Wednesday, December 17, 2008

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - In a battle that live up to the rivalries long and storied history, senior forward Kevin Tiggs (Flint, Mich.) scored 30-plus points for the third time in four games and fellow senior Courtney Pigram (Memphis) added 24 as the ETSU men’s basketball team dropped in-state foe Chattanooga 82-70 Wednesday night in non-conference action at Memorial Center.

A crowd of 3,102 watched the Bucs move to 7-3 on the season, while the Mocs dropped to 1-7 on the year. With the win, ETSU improved to a perfect 3-0 against former Southern Conference foes Marshall, Appalachian State and Chattanooga.

“Again, what else can you say about the Big Three, they are just playing great and they stepped up again,” said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow, referencing Tiggs, Pigram and junior guard Mike Smith. “To be 7-3 is obviously a great start and to beat a Chattanooga team that I think could be a NCAA Tournament team by the end of the year says something. They have good players and are well coached. That was a great win for us.”

Tiggs finished with a career and game high 32 points, meaning the senior has now scored 115 points in his last four games – Marshall (31), Mercer (21), Appalachian State (31) and Chattanooga (32). Meanwhile, Pigram posted a 20-plus point game for the fifth time this season, while Smith scored in double figures (10) for the ninth time in 10 games this year. The Bucs shot 48 percent from the floor and held UTC to just a 31 percent clip on the night.

For Chattanooga, Stephen McDowell led the way with 28, while both Nicchaeus Doaks and Ty Patterson posted 10 each.