ETSU Falls To Pitt Despite Inspiring Effort

The Bucs almost pulled it off. And they nearly made history.

By: | TriCities.com
Published: March 20, 2009

BY BRIAN T. SMITH
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
DAYTON, Ohio – The Bucs almost pulled it off. And they nearly made history.

The No. 16 seed East Tennessee State University men’s basketball team played the No. 1 seed Pittsburgh Panthers tight and close Friday afternoon in an NCAA Tournament East Region first-round contest at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio.

ETSU was down by two points with 4 minutes, 20 seconds left in the second half. But the Bucs eventually fell to the Panthers, 72-62.

Kevin Tiggs scored a team-high 21 points to lead East Tennessee State (23-11), while Courtney Pigram added 17 points.

DeJuan Blair recorded game-highs with 27 points and 16 rebounds to top the Panthers (29-4).

A 16 seed had never defeated a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament before Friday’s Bucs-Pitt contest. Top seeds hold a 99-0 record over bottom seeds in The Dance.

ETSU came close to ending the streak. But the Buccaneers hurt their inspiring effort with poor shooting. The Bucs shot just 30.7 percent (23 of 75) from the field and 50 percent (12 of 24) from the free-throw line.

East Tennessee State had a history of playing heavily favored teams close in The Dance. And Friday’s game was played on the heels of the 20th anniversary of the Bucs’ 72-71 loss to Oklahoma on March 16, 1989, in which the 16 seed ETSU came within a point of knocking off the 1 seed Sooners.

Check www.tricities.com and Saturday's Bristol Herald Courier for more ETSU coverage.