Friday, February 12, 2010

MACON, Ga. -The CSS/A-Sun Game of the Week makes its first trip of the season to Johnson City, Tenn., as ETSU hosts Kennesaw State at 7:00 p.m. ETSU can tie Belmont and Jacksonville atop the conference standings with a win.

The Owls shot up the standings to the brink of securing their fi rst berth in the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Championships thanks to a six-game win streak. ETSU bounced back into the thick of the race for the regular-season title thanks to road wins at FGCU and Stetson.

Since dropping their first meeting as A-Sun foes, the Buccaneers have beaten the Owls in each of the last seven contests, including a 63-46 decision, on the road, last month. In those seven games, the Bucs have averaged close to 80 points per game.

Freshman Markeith Cummings paces Kennesaw State, averaging better than 17 points per game. He ranks second in the country, among freshmen, in scoring. ETSU’s Isiah Brown has lifted his play in his last five games, averaging 15.2 points while shooting 68.9 percent from the floor.

The Owls have surprised many with their success, having already totaled five more victories than last season’s total. Buoyed by an influx of newcomers, the Owls have seen improvements across the board, highlighted by an almost 10-point per game increase in scoring, tops in the A-Sun. The Owls’ scoring increase ranks among the top 20 in country and vastly out-ranks the rest of the league – only four teams in the conference own a higher scoring average this year, as compared to 2008-09.

ETSU had to replace the most prolific scoring duo in the conference in Courtney Pigram in Kevin Tiggs. Two of the new sources of offense come courtesy of Tommy Hubbard and Micah Williams. Both averaged fewer than 5.0 points per game a season ago, but this year, the two combine for 26.0 points per game.

Matt Stewart and Sonny Smith will be on the call. For those outside the CSS markets, catch all the action on ASun.TV, ESPN360.com or on ESPN Full Court. In middle Georgia, the game airs live on CST. In central Florida markets, the game airs on the Bright House Sports Network on tape delay at noon on Monday.