Friday, November 27, 2009

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Junior forward Tommy Hubbard posted a career high 32 points as ETSU earned an impressive 94-85 road win against SEC foe Arkansas Friday evening, the sixth win by an A-Sun school against the SEC dating back to the start of the 2007-08 season.

Along with Hubbard’s warrior-like effort, ETSU got a career high 18 points from junior guard Micah Williams (Manchester), while junior transfer Justin Tubbs (Trussville, Ala.) pitched in his second straight 20-point effort with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor. As a team, the Bucs were impressive offensively, shooting 59 percent from the floor, 79 percent from 3-point range and 76 percent from the foul line en route to a 94-point effort. Among teams to hit at least 10 3-point field goals in a single game this season, no team has connected on as high a percentage at the Bucs did on this particular night.

“What do you say – just a great all around effort by our team,” said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow, whose team improved to 3-3 on the season. “Tommy Hubbard was just unbelievable again. Micah Williams came back after playing just four minutes last game to give us a career effort, and Justin Tubbs just keeps doing the job for us. To shoot like we did tonight and score 94 points was just a great all around effort.”

Along with the great offensive numbers, the Bucs out-rebounded the Hogs 36-23, which included a game-high 10 boards for Hubbard. The Bucs still managed to win the game despite the efforts of Arkansas guard Rotnei Clarke, who finished with 32 points on 10-of-17 shooting from 3-point range. In addition, Arkansas got 13 points each from Mike Washington and Jemal Farmer, while Stef Welsh pitched in 10.

After falling behind 19-12 with 14:28 left before the intermission, the Bucs found their offensive stride in a big way the rest of the half. ETSU outscored Arkansas 36-13 the rest of the way, shooting 57 percent (17-of-30) from the floor, 70 percent (7-of-10) from beyond the arc, and 100 percent (7-of-7) from the foul line, leading to a 48-32 halftime advantage

The domination didn’t stop on the offensive end in the first half, as the Bucs outrebounded the larger Hogs 20-11 on the boards. Hubbard finished with 19 points in the first half to go with six rebounds in leading the Bucs’ attack.

Anatomy of an Upset:
Notable Achievements in ETSU's 94-85 victory

ETSU set a school record for 3-point FG percentage 78.6 (11-14)
Old record: 66.7 (done 3 times, last 3/7/09 vs JU)

ETSU shot the best 3-point percentage in a game, in the nation, this season by a team making at least 10 3-point field goals
Previous best: 72.2 (13-18) by Columbia vs Bucknell on 11/24

ETSU shot the best 3-point percentage in a game by an A-Sun school since:
UCF also shot 11-14, against South Carolina State on 11/28/99 (1 day shy of the 10-year anniversary)

Tommy Hubbard recorded the first 30-point, 10-rebound game by an A-Sun player in a non-conference game since:
Campbell's Jonathan Rodriguez (34 points, 15 rebounds) on 12/13/07 vs UNC Asheville