JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – After watching Belmont roar back from a 15-point halftime deficit to take the lead late in the second half, the ETSU men’s basketball team regrouped to force overtime and went on to outscore the Bruins 15-5 in the extra frame to take a critical Atlantic Sun Conference battle 80-70 Thursday evening inside the Curb Event Center.
The Bucs got a career night from senior forward Eryk Thomas, who picked up his second straight double-double with 16 points and a career high 19 rebounds, and senior forward Brad Nuckles (Council, Va.) picked up his fifth straight double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. With the win, ETSU improves to 15-7 overall, 9-1 in A-Sun play, increasing their lead in the standings to two games over Belmont (13-8, 7-3) and Lipscomb.
“We were fortunate there late,” said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow, whose team improved to 4-1 in overtime games this season and won the program's 1,100th game all-time. “It really looked like it was going to go their way, but we got out to a quick start in the overtime and usually the team that jumps out first gets the win. You can’t say enough about our players. They made plays again tonight.”
