Anything you can do ... Jones battle results in ETSU loss

On Thursday, the ETSU Bucs lost their sixth Atlantic Sun Conference game of the season, falling 70-68 to Northern Kentucky inside the ETSU/MSHA Memorial Center in what some referred to as the “Battle of the Joneses.”

ETSU’s Jarvis Jones dropped a team-high 23 points, but NKU’s Eshaunte Jones bested that with 25 points of his own. The Bucs Jones had an opportunity to change that in the final moments of the game with a potentially game-tying layup, but the shot rimmed out.

“Late in the game, Jarvis is the guy we want to have the basketball. He got a good look, but it just didn’t go in,” ETSU head coach Murry Bartow said.    
The Norse’s Jones, on the other hand, had the majority of his shots fall. Jones shot 7-for-13 on the evening, including converting two improbable four-point plays. The most significant one coming with 26 seconds left in the game when Jones banked in the 3-point dagger, taking a foul from Lester Wilson and stretching the Norse lead to five points after sinking the free-throw that followed.

“Our Jones made one more shot than their Jones did,” NKU’s head coach Dave Bezold said. “We got lucky.”

ETSU Sophomore Rashawn Rembert answered right back on the Bucs next possession with a 3-pointer of his own. NKU’s Eshaunte Jones committed an offensive foul with 11 seconds to go, leading to one more chance for the Buccaneers and a Jarvis Jones.  
“Felt like it was going in,” said Jarvis Jones who shot 9-for-22 and dished out six assists. “Everybody thought I was fouled. I wasn’t really thinking about no foul when I was going. I was concentrating on making the shot.”

The Bucs’ freshman stand-out Lester Wilson was relatively quiet, but certainly efficient. The small forward shot 6-for-9 from the field, including 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, for 16 points and six rebounds.

Starting forward Hunter Harris only saw 18 minutes of action and only scored two points against NKU after posting 12 points and five rebounds in a victory over USC Upstate on Jan. 7. Bartow contributed Harris’ lack of playing time, not to an injury, but as a result of poor play from the junior college transfer.

“He’s got to play better. If everyone in the locker room plays great, we can beat anybody in our league,” Bartow said. “But we can’t beat anybody if two or three guys don’t play the way they’re capable of playing.”