JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 2, 2024) – The ETSU men's basketball team begins a new season on Wednesday night when the Buccaneers host Mercer in the Southern Conference opener. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside Freedom Hall. 
 
GAME INFO
DATE: Wednesday, Jan. 3
TIME: 7 p.m. 
LOCATION: Freedom Hall 
TEAMS: ETSU (8-5, 0-0) vs. Mercer (7-6, 0-0) 
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ (Keith Brake / Bruce Tranbarger)
LIVE STATS: ETSUBucs.com
RADIO: WXSM-AM 640 | 104.9 NASH ICON (Jay Sandos)
TICKETS: ETSUTickets.com
TWITTER: @ETSU_MBB
GAME SPONSOR: Garza Law Firm
 
ABOUT THE BUCS

• ETSU went 8-5 in non-conference play
• The Bucs are coming off an 86-70 road win at East Carolina last Friday in Greenville, N.C. 
• Jaden Seymour poured in a game-high 24 points, while Quimari Peterson added 21 in the winning effort 
• The Bucs shot 48 percent from the field (28-59) and a season-high 96 percent at the free throw line (22-23) 
• Over his last two games, Seymour is averaging 27 points and 7.5 rebounds, while shooting 57 percent from the field (17-30) and 73 percent at the free throw line (16-22)
• Peterson is averaging 20.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists in his last two games
• Wednesday is the 36th SoCon opener for the Blue & Gold with ETSU going 19-16 in the previous 35 … Since 2001-02, the Bucs have won 10 of the last 13 SoCon openers, including a 73-71 win at Wofford last year 
• Since the start of the 2015-16 campaign, ETSU has won 94 SoCon games, marking the third-most during this span … Furman has won 103 games, UNCG is at 102, Wofford has 88 and Chattanooga is at 75 … Overall, ETSU is 94-47 in the league since the start of the 2015-16
• ETSU extended its streak of making at least one triple to 1,137 straight games after sinking eight triples at East Carolina, marking the third-longest streak in the country 
• 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 MERCER

• Mercer has won five straight games and sit 7-6 overall 
• During this five-game win streak, the Bears have defeated Talladega, Thomas, Queens, Florida Gulf Coast and Georgia State
• Mercer is led by Jalyn McCreary as he's averaging 16.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game 
• McCreary has scored in double figures in 11 of his 12 games this season, while he scored a season-high 30 points in the win over Queens back on Dec. 19
• As a team, Mercer is averaging 70.0 points and allowing 70.2 per contest 
• The Bears have dropped three of their four true road games this season 

SERIES HISTORY 

• ETSU leads the all-time series, 26-13, but Mercer has won three straight and four of the last five meetings 
• Three of the games in the series have gone to overtime with the Bucs winning two of them … The last meeting went to overtime with Mercer coming out ahead 71-67 back on Jan. 25, 2023 in Macon … The Bears also won in Johnson City last season with a 68-55 victory 
• Jaden Seymour averaged 11 points and 6.5 rebounds in the two games against Mercer last season 
• ETSU is 12-6 all-time against the Bears in Johnson City 

UP NEXT 
ETSU hits the road for the first time in 2024 as the Bucs travel to North Carolina to take on UNCG on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. inside Greensboro Coliseum. 
  
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.