Despite having three players on the bench in street clothes – including preseason All-Atlantic Sun Conference selection Mike Smith – the ETSU men’s basketball team showed some depth in its first public performance of the 2009-10 season, rolling to a lopsided 113-61 victory over nearby Milligan College in exhibition play Tuesday night at Memorial Center.>
An impressive crowd of 3,472 came out for the exhibition and looked on as the defending Atlantic Sun Conference champions placed six players in double figures offensively, while the ETSU defensive pressure picked up where it left off last year, forcing 25 Milligan turnovers on 14 steals. The Bucs were led offensively by junior Micah Williams and freshman Sheldon Cooley, both of whom posted 19 points in the game.
“I'm really pleased with the effort tonight,” said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow. “Six different guys in double figures was nice, and I think we saw a lot of positives out there. There are still things to work on obviously, like we didn’t shoot free throws well and had some guys in foul trouble. But overall it was good.
The Bucs were without the services of Smith, junior guard Justin Tubbs and redshirt freshman J.C. Ward, all of whom are nursing bumps and bruises. All are expected to return to action soon and missed the game as a precaution.
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