is such a winner and competitor,” added Kemp. “Every night she steps out on the floor she is going to give it everything she has. After our win at Upstate the other night, I told the team Siarre put them on her back and she is capable of doing so at any given moment. In my mind she is the best player in the league.”

Scoring is what Evans did early as the Lady Bucs grabbed the opening tip and she drove in for the first two points of the game. After that bucket, ETSU grabbed the momentum by holding Kennesaw State to only one field goal for the first nine minutes and thirty-three seconds of the game, and the Lady Bucs held a 20-3 advantage after Evans nailed a 3-pointer with 10:27 to play in the half.

However, Kennesaw found some rhythm, as the Owls clipped the deficit to 11, 24-13, after Greteya Kelley’s lay-up with 8:20 on the clock. Fortunately, the Lady Bucs responded and Evans’ third trey of the half put ETSU ahead 14, and Gwen Washington’s (Manassas, Va.) jumper three minutes and fifteen seconds later pushed the Lady Buccaneer advantage back to 17, 35-18, with 4:45 to play in the first half.

But once again Kennesaw continued to fight and claw its way back into the contest, as DeAndrea Bullock’s free throw at the 1:10 mark lowered the ETSU lead to nine, 37-28, and the Lady Bucs went into their locker room with a 10-point lead (41-31).

ETSU shot 41.0 percent for the half (16-39) and went 6-of-8 from the free throw line, compared to the Owls’ 27.5 shooting clip and 7-for-13 showing at the charity stripe. The Lady Bucs did an excellent job with their ball control in the first 20 minutes, as they only turned the ball over five times; however, ETSU gave Kennesaw State too many second chances. Fourteen of the Owls’ 31 rebounds came on the offensive end and Kennesaw posted 11 second-chance points.

The Lady Bucs looked to have things under control to start the first four minutes of the second half, when Washington’s 3-pointer put ETSU up 16, 51-35, but the Owls quickly cut it down to seven (57-50) thanks to Kelley’s lay-up at the 10:56 mark.

Then, with less than four minutes to play, Jennifer Baker would pull Kennesaw State to within six (65-59) after she sank two free throws, but Evans moved the Lady Buccaneer lead back to eight with 2:52 to play.

Again, the Owls didn’t fold and made it a 67-61 contest, but a key offensive rebound by Shannon White (Kansas City, Kan.) with 1:46 to play proved to be the difference maker.

After the offensive rebound, sophomore point guard Kami Phillips (Augusta, Ga.) was fouled and her two freebies gave ETSU a 69-61 advantage with 1:21 left in the contest. Baker converted a three-point play with 49 ticks left, pulling the Owl deficit to five, but ETSU went 4-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final 40 seconds of play to secure the victory.

For the game, ETSU shot 34.2 percent (26-76) and finished only 4-of-20 from beyond the arc (20 percent). The Owls, who shot 48.1 percent in the second half, moved their shooting percentage up to 35.8 for the contest (24-67). ETSU forced Kennesaw into 21 turnovers and converted them into 20 points; however, the Lady Bucs were out-rebounded 54 to 52.

To go along with Evans’ stellar play, junior post Latisha Belcher (Martinsville, Va.) ended with 12 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals in 32 minutes of action. Washington also scored in double figures – finishing with 11 points (4-for-4 from the free throw line) and three rebounds.

Kennesaw State was led by Kelley’s 18 points, but Montinique Nixon had an outstanding night as she posted 14 points and 16 rebounds.

The Lady Bucs close out regular season play on Saturday afternoon when they host Mercer. Tip time is set for 1:30 p.m.