University of North Florida
ETSU
UNF can't stop ETSU
1/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 16, 2006
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - The East Tennessee State men's basketball team came into Monday night's Atlantic Sun Conference matchup against North Florida with a reputation for being tenacious on the defensive end. The Buccaneers lived up to the hype.
ETSU got 24 points from Tim Smith - the conference's leading scorer - and harassed and harangued UNF into 20 turnovers, leading to 34 points for the Bucs, in posting an 86-71 win over the Ospreys at Memorial Center.
Dillion Sneed added 14 points and 11 rebounds for ETSU - dominating the paint for most of the second half - to help the Bucs (8-7, 5-3 A-Sun) stretch out to as much as a 20-point lead in the waning moments. UNF (3-12, 0-8 A-Sun) sliced a 44- 33 halftime deficit to just six points early in the second half but could never get closer.
UNF freshman Ryan Daugherty scored a season-high 19 points, and Alain Laroche added 17 points and 11 rebounds, but those performances weren't enough to keep the Ospreys from losing their 10th straight game.
"Give all the credit to ETSU," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. "They are a very good basketball team that is well coached. The difference was their playmakers with Smith on the outside and Sneed on the inside. They controlled the game. Sneed got a rebound every time he wanted to, and we didn't have an answer."
Smith hit 11-of-21 shots from the floor, most of those on slashing drives to the basket, to put the early pressure on UNF. ETSU shot 45 percent for the game, while UNF shot 43 percent.
The Ospreys outrebounded ETSU, 43-39, but the Bucs won the second half battle on the boards - 25-20, including 13 on the offensive end.
Five players scored in double figures for ETSU, including Travis Strong with 13, Brad Nuckles with 12 and Courtney Pigram with 10. Chris Timberlake added 10 of his 12 points in the second half.
UNF returns to action on Thursday when it begins a three-game homestand at UNF Arena. The Ospreys play Campbell at 7 p.m. Thursday, followed by Gardner-Webb at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Both games will be aired live locally on WIOJ-AM 1010 and carried via the World Wide Web at www.unfospreys.com.
