Wednesday, March 04, 2009

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Kevin Tiggs scored a career-high 37 points as ETSU defeated Stetson 90-76 Wednesday night in the first round of the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Men’s Basketball Championships from Lipscomb’s Allen Arena.

The second-seeded Buccaneers rode a 17-2 run early in the second half to build a 16-point edge and held off the seventh-seeded Hatters (13-17).

ETSU (21-10) will face the winner of Thursday’s first-round contest between third seed Belmont and sixth-seeded Mercer on Friday at 6:00 p.m. CT on CSS.

Tiggs hit 15-of-23 from the field and 7-of-10 from the free throw line to become just the third player in the last 10 years to score 30 or more in A-Sun Championship tournament play. His teammate, Courtney Pigram, registered the last 30-point performance, scoring 31 against the Hatters on March 1, 2007.

Mike Smith added 19 points (7-of-13 from the field) and 11 rebounds, while Courtney Pigram chipped in 15 for the Bucs, who won their third-straight contest.

A senior guard from Memphis, Pigram moved into second place on the A-Sun all-time scoring list and now has 1987 points. He passed Craig Beard of Samford (1985 from 1982-85) and Sam Mitchell of Mercer (1986 from 1981-85) during the second half.

ETSU held a 21-4 edge in points off turnovers, while committing just five miscues all night. Stetson, which played without injured starters Eric Diaz and Kris Thomas, closed the season with its fifth-consecutive loss.

A.J. Smith led Stetson with 24 points on 8-of-19 shooting and eight assists. Tim Lang added 18, plus 12 rebounds, while Mark Lohuis scored 11 – all in the first half. The A-Sun’s fourth-leading scorer, who entered the game averaging 17.5 points, Garfield Blair was held to just 10 on 4-of-16 shooting (0-for-9 in the opening period).

ETSU shot 50 percent from the field on the night, while limiting Stetson to 38 percent shooting. The Hatters made 10-of-32 threes overall, but the Bucs canned 16-of-18 free throws in the final period, 18-of-25 for the game.

After Blair’s jumper from the right block cut the ETSU lead to 39-38, Isiah Brown started the decisive spurt with a pair of baskets in the lane. Stetson made just one shot in a five minute stretch as the Bucs built their largest lead of the contest.

The Hatters answered with an 11-2 run and twice cut the gap to five, the last time after Smith’s pull-up jumper from the right baseline trimmed the margin to 66-61 with 6:09 left. However, Stetson never got closer than six the rest of the way.

ETSU shot 55 percent from the floor in the opening half, but only led by four at the break (37-33). Tiggs, the league scoring leader at 21 points per game, tallied 20 in the opening period on 9-of-13 shooting from the field. He made six-straight shots during one span.

Stetson made just 38 percent of its shots, but canned 6-of-13 (.462) from 3-point range, while making just 5-of-16 inside the arc before intermission. Lohuis hit 3-of-4 triples before the break, but missed all 3 of his attempts in the final stanza.

Men’s Championship action continues on Thursday with the conclusion of the first round. Belmont takes on Mercer at 2:30 p.m. CT and the host Lipscomb meets Campbell at 8:30 p.m. CT. CSS will carry the late game. Both air on ASun.TV.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.