Bucs, Mountaineers to meet for 129^th time in Boone

BOONE, N.C. (Nov. 28, 2023) – Another former Southern Conference rival is on tap for ETSU men's basketball. 
 
After already defeating Davidson earlier this season, the Buccaneers look to make it two-for-two against former conference foes when ETSU makes the short trek over to Boone, N.C. to take on Appalachian State on Wednesday night. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. inside Holmes Convocation Center. 

GAME INFO
DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 29
TIME: 6:30 p.m. 
LOCATION: Holmes Convocation Center (Boone, N.C.)
TEAMS: ETSU (3-3) at Appalachian State (4-2) 
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: AppStateSports.com (StatBroadcast)
RADIO: WXSM-AM 640 | 104.9 NASH ICON (Jay Sandos)
TWITTER: @ETSU_MBB
 
ABOUT THE BUCS

• ETSU sits 3-3 through its first six games of the season 
• The Bucs are coming off a split at the Viking Invitational where ETSU dropped a heartbreaker 72-70 to host Cleveland State before bouncing back with an 82-71 win over Alabama A&M on Friday night 
• Ebby Asamoah and Quimari Peterson were named to the Viking Invitational All-Tournament Team … Asamoah, who had a pair of 20-point games, averaged 21.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, while shooting 47 percent from beyond the arc (8-17) in the two contests … Peterson averaged 16.0 points, 3.5 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game in the tournament
• The Bucs have made at least one three-pointer in 1,130 straight games … After Western Kentucky went 0-for-21 earlier this month, the Bucs have the third-longest active streak in the country behind Duke and UNLV 
• The 2023-24 Buccaneer roster features 15 players ... ETSU's roster consists of one graduate player, two redshirt juniors, four juniors, one redshirt sophomore, three sophomores and four freshmen … Three players hail from North Carolina and Indiana, and one each from Tennessee, Iowa, West Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Kentucky, Virginia and Maryland
• The Bucs return four players from last year's roster who logged minutes, including starters Jaden Seymour and Allen Strothers, along with Justice Smith and Braden Ilic … Overall, ETSU only returns 29 percent of its scoring, 37 percent of its rebounding and 38 percent of its minutes played in 2022-23 … Seymour totaled 253 points, 218 rebounds and 1,793 minutes, Smith posted 237 points, 111 rebounds and 683 minutes, while Allen Strothers recorded 109 points, 51 rebounds and 776 minutes and Braden Ilic added for 46 points, 33 rebounds and 199 minutes
• After losing three starters and eight players from last year's team, head coach Brooks Savage and his staff brought in 11 new guys for the 2023-24 season … Seven of the Bucs are transfers – Ebby Asamoah (Delaware), Karon Boyd (USC Aiken), DJ Hughes (Butler), Jadyn Parker (North Florida), Quimari Peterson (John A. Logan), Tyler Rice (William & Mary) and Timmy Fasehun (Gulf Coast State College) … Four Bucs are true freshmen – Maki Johnson (Huntington Prep), Gabe Sisk (Ballard HS), Jaxson Jones (The Skill Factory) and David Meriwether (Lawrence North HS) 

ABOUT APPALACHIAN STATE

• The Mountaineers enter Wednesday's non-conference home game with an overall record of 4-2
• Appalachian State has won three straight games with wins over Austin Peay, Murray State and UNCW
• As a team, the Mountaineers are averaging 77.8 points and allowing 65.3 per contest 
• Appalachian State is led by Donovan Gregory as he's averaging 15 points per game, while shooting 65 percent from the floor (33-51) and 84 percent at the free throw line (21-25)
• Tre'Von Spillers and Christopher Mantis are also scoring in double figures … Spillers is posting 11.8 points and seven rebounds per game and Mantis is at 10.2 points per game, while leading the club with 16 made three-pointers 
• The Mountaineers were picked to finish second in the Sun Belt this season, while Gregory and CJ Huntley earned preseason all-conference honors  

SERIES HISTORY 

• This series marks the longest-running rivalry for the Blue & Gold as Wednesday is the 129th all-time meeting between the two programs 
• ETSU leads the series 80-48, however, Appalachian State has won the last two contests 
• Appalachian State won the 2021-22 opener in Boone, 69-67, and edged the Bucs 74-70 last Nov. 23 in Johnson City
• The Mountaineers have not won three straight in the series since rattling off six straight wins from 1996-1999
• ETSU is searching for its first win in the series since Nov. 26, 2019 when the Bucs won 78-69 in Freedom Hall
• The Bucs' last win in Boone came on Dec. 10, 2011 when ETSU came away with a 65-48 victory 
• When Appalachian State was back in the SoCon, the two teams met twice in the conference title game with ETSU winning both games … The Bucs won 96-75 in 1990 and 101-82 in 1991
• The first-ever meeting between the two teams was played in 1927-28 where ETSU won 34-23

UP NEXT 
ETSU concludes its road swing on Sunday when the Bucs take on Jacksonville State at 3 p.m. ET inside Pete Mathews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Ala.  
  
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, go to ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.