JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 13, 2024) – Highlighted by a 50-point first half and five players scoring in double figures, the ETSU men's basketball team rolled past Tusculum, 82-54, on Wednesday night inside Freedom Hall.
Capping off a three-game homestand to start the season, the Bucs got balanced scoring and knocked down 11 three-pointers to secure the 28-point wins. As a team, ETSU shot 55 percent from the field (32-58) and posted a 52 percent mark from long distance (11-21). Defensively, the Blue & Gold held Tusculum – who was coming off a game at North Georgia on Tuesday night – to a 32 percent clip from the field (21-65) and a 21 percent mark from 3-point land (6-29).
ETSU assisted on 19 of its 32 made field goals and tallied 16 steals and six blocks.
Maki Johnson paced the Bucs with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc, while
Karon Boyd and
Gabe Sisk each netted 11. Sisk made three of his four attempts from three-point range and Boyd was 5-of-7 from the field.
Jaden Seymour and
Allen Strothers rounded out those in double figures with 10 points each. Strothers also added five assists and four steals in just 15 minutes of action.
With the win, ETSU – who has won 18 straight over Tusculum – moved to 2-1 on the season, and now gears up for its first road test at Davidson on Saturday night at 5 p.m.
The Bucs got things rolling early as ETSU jumped out to a 25-8 run in the opening eight minutes and 20 seconds and took a 50-19 lead into halftime.
ETSU was 19-of-36 from the field in the first half and made eight triples.
The Bucs, who led for over 38 minutes of the contest, pushed their lead to 34 in the second half when Sisk connected on his third three-pointer of the night, putting ETSU up 61-27 with 14:20 remaining. From there, ETSU got a little rushed as the Bucs turned the ball over 15 times in the half and saw the Pioneers cut the deficit to 18 at 63-45 with just under eight minutes left to play. The Bucs never let Tusculum inch any closer as ETSU scored 19 of the final 28 points and cruised to the 28-point victory.
In all three games this season, ETSU has now outrebounded its opponent as the Bucs were plus-4 on Wednesday night, 38-34. However, the Bucs were minus-6 in offensive rebounding, 12-6, and were outscored in second-chance points, 8-0.
The Buccaneer bench produced in a big was as they outscored Tusculum, 52-20, while ETSU was plus-15 in transition scoring, 23-8.
Tusculum was led by Kent State transfer Akeem Odusipe and Jason Britton as they each finished with 10 points.
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, go to ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.
