MACON, Ga. (Jan. 31, 2024) – The ETSU men's basketball team got defensive on Wednesday night in Macon. 
 
Led by Jaden Seymour and Ebby Asamoah on the offensive end, the entire Buccaneer group got after it defensively, as ETSU swept the regular season series over Mercer following a 54-49 win inside Hawkins Arena. 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• ETSU got back on track defensively as they held Mercer to 37 percent shooting (19-52) and 25 percent from three-point range (4-16). 
• The 49 points marked the lowest point total in the 41-game history of the series and the lowest point total by Mercer at home since the Bears were held to 49 points in a loss to UNCG back on Feb. 2, 2023. 
• The Bucs improved to 57-2 when holding the opposition to less than 60 points since the start of the 2015-16 season, while moving to 82-10 when limiting their opponents to less than 30 first-half points. ETSU held Mercer to 20 first-half points. 
• ETSU finished 39 percent from the field (22-56) and 35 percent from three (7-20), while going 3-of-4 at the free throw line. Quimari Peterson iced the game with a pair of free throws in the final seconds. 
• The Blue & Gold finished plus-4 in the paint, 26-22, and plus-9 in fastbreak scoring, 11-2. 
• ETSU out-rebounded the Bears by 14, 39-25, and was plus-5 on the offensive glass, 15-10. 
• The Bucs never trailed in the contest and led for 39 minutes and 10 seconds. 
• With the win, ETSU moved to 11-11 overall and 3-6 in league play, while Mercer – coming off a road win at UNCG on Saturday – dipped to 9-13, 2-7.

TOP PERFORMERS 

• Jaden Seymour led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while grabbing six rebounds and forcing two steals. 
• Ebby Asamoah finished with 14 points and accounted for four of ETSU's seven made threes. Asamoah has now made four triples in three straight games. The Buccaneer graduate transfer also added six rebounds, two assists and two steals in 33 minutes. 
• Karon Boyd, who returned to the starting lineup, tallied six points and six rebounds, while his lone steal came a crucial point in the contest. Boyd stole the ball after Mercer grabbed a defensive rebound and quickly laid one in, making it 52-47 with 1:08 remaining. 
• To go with his two free throws, Peterson totaled six points, five rebounds and four assists. 
• Mercer was led by David Thomas' 13-point effort, while Jalyn McCreary – who entered the night averaging just under 15 points per game – finished with four on 1-of-6 shooting. 

GAME SUMMARY 
In a game where the Bucs never trailed, ETSU used a 7-0 run near the midway point of the first half to build a 16-6 lead thanks to an alley-oop from Peterson to Seymour, forcing Mercer to burn a timeout at the 10:44 mark. The lead hovered around the eight-point margin until the Bears held ETSU scoreless for over five minutes and cut the deficit to two, 21-19, following an offensive rebound and lay-up by Jalen Cobb with 2:40 remaining in the half. The Bucs scored five of the final six points of the stanza and led 26-20 at the break. 
 
Mercer was held to nine made field goals (29 percent shooting) and one three-pointer in the opening 20 minutes. Seymour accounted for 15 of the Bucs' first-half points as he was 6-of-11 from the floor and knocked down two of ETSU's three triples. 
 
The Bucs carried momentum into the second half as Seymour and Asamoah hit back-to-back threes, pushing ETSU's lead to 12, 42-30, in the opening minute and twenty-one seconds. 
 
Mercer answered with a quick 7-0 run to pull within five, but the Bucs saw their get back to 12 when Asamoah connected on a pull-up jumper, making it 48-36 with just under nine minutes left to play. 
 
The Bears never backed down and mounted a 9-0 run to close the gap to three, 48-45, with 5:20 left to play. Jadyn Parker stopped the bleeding with a lay-up on ETSU's ensuing possession, while the Bears pulled within three two more times in the stretch run.  
 
With ETSU ahead, 52-49 and a minute left to play, the Bucs held the ball for all but three of the final seconds of the contest. As the shot clock was winding down, Boyd missed a jumper and after a scrum broke out for the loose ball, Peterson came away with the rock and the Bucs called a timeout with six seconds remaining. The Bears were forced to foul and Peterson stepped to the line and made both free throws with 5.3 ticks left to secure the win. 
 
UP NEXT
ETSU opens a three-game home stand Saturday when the Bucs host The Citadel at 4 p.m. inside Freedom Hall. 
  
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.