Bucs whip outmanned Shenandoah

By Matt Hill
STAR STAFF

   JOHNSON CITY- The Hostess company should have sponsored Monday night's ETSU basketball game. That's because Shenandoah was a cupcake.
   The East Tennessee State Buccaneers spanked the Hornets 110-60 in Memorial Center.
   This contest was all ETSU. It was so bad in the second half that the ETSU pep band started cheering everytime a Shenandoah player made a basket.
   The game against the NCAA Division III opponent gave some players like freshman James Anthony a chance to get some playing time that they normally wouldn't get.
   "I was proud of the effort of our younger players tonight," ETSU head coach Ed DeChellis said. "I thought James Anthony and Tiras Wade came off the bench and gave us a lift, same with Isaac (Potter) and Shannon (Huffstetler). A game like this you need guys coming off the bench who maybe don't get as many minutes as other guys."
   Wade finished with 18, Anthony scored 13, Huffstetler netted 11, and Potter finished with 10.
   One phase of the game that the Bucs did get beat at on Monday night was offensive rebounding. Shenandoah outrebounded ETSU on the offensive side by a count of 23-18.
   At halftime that stat was 17-3, but Huffstetler did all he could to change those numbers after the break. He had seven offensive boards in the final twenty minutes.
   "I just wanted to step up," Huffstetler said. "Rebounding is my strong point. I just really wanted to step and when coach said to rebound, I knew I had to do it if I wanted to stay in there. Him telling me that gets me going."
   In the first twenty minutes, it really appeared that Shenandoah was playing harder than ETSU. In addition to the rebounding, the Hornets were going after every loose ball, while the Bucs just seemed to be going through the motions.
   It wasn't until late in the first half before the Bucs picked up their intensity level. Despite being outrebounded in the first half, the Bucs were ahead 59-24 at the break due mostly to 65 percent field-goal shooting.
   Huffstetler admitted that Shenandoah was outhustling ETSU in the first half, but thought that changed as the game moved on.
   "We didn't start out like we usually do, and it showed," Huffstetler said. "Fortunately, it wasn't a team that could get us down."
   The Bucs came out with more fire in the second half. ETSU outscored the Hornets 43-18 in the first 15 minutes of the half to build a commanding 102-42 cushion with 5:00 left.
   From there little-used players like Keeton Brooks, Jon Perry and Josh Wallace enjoyed seeing some well-deserved playing time.
   It was really a great night for all the Buccaneer players as everybody on the roster that played scored at least one point.
   "Everybody getting in and getting their confidence up is great," Huffstetler said.
   One veteran player that played well for the Bucs was guard Dimeco Childress. He finished with 21. Zakee Wadood scored 16 for ETSU.
   Ronald Merriweather topped Shenandoah with 12.
   The Bucs, now 6-3 overall, will be back in action Wednesday night against UVA-Wise. Tip-off is at 7:30.
   ETSU NOTES
   * Childress was named Southern Conference Player-of-the-Week on Monday. Starting point guard Cliff Decoster missed the night's action with the flu. In ETSU's only game last week, he scored 25 during the Bucs' 84-57 trouncing
   of James Madison.