Thursday, March 03, 2011

MACON, Ga. – No. 2 seed ETSU had to battle down to the wire, but in the end prevailed, defeating No. 7-seed Campbell, 54-53, in the quarterfinals of the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Conference championships. The Buccaneers improved to 22-10 overall and the Camels finished with a 12-19 mark.

The Bucs held a double-digit lead for the bulk of the second half, until Campbell mounted a late rally. A pair of free throws by the Camels' Rico Ferguson with 35 seconds remaining made the score 54-53.

With the shot clock just a little over a half-second ahead of the game clock, ETSU could have virtually stalled out the time. However, an offensive foul on the Bucs' Sheldon Cooley turned the ball back to Campbell with 22 tics remaining on the game clock.

Junard Hartley had the ball in his hands as the clock counted down, but A-Sun Player of the Year Mike Smith stole the ball to seal Campbell's fate as the Camels never get off a shot.

Smith led all scorers with 24 points on a 7-for-16 shooting night from the floor and a 9-of-12 effort from the free-throw line. Smith also had six rebounds, three assists a block and four steals as the lone Bucs’ player in double-figures.

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Read the Atlantic Sun Insider Column: Smith and Bucs' Experience Prevail in the End

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Micah Williams added nine points and seven rebounds to the ETSU coffers. Isiah Brown booked seven points and had a tied for game-high rebound honors with eight boards.

For the Camels, Eric Griffin hit 6-of-9 from the floor on his way to a 16-point night, while also grabbing eight rebounds. Amir Celestin and reserve Martell Jackson each contributed 10 points in the loss.

ETSU advances to Friday’s semifinals and will take on the winner of Thursday’s battle between No. 3 Jacksonville and No. 6 UNF.