Pigram's Points Carry Bucs to Victory

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – He had the look. He had the swagger. He had the fire. And he had the touch.

East Tennessee State University senior guard Courtney Pigram was unstoppable on Saturday evening inside the Memorial Center. He finished with a career- and game-high 39 points on 14-of-22 shooting. And he carried the Buccaneers to an 84-82 victory over the Jacksonville Dolphins in an Atlantic Sun conference matchup before a crowd of 3,472.

Stop-and-pop jump shots, fade-away baskets, 3-pointers hoisted two feet away from the line – Pigram nailed them all and often. He was 5 of 7 behind the 3-point line, 6 of 6 from the free throw line and also picked up a game-high five steals.

Asked if Saturday’s show-stopping performance was the best of his college career, Pigram didn’t back down.

“I would say,” Pigram said, “one of the best games I’ve ever played. I’ll never forget this game.”

With its eighth win in its last 10 games, ETSU (9-4, 3-0 Atlantic Sun) rebounded from a disappointing 71-61 home loss to Morehead State on Tuesday, and claimed sole possession of first place in the A-Sun.

“Courtney was phenomenal. He had that look in his eye,” Buccaneers coach Murry Bartow said. “Obviously as a coach, you just try to get him the ball, try to get out of his way and let him go.”

Bucs junior forward Mike Smith hit the game-winner for ETSU. Smith drove in from the left perimeter, pulled up five feet out, and knocked down a jump shot with 3 seconds remaining on the game clock.

“I was kind of struggling in the first half. The guys encouraged me to keep shooting,” said Smith, who scored 11 points, collected four rebounds and had two assists. “I just had the ball in the last couple seconds and made a tough shot off the glass.”

A last-second 3 from the top of the key by Jacksonville’s (3-8, 2-1) Travis Cohn fell short.

Kevin Tiggs added 13 points for the Bucs, while freshman Isiah Brown scored eight points and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.

Ayron Hardy’s team-high 16 points and seven rebounds led the Dolphins. Lehmon Colbert contributed 15 points and six boards, while Ben Smith added 13 points and eight assists.

Down 39-35 at halftime, ETSU rallied to shoot 63 percent from the field in the second half and 50 percent (29 of 58) overall. The Bucs also took 20 more free-throw attempts than
Jacksonville, while picking up 11 steals and 26 points off 16 Dolphins turnovers.

Pigram’s biggest shot of the night was his best.

The senior Buc rolled in a long-range 2 from the right wing with one second left on the shot clock and 2:45 left on the game clock, giving ETSU an 80-76 advantage.

Pigram caught the ball in the backcourt off an inbounds pass with eight seconds left on the shot clock. He dribbled to the top of the key, shook off two Dolphins defenders, sprinted toward the right wing, pump-faked, and knocked down the basket.

“Going into the game, I knew Jacksonville was going to come pumped up,” Pigram said. “I just wanted to lead the guys to victory.”

The Bucs’ second-half rally was based around defense, as ETSU employed a full-court and half-court press. The defensive strategy frustrated and slowed down a Jacksonville offense that shot 48.5 percent (16 of 33) from the field in the first half, riding four made 3-pointers from Evan Jefferson (14 points).

“That’s something we just worked on this week,” Pigram said. “Last game … the press wasn’t working. … We worked on it all week, and then we came out and layed it all out on the floor.”

Initially outworked and outhustled by an energized Dolphins squad, the Bucs trailed for the first 23 minutes of game time.

The insertion of freshman point guard Adam Sollazzo (three points, one assist) sparked ETSU, though.

And a swished 3-pointer by Pigram made it 49-48 Bucs, giving ETSU its first lead of the game with 16:53 left in the second half.

The Bucs play host to North Florida at 7 p.m. on Monday.

btsmith@bristolnews.com|(276) 645-2569