VICTORY FOR THE AGES

A 20-point comeback in the final 14 minutes of the second half propels ETSU to the Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Final

Suddenly, ETSU basketball is back.

They are back in a role they are unaccustomed to; Cinderella. Previous Buccaneers teams that played for a conference championship have always been thought to be legitimate contenders for the title, rather than dark horses coming from the outside.

But suddenly, here they are, playing for a berth in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament against Samford at 7 pm EDT tonight after winning their most exciting game of the century.

It wasn’t the biggest victory in ETSU history. The Buccaneers’ 85–84 overtime victory against Chattanooga may have put them in to the conference final, but the program has won that game 11 times before and also boasts a couple of victories in the NCAA Tournament.

And while incredible comebacks against rivals are by their very definition exciting, perhaps it still pales in comparison to excitement that surrounded the Bucs’ 94–91 triumph in 1990 against N.C. State, which legitimately put the program on the map.

But if head coach Brooks Savage is to lead the Bucs to past glories, if he is yet another…