ETSU Hands JU First A-Sun Loss in Game of the Week
Player of the Year Courtney Pigram led ETSU with 22 points in an 83-77 win conference-leading Jacksonville in the CSS Game of the Week, Courtesy ASunPhotos.com
Date Posted: 1/25/2008
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - In a one-point game with 3:16 remaining, the ETSU men’s basketball team got an much-needed 7-0 offensive spurt to build a cushion and ultimately hold on to drop Jacksonville 83-77 in a critical Atlantic Sun Conference battle Friday evening before 6,873 at Veterans Memorial Arena.
With the win, ETSU (10-9, 4-2) moves to within one game of the Dolphins in the race for the A-Sun regular season championship. Jacksonville (9-9, 5-1) had started the season undefeated. The 6,873 fans was the second largest crowd in JU history.
“Obviously, that’s a huge win for us,” said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow, whose team concludes a tough three game road swing at 2-1. “We had a lot of guys step up and make plays, especially in the last three or four minutes. Now we have to regroup and prepare for Sunday’s game at home.”
ETSU held a five point lead at 70-65 with 4:17 left, but the Dolphins used a 4-0 run to make it 70-69 with 3:16 remaining. But from there, the Bucs went on a 7-0 offensive run powered by a lay up from senior forward Andrew Reed (Port Richey, Fla.), a 3-pointer from junior guard Courtney Pigram (Memphis) and a pair of free throws from junior guard Jocolby Davis (Meridian, Miss.) to build a 77-69 with just 1:09 left in the game.
While Jacksonville managed a couple of 3-pointers of its own, the Dolphins never got closer than four points the rest of the way and ended the contest down six.
