JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (Dec. 3, 2023) – The Bucs were at yet again in the second half.  
 
Scoring 40 second-half points for the fourth time this season, ETSU men's basketball was able to erase an eight-point halftime deficit as the Bucs rallied for a 61-59 win at Jacksonville State on Sunday afternoon inside Pete Mathews Coliseum. 
 
"There was no locker room talk at halftime," said head coach Brooks Savage. "We just kept fighting and kept getting stops. We were able to get out in transition more in the second half. We switched up our continuity and that loosened them up a little it. What a fight. It was a great effort and we made some big shots down the stretch."
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• After being held to eight made field goals and 21 points in the first half, ETSU came alive in the final 20 minutes. The Bucs shot 56 percent (14-25) en route to netting their 40 points in the second half. The Blue & Gold held Jacksonville State to 39 percent shooting (9-of-23) in the final 20 minutes, while ETSU scored 12 points off eight Gamecock turnovers and was plus-five in transition scoring, 7-2. 
• To go with the strong second-half effort, ETSU was plus-two in rebounding in the final 20 minutes as the Bucs won the battle, 16-14. Both teams had six offensive rebounds with ETSU being plus-four in second-chance points, 12-8. 
• ETSU used stout perimeter defense to hold Jacksonville State to 4-of-18 from beyond the arc, while the Bucs doubled up the Gamecocks in made threes, 8-4. The Bucs have now made at least one three-pointer in 1,132 straight games, marking the third-longest streak in the country.  
• Both teams finished 9-of-17 at the free throw line with the Bucs missing their last four attempts, which set up a last second half-court heave by JSU's leading scorer KyKy Tandy. Fortunately, Tandy's attempt hit too hard off the backboard and ETSU held on for its first true road win of the season. 
• With the win, ETSU returned the favor on Jacksonville State as the Bucs – who suffered a two-point loss to the Gamecocks exactly one year ago at home – improved to 4-4 on the season. The Bucs snapped JSU's three-game win streak as the Gamecocks dipped to 4-5 on the year. Sunday was ETSU's first-ever win over Jacksonville State – who is in its first season in CUSA. 

TOP PERFORMERS 

• Ebby Asamoah had the hot hand as he scored 13 of his game-high 22 points in the second half for his fourth 20-point scoring game of the season. The Buccaneer guard was 8-of-15 from the field and accounted for six of ETSU's eight made triples. 
• Quimari Peterson, who found himself in early foul trouble, finished with seven points, but had two clutch buckets in the closing minute to help cap off the comeback. Peterson also grabbed three rebounds, dished out two assists and had two steals. 
• Karon Boyd led the Blue & Gold with nine rebounds (five offensive), while adding five points and two assists. 
• ETSU's big men, Jaden Seymour and Jadyn Parker, combined for 17 points and 11 rebounds. Seymour finished with eight points and eight rebounds, and Parker totaled nine points and three boards. 
• Tandy, who was held to two first-half points, finished with 17 on 5-of-14 shooting and turned the ball over four times for Jacksonville State. 

GAME SUMMARY
A pair of scoring droughts haunted the Bucs in the first half as Jacksonville State ended the opening 20 minutes on a 10-2 run and took a 29-21 lead into the break. 
 
The first drought came with ETSU ahead 13-8 when the Blue & Gold were held without a point for over four minutes and the Gamecocks scored nine straight to go ahead 17-13 with just under 10 minutes before intermission. The second scoring halt came near the end of the half when the Bucs went nearly seven minutes without a bucket and Jacksonville State mounted its run to go up eight at halftime. 
 
After battling through adversity in the first 20 minutes, the Blue & Gold charged out of the gates to start the second half. 
 
The Bucs opened the frame on an 11-0 run thanks to Asamoah contributing to seven of those points and ETSU regained a 32-29 lead following a fast-break dunk by Boyd at the 17:16 mark. 
 
The Gamecocks answered by scoring 10 of the next 12 points to go back ahead by five, but another Buccaneer surge silenced the Jacksonville State faithful. 
 
ETSU rattled off a 13-3 run – capped by a three-pointer from Maki Johnson off an offensive rebound by Boyd – making it 47-42 with just over seven minutes remaining. The Bucs led for the next three-plus minutes before the Gamecocks went up 50-49 following a jumper by Tandy with 3:58 showing on the clock. 
 
The lead shifted hands two more times before a perfectly executed play coming out of a 30-second ETSU timeout resulted in Asamoah knocking down a corner three in front of the Buccaneer bench – giving the Blue & Gold the lead for good at, 54-52 with 1:57 left in the contest. 
 
The Gamecocks tied it on their next trip down the floor, but back-to-back clutch buckets by Peterson made it a four-point game, forcing JSU to call a timeout with 49 seconds remaining. The Bucs extended the lead to six, but after missing their last four free throws, it left the door open for JSU to get a final look at a game-winner. Following consecutive misses by Boyd at the line, JSU had the ball with 2.3 seconds remaining, but Tandy's half-court shot had too much juice as it banked off the backboard when time expired. 
 
UP NEXT 
ETSU finally returns home for a three-game swing beginning next Sunday, Dec. 10 when the Bucs host Tennessee Tech at 4 p.m. inside Freedom Hall. 
  
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, go to ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.