GREENVILLE, N.C. (Dec. 29, 2023) – Playing its final non-conference game of the season, the ETSU men's basketball team made a statement as they head into Southern Conference play next week. 
 
Thanks to a strong shooting performance with four players scoring in double figures, the Buccaneers went into Williams Arena and defeated East Carolina 86-70 on Friday night. 
 
"They threw a couple runs at us in the second half but our response was great," said head coach Brooks Savage. "Our guys care about winning and care about each other. We didn't have to say much during the huddles. I thought it was a battle on the glass. We battled and they were hard to check out. We battled our tails off. We stepped up made our free throws and made big shots when it mattered. When we didn't turn it over, the scoreboard lit up for us. Those games feel like they never end. They kept scoring and we had some turnovers, but we were finally able to put it away. We will continue to play hard and fight. There's a lot of belief and connectivity in that locker room."
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• ETSU, who scored its most points against a Division I opponent this season, shot 48 percent from the field (28-59) and a season-high 96 percent (22-23) at the free throw line. The Bucs made their first 16 free throws. 
• The 96 percent clip at the charity stripe marked just the seventh time since 2010-11 where ETSU shot 95 percent or better in a contest. It was the Bucs' highest shooting percentage at the line since going 16-of-16 against Chattanooga last January 28.
• The 86 points scored against ECU were the most the Pirates have given up at home in a regulation game since Feb. 27, 2019 when Houston scored 99. This marked just the 12th time the Pirates surrendered 86 points or more at home since the start of the 2010-11 season. 
• ETSU's defense held ECU to a 35 percent clip from the floor (22-63) and a 17 percent mark from three-point range (5-30). The Pirates went to the free throw line 32 times and made 21. 
• The Bucs won the battle of the glass, 40-39, and turned 15 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points. 
• ETSU scored 44 points in the first half and 42 in the second, marking the seventh time this season the Bucs have scored at least 40 second-half points. 
• With the win, ETSU improved to 8-5 on the season, while ECU, who was picked fifth in the American Athletic Conference, fell to 7-6. The Pirates were 7-3 at home entering the game, while ETSU won for just the second time in Greenville to even the all-time series at, 8-8. The Bucs' first win at ECU was on Dec. 7, 1966 when ETSU won 56-55.  

TOP PERFORMERS 

• Coming off a 30-point game at Utah State last Friday, Jaden Seymour followed that up with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting (9-of-10 at the free throw line). Seymour, who was 6-of-7 from two-point range, also finished with six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. 
• Quimari Peterson collected his second straight 20-point scoring game as he totaled 21 points, five assists and four rebounds in 32 minutes of work. 
• Karon Boyd posted his first double-double as a Buccaneer as he recorded 14 points and tied a career high with 11 rebounds. 
• Ebby Asamoah pitched in with 10 points, four rebounds and one assist before fouling out in 25 minutes. 
• Gabe Sisk gave the Blue & Gold some valuable minutes off the bench as he registered four points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal in a season-high 21 minutes. 
• ECU also had four players score in double figures with Brandon Johnson lead the way with 19 points, nine rebounds and four steals. 

GAME SUMMARY
The Bucs bookended strong play in the first half to carry a nine-point lead into the break, 44-35. 
 
It started with a corner three by Boyd to open the game and ETSU built a 9-4 advantage in the opening four minutes. From there, the Bucs led for the first eight-plus minutes of the frame until ECU took its first lead at 19-17 following a driving up by Cam Hayes at the 11:33 mark. 
 
With the game tied at 23, ETSU took control for remainder of the contest. 
 
Boyd and Peterson ignited the run with three-pointers and the Blue & Gold never trailed for the rest of contest. ETSU held the Pirates without a field goal for the final two minutes, forty-four seconds and the Bucs took the nine-point lead into the locker room. 
 
ETSU carried that momentum into the second half as they opened the first five minutes on 16-6 run and their lead grew to 19, when a pair of free throws by Seymour made it 60-41. 
 
ECU threw the first of two 7-0 runs at the Bucs to pull within 12, but the Blue & Gold answered the challenge with seven straight points of their own to go back ahead by 19, 67-48, with just under 10 minutes left play. Seymour got the run rolling with an emphatic dunk off an ECU turnover and capped it off with a triple as the shot clock was nearing zero. 
 
One last time, the Pirates used another 7-0 spurt to try to get back into the contest, as they made it 67-55 with 8:06 showing on the clock. However, the Buccaneers were too much for the Pirates and ETSU's lead never dipped below double figures for the remainder of the contest. 
 
UP NEXT 
As we move to 2024, the Bucs turn their focus to Southern Conference play as ETSU hosts Mercer in the conference opener on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. inside Freedom Hall. 
  
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.