Saturday, March 06, 2010

MACON, Ga. - ETSU used a balenced scoring attack to knock off Mercer in the finale of the 2010 General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Championships. The Bucs head to the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season.

Read the Atlantic Sun Insider Column associated with this game here.

The Bucs claimed the Bob Vanatta Trophy with a tremdous team effort. Five different ETSU players scored in double figures, led by Justin Tubbs with 18, as the Bucs powered past Mercer on the Bears home floor and into the NCAA tournament. Tommy Hubbard, Micah Williams, Isiah Brown and Adam Sollazzo joined Tubbs in double digits.

E.J. Kusnyer led Mercer with 16 points but only four of those points came after halftime. Brandon Moore scored 13 off the bench for the Bears but Mercer was undone late in the game by poor free throw shooting. Mercer missed eight free throws after halftime.

ETSU continued its tournament trend of being very opportunist, scoring 22 points on 16 Mercer turnovers. The Bucs also controlled the painted area, scoring 38 and allowing just 26.

The Bucs built an early 11 point led in the first half, but the Bears rallied and trailed by only two heading into halftime. Kusnyer hit four 3-pointers in the first half and led all scorers with 12 points but the senior only hit one after the break.

ETSU will wait to see where they head as the NCAA tournament brackets will be announced March 14 live on CBS.     

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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.

Men's Basketball All-Tournament Team

Micah Williams (ETSU) – Most Valuable Player

Tommy Hubbard (ETSU)
Justin Tubbs (ETSU)
Daniel Emerson (Mercer)
Ben Smith (Jacksonville)
Markeith Cummings (Kennesaw State)

Game Notes: No. 5 ETSU 72, No. 6 Mercer 66

A-SUN CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
* Each of the A-Sun Championship have been decided by eight points or less. The last A-Sun Championship to feature no games decided by double digits happened in 2004.
* The average margin of victory for the tournament was only 5.7 points (38/7) per game.
* No host as won the men’s A-Sun Championship since Georgia State in 2001. Mercer was the first host to advance to title game since ETSU in 2007 (lost 94-67 to Belmont).
* Hosts fall to 11-4 when playing in title games on their home floor.

ETSU
* Sixth team to win consecutive A-Sun Championships (Belmont, 2006-08; UCF, 2004-05; Samford, 1999-2000; College of Charleston, 1997-98; UALR, 1989-90).
* The Buccaneers become the second fifth seed to win the A-Sun title…Georgia State in 1991.
* ETSU makes consecutive NCAA appearances for the third time in program history (made four straight from 1989 to 1992 and back-to-back tournaments in 2003 and 2004).
* ETSU improves to 8-3 in conference tournament title games and 2-1 in A-Sun finals.
* Five players in double figures (Justin Tubbs, 18; Tommy Hubbard, 14; Micah Williams, 13; Isiah Brown, 12 and Adam Sollazzo, 11) combined for 68 of ETSU’s 72 points.
* Williams named MVP…averaged 21.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, shot 52.6 percent from the floor.

MERCER
* E.J. Kusnyer made 5 3-point field goals to tie the A-Sun single season record shared by Gardner-Webb’s Grayson Flittner in 2007-08, Campbell’s Eric Smith in 2005-06.
* In his last two games, James Florence shot only 3-for-22.