Southern Conference report

SportsLine Report
March 1, 2000

In the Paint

For a team that started the Southern Conference season 0-4, the Buccaneers probably made more strides than any other league team. ETSU had a realistic chance at the North Division's No. 2 seed, but settled in at fourth. The Bucs ended the regular season by winning six of their last nine games.

"I hope there is some momentum on our side," said ETSU coach Ed DeChellis. "We're just a couple of plays away from having several more wins. We're not very far off from being 10-6 in the league. I feel like we got better throughout the season."

The Buccaneers will play The Citadel in the first game of Thursday's evening session; ETSU survived a scare from the Bulldogs earlier in the season.

"We were fortunate to win that game," DeChellis said. "It was a very sloppy game. I expect a different kind of game this time."

While ETSU did not have a player elected to the all-conference team, it has been a team effort all season. Seven different players have taken turns leading the club in scoring on game night. Entering the tournament, 6-6 senior forward Leo Murray is the team scoring leader at 11.1 points a game, with D.J. McDuffie at 10.6.

"Our problem is we've been a little inconsistent from our guards," DeChellis said. "That's something we work on every day. We're young at guard, so it's a matter of getting game experience. We hope to get some stability there. Whomever is playing well will keep on playing."

NOTEWORTHY: The Bucs went 1-5 against the top two seeds during the regular season. ... Murray is fourth in the league in rebounding with 8.0 per game. ... Adrian Meeks ranks among the league leaders in field-goal percentage at .555. Meeks had one of the top shooting nights of the season, making all nine field-goal attempts against Belmont on Dec. 6. ... The Bucs' highlight of the season came on Dec. 2 when they beat visiting Virginia Tech, 68-53.

THIS WEEK: The Buccaneers play The Citadel on Thursday; an ETSU victory pits the Bucs against College of Charleston in a Friday quarterfinal.