JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 10, 2024) – The ETSU men's basketball team suffered its first home loss of the season as the Buccaneers suffered an 80-66 setback to Western Carolina on Wednesday night inside Freedom Hall. 
 
The Bucs, who won the first six games on their home floor to start the year, couldn't overcome a sluggish start as Western Carolina led wire-to-wire to secure its fifth straight win over the Blue & Gold in the series. 
 
The Catamounts opened the game with a three-pointer on their opening possession and built an 11-pont lead in the first five minutes of the contest. The Blue & Gold were able to get within single digits once for the remainder of the first half at 22-14, but a three-pointer by Russell Jones Jr. put Western Carolina back up 11, 25-14, with just under 10 minutes to go in the half. From there, the Catamounts took a 13-point lead into halftime, 44-31. 
 
ETSU was never able to get back to single digits in the second half. 
 
The Bucs had two possessions in the first eight minutes to cut the deficit below 10, but turnovers and missed shots cost ETSU the opportunity to get back into the contest. 
 
Western Carolina eventually went ahead by as many as 18 near the midway point of the second half and the Catamounts secured their eighth straight win. 
 
ETSU dipped to 9-7 overall and 1-2 in league play, while Western Carolina improved to 14-2, 3-0. 
 
Jaden Seymour led the Bucs with a game-high 24 points, while adding seven rebounds and two blocks. 
 
Following a postgame stat change, Western Carolina's Vonterius Woolbright – the Southern Conference Preseason Player of the Year – added a triple-double to his resume. Woolbright finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds and just landed on 10 assists. 
 
For the game, ETSU shot 38 percent from the field (24-64) and 22 percent from beyond the arc (6-27), while the Catamounts shot at a 51 percent clip (31-61) and went 9-of-19 from beyond the arc. 
 
The Bucs hit the road for back-to-back games beginning Saturday afternoon when ETSU takes on reigning conference champion Furman at 2 p.m. inside Timmons Arena. 
  
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.