The ETSU men's basketball team outscored Carson-Newman 48-32 after the intermission and held the Eagles to just 29 percent shooting on the night, picking up an 81-56 victory in its second and final exhibition game of the preseason Monday night inside Memorial Center.
For Carson-Newman, junior J.J. Wesley led the way with a game-high 25 points on 6-of-12 shooting from 3-point range. Meanwhile, Jordan Dixon (Clinton, Tenn.) pitched in 11 points and Quinche Dowdell (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) had a game-high 11 rebounds.
Wesley and sophomore Cameron Sharp (Knoxville, Tenn.) each had three steals to lead the Eagle defense.
The Buccaneers enjoyed a strong debut from junior guard Justin Tubbs (Trussville, Ala.), who played his first game in the blue and gold and responded with a 17-point, eight-rebound effort. In addition, freshman guard Sheldon Cooley (Tampa) posted 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while junior guard Micah Williams (Manchester) scored 10 points and grabbed a game-high four steals.
In the first half, the Eagles were able to hang in with the Bucs and trailed just 33-24 at the break. However, ETSU opened the second half with a 14-3 run to make it 47-27, and ultimately built its lead to as many as 30 points at 69-39 with just under nine minutes left in the game.
The Bucs were a disappointing 8-of-20 from the charity stripe (40 percent) for the game and were ultimately out-rebounded 45-44 by the Eagles. As for the good numbers, ETSU shot 50 percent from the floor, 39 percent from beyond the arc, and forced 24 turnovers on 13 steals.
Carson-Newman opens its regular season on Monday when it travels to Huntsville, Ala. to face the University of Alabama-Huntsville. Tipoff is at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.
