JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 17, 2023) – A rivalry was renewed Friday night inside Freedom Hall. 
 
A November tilt featuring a pair of old Southern Conference rivals felt like a tournament game in March. In a battle that came down to the wire, ETSU men's basketball scored 47 second-half points to rally past Davidson 70-68 in front of 4,479 raucous fans inside Freedom Hall. 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS 
After scoring 47 total points at Butler on Monday night, the Bucs hit that mark in the final 20 minutes on Friday by shooting 52 percent in the second half against the Wildcats. 
 
For the game, ETSU shot 40 percent (23-58) from field and 33 percent (9-27) from beyond the arc, while Davidson – who defeated Maryland last Friday in the Asheville Championship – finished with a 40 percent clip from the field (20-50) and 32 percent mark from long distance (6-19). 
 
The Wildcats held the upper-hand in free throw shooting as Davidson went 22-of-28, compared to the Bucs going 15-of-22. The game saw 46 fouls with ETSU being called for 24. 
 
For the first time this season, ETSU won the rebounding battle with the Bucs finishing plus-10, 42-32, while scoring 16 second-chance points off 14 offensive rebounds. 
 
With the win, ETSU improved 2-2 on the season, while Davidson also moved to 2-2. Friday marked the first game between the two programs since Jan. 26, 2005. 
 
TOP PERFORMERS 
Ebby Asamoah scored a season-high 24 points and drained the go-ahead three-pointer to give ETSU the lead for good at 67-64 with 1:20 remaining in the contest. Asamoah was 7-of-14 from the field and 4-of-9 from three-point range. 
 
Karon Boyd totaled 17 points and six rebounds, while drawing seven fouls. 
 
Quimari Peterson played all 40 minutes en route to recording 14 points, seven assists, three rebounds and two steals. 
 
Jadyn Parker, who also drew seven fouls, grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds to go with his six points. 
 
Jaden Seymour finished with seven points and seven rebounds before fouling out with 1:42 remaining. 
 
Davidson was led by Reed Bailey's 17-point effort. 
 
GAME SUMMARY
The opening 20 minutes was a defensive battle as the teams combined to shoot 29 percent (15-51) from the field and combined for 25 fouls. 
 
Davidson, who benefitted greatly from those calls, led for the entire half and took a 31-23 lead into the locker room. Going 8-for-24 from the field and making one of their 10 attempts from beyond the arc, the Wildcats went 14-of-17 at the free throw line. Davidson was plus-seven in free throw attempts in the half and plus-eight in made free throws to gain the advantage. The Bucs were 7-of-27 from the floor and made three of their 14 three-point attempts. ETSU went to the charity stripe 10 times and made six. 
 
Things finally opened up in the second half as the Blue & Gold got hot from long distance in the early going and pulled within three thanks to back-to-back triples by Boyd and Seymour, making it 36-33 two and half minutes into the stanza. 
 
The Wildcats pushed the lead to five on two separate possessions, but the Bucs responded. 
 
ETSU tied the game at 41 and 43 before a driving lay-up by Peterson gave the Bucs their first lead of the night at 45-44 with 11:36 left in the game. 
 
The teams traded haymakers for the remainder of the contest, but the Blue & Gold delivered the knockout punch in the closing minutes. 
 
Davidson answered with a triple to regain the lead and extended its advantage to four, 56-52 with 8:30 left. 
 
Again, the Bucs showed their toughness as defense led to offense thanks to an 8-0 run to go up 60-56 following a step-back three by Peterson with 6:15 showing on the clock. ETSU built its largest lead of the night at 63-58 with 4:40 remaining, but Davidson rallied back to pull even at 64. 
 
With the game hanging in the balance and the Buccaneer faithful bringing the energy, Asamoah took the lid off Freedom Hall when his three-pointer with 1:20 left gave ETSU the lead for good, 67-64. 
 
The game was far from over as Davidson made it a two-point contest with six seconds left and forced a turnover with 5.2 ticks remaining. Freshman Maki Johnson came up with a huge block shot on a Bobby Durk three-point attempt near the Davidson bench. Despite Asamoah coming down with his fifth board of the night, he was called out of bounds – giving the Wildcats one more look. Again, Davidson went for the win as David Skogman attempted a three from the left wing as time was winding down, but it didn't hit rim and Asamoah corralled the ball to secure the victory. 
 
UP NEXT 
ETSU travels to Cleveland, Ohio next week for the Viking Invitational as the Bucs face tournament host Cleveland State on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. 
  
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, go to ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.