JOHNSON CITY - The first official game of the season is always an exciting time for teams. It was extra special for the Bucs on Saturday for several reasons.

The East Tennessee State University Buccaneers opened their season by defeating Appalachian State before 5,562 fans at the Memorial Center, 62-58. It has been several years since the Mountaineers played inside the Mini Dome.

Also adding to the atmosphere was the honoring of former Buc Seth Coy. Coy was killed in an automobile accident this past summer. Coy played one season in Johnson City and became a crowd favorite.

"I am so proud of our guys," head coach Murry Bartow said. "It was such an emotional day. We gutted it out. That was a close game. It could have flipped either way."

Fifty people from Coy's hometown were in attendance on Saturday. His mother and brother were there and recognized by the university.

The game was close the entire way. The largest lead by either team was six points for ETSU with 12:09 remaining in the second half.

The contest was not decided until the final seconds on free throws by the Bucs. With just over a minute left, ETSU held a 57-53 lead. But, Appalachian State's Ryann Abraham scored and was fouled. He converted the three-point play with 1:05 left.

ETSU junior Justin Tubbs sank two free throws with exactly one minute to play to push the lead back to three points. The Mountaineers were not done yet, though.

Kellen Brand scored to pull his squad to within 59-58. That would be the last time ASU scored.

Sophomore Adam Sollazzo sank two free throws with 16.2 seconds on the clock to force the Mountaineers into attempting a three-point shot.

Junior Micah Williams iced the game by making one of two free throws with 5.8 seconds remaining.

It seems almost like a fairy-tale to have Sollazzo at the free throw line with a chance to secure the win. Sollazzo and Coy were roommates and close friends last year. This season, Sollazzo changed his number from 20 to 43 in honor of his former teammate and friend.

"I was confident," Sollazzo said about the free throws at the end of the game. "I knew they were going in the moment they left my hand."

According to Bartow, last year Sollazzo would not have been able to make those foul shots. But, he added that Sollazzo has worked very hard on his free throw shooting during the off-season.

It was Sollazzo who led the Bucs in scoring with 13 points. He was one of three Bucs players to reach double-figures scoring. Tubbs and freshman Sheldon Cooley each contributed 11 points.

ETSU needed several players to step-up during this game. Senior captain Mike Smith was limited to only 10 minutes due to injury and foul trouble.

Bartow pointed out that the starting five combined to score only 21 points. He did not think he had ever won a game with that few points by his starters.

For Appalachian State, turnovers killed their chances. The team committed 25 turnovers in the game.

"We are a team that has not taken care of the ball lately," said Mountaineers coach Buzz Peterson. "We had silly turnovers. I give credit to ETSU."

Donald Sims of Appalachian State led all scorers with 14 points in the loss.

Bartow presented Seth Coy's mother with the game ball after the game in the team's locker room.