BY BRIAN T. SMITH
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The long wait is over. Better days have come. And it’s dancing time once again for the East Tennessee State University men’s basketball team.
ETSU junior guard Mike Smith poured in a team-high 22 points, guiding the No. 2 seed Bucs to an 85-68 victory over the No. 1 seed Jacksonville Dolphins on Saturday evening in the Atlantic Sun conference tournament championship at Allen Arena.
ETSU (23-10) earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with the win. The postseason berth marks the eighth time in the program’s history the Bucs have won a trip to the prestigious tournament. ETSU last appeared in The Dance on March 19, 2004, when the Bucs fell to Cincinnati, 88-70, in first-round action.
"It ain’t unbelievable because we worked hard for it," said Bucs senior forward Kevin Tiggs, who scored 21 points and was named the tournaments most valuable player.
East Tennessee State will play an opponent to be determined in the NCAA Tournament. First-round games are scheduled for March 19 and 20 in multiple cities across the nation. The NCAA will announce pairings at 6 p.m. March 15 for the 65-team tournament in a national television broadcast.
The ETSU women's team will also need a pair of dancing shoes. The Bucs downed Jacksonville, 58-52, Saturday afternoon in the A-Sun women's conference tournament championship at Allen Arena. East Tennessee State earned its second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth in the process.
“We expect this out of ourselves. We expect to keep winning and winning,” said ETSU junior guard Siarre Evans, who pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds and poured in 12 points to lead the Bucs (20-10). Evans was named tournament most valuable player for her efforts.
btsmith@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2569
Check Sunday's Bristol Herald Courier for more coverage of the ETSU men's and women's teams.
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