For the ETSU men’s and women’s basketball teams, the beat went on this past week.
Both squads remained unbeaten in Southern Conference play with a pair of victories last week. The men beat Furman on the road for the first time in over a decade before returning home to smother Western Carolina and run their winning streak to 10 games.
Meanwhile, the ETSU women beat Furman on the road by double-digits before gutting out a three-point road win over Wofford to notch their eighth consecutive win.
Senior guard Desonta Bradford was the hero at Furman last Thursday, hitting a runner in the lane with 4.5 seconds left to put the Bucs up 62-61. ETSU was able to make one final defensive stand to escape Timmons Arena with the win. Bradford and Jalen McCloud scored 12 points each to lead the Bucs while David Burrell added 11.
On Saturday, ETSU’s men held Western Carolina scoreless for the first eight minutes of the game and cruised to a 66-50 victory to move to 16-4 overall and 7-0 in SoCon play. Bradford led the Bucs with 16points while McCloud added 13. ETSU’s women continued their recent surge by beating Furman 69-57 last Thursday. The Bucs outscored the Paladins 15-8 in the third quarter to take control of the contest, and they cruised from there. The dominant third period was part of a 23-5 run that pushed ETSU’s lead to 14 points.
Erica Haynes-Overton poured in 24 points to lead the Bucs while Johnson City’s Tianna Tarter scored 18 points and dished out seven assists.
The Bucs remained in Greenville over the weekend for a road game against Wofford, and the Terriers gave the Bucs all they could handle.
After Tarter knocked down a pair of free-throws with 7.3 seconds left in the game, Wofford had one final shot to extend the game into overtime. But Britney Snowden came up with a huge blocked shot to seal the victory, which moved ETSU to 12-8 overall and 5-0 in league play.
Haynes-Overton scored 15 points to pace ETSU while Tarter added 12 points and Snowden scored 10. Sadasia Tipps pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds while Raven Dean scored eight points to go along with her nine boards.
ETSU’s Malloree Schurr tangles with a pair of Paladins.
Shy Copney, Tarter’s former teammate at Science Hill, looks to pass against Furman.
Tianna Tarter brings the ball up the floor for the
ETSU women.
ETSU’s Peter Jurkin grabs a rebound away from a
Furman player.
ETSU’s Jalan McCloud looks to pass around a Furman defender during their game in Greenville, South Carolina, last Thursday. Photos by Dakota Hamilton, docophotography.com
