ETSU opens at home with an emotional win

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Before the start of Saturday’s game against Appalachian State, the East Tennessee State men’s basketball team paid special tribute to their teammate
Seth Coy, who died in a car wreck on July 29. Coy’s family stood at midcourt while the players, coaches, and 5,562 in attendance stood in honor of the late Buccaneer.

Fittingly, Coy’s roommate and good friend Adam Sollazzo led the Bucs in scoring (13) en route to a 62-58 win over the Mountaineers at Memorial Center in Johnson City, Tenn.

“The whole day was emotional … knowing that this game was in honor of him,” Sollazzo said. “When I saw his family, that was really hard. But when the clock hit zero, I looked to the crowd for his mom.”

Sollazzo, who now wears Coy’s No. 43, sunk two clutch free throws in the waning seconds of the game to solidify the Bucs’ lead.

“I just looked at the hoop and I was trying to be confident,” Sollazzo said. “I’ve been working on my free throws all summer, and I knew they were going in as soon as I let them go.”

ETSU head coach Murry Bartow further honored Coy by presenting Rhonda Gray, Coy’s mother, with the game ball.

“It’s just been an incredibly emotional day,” Bartow said. “I’m so proud of our team and the way they handled everything today.”

In addition to the emotional challenges of the game, Bartow commended his team for winning while his starting lineup contributed only 21 points.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever, in my coaching career, had a starting team score 21 points and still win,” Bartow said. “I’m really proud of the other guys who stepped up tonight.”

Along with the sophomore guard Sollazzo’s 13, freshman guard Sheldon Cooley added 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, and junior guard and Alabama transfer Justin Tubbs scored another 11, eight of which came in the second half.

“The key to the second half was staying calm and picking up intensity,” Tubbs said. “We had to make big plays down the stretch, and we made big plays.”

The second half proved to be critical for the Buccaneers. Between halves, ETSU’s field-goal percentage increased from 34 to 50, and its 3-point percentage increased from 10 to 40.

Despite the increase in ETSU efficiency, Appy State kept the game close by shooting a consistent 41 percent from the field and 78 percent from the free throw line.

For the Mountaineers, junior guard Donald Sims led the team in scoring with 14 points, and freshman forward Nathan Healy added 10. Junior center Isaac Butts took control of the defense with 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.

The game yielded nine lead changes and 10 ties, as neither team could find an edge over the other until the final buzzer. Despite keeping pace with the Buccaneers both statistically and on the scoreboard, ASU head coach Buzz Peterson said that little mistakes made the difference in the game.

“We had some silly turnovers, like stepping out of bounds, walks,” Peterson said. “I just can’t handle those.”

Appy State tallied 25 turnovers for the game, just a few over ETSU’s 20. Defense would play a major role in the contest, as neither team was able to mount a significant lead. Appy State’s largest lead was four points; ETSU’s was six.

“I’m confident that we can defend,” Bartow said. “It seems like that’s all we work on in practice. The great unknown is how we score points.”

The great unknown affected ETSU and ASU alike at the outset of the game. After seven combined missed shots and five combined turnovers, Appy State was the first to get on the board at the 16:32 mark of the first quarter. Afterward, both teams traded baskets and traded leads until things were all tied up at 27 to mark the end of the first half.

The second half followed suit to the first as the teams continued swapping leads and jockeying for a dominant position. Late-game free-throw shooting came to be the difference when, at the one-minute mark, Butts collided with a mid-air Tubbs, slamming him to the ground and drawing an intentional foul. Tubbs sank the resulting free throws, and ETSU maintained possession with the score 59-56. The Mountaineers responded quickly, however, when senior guard Kellen Brand stripped the ball from Sollazzo and scored a fast break layup to pull the score to 59-58. The Bucs were able to wind down the clock until Brand was forced to foul Sollazzo at the 16.2-second mark. Sollazzo hit both free throws and, after a missed 3-pointer by the Mountaineers, watched as the Bucs added one more point before the final buzzer sounded.

The Mountaineers (1-1, 0-0 Southern Conference) will look to rebound from their loss when they travel to Banner Elk, N.C., to play Division II Lees-McRae on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Buccaneers (1-0, 0-0 Atlantic Sun) also continue their season on Tuesday as they begin a three-game road swing with a visit to Chattanooga, Tenn. to face the Moccasins of UTC at 7 p.m.