JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 24, 2024) – On a night where all five starters scored in double figures, the ETSU men's basketball team put together a stellar second-half performance as the Buccaneers cruised past Queens 82-67 in Sunday's championship of the ETSU MTE from inside Freedom Hall.
Quimari Peterson notched his second straight 20-point effort (third of the season) as he totaled 22 points, five rebounds and three assists, while
Karon Boyd netted a career-high 20 to go with eight rebounds and two blocked shots.
Jaden Seymour was three assists shy of a triple-double as he finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, marking his eighth career double-double.
Davion Bradford had his best showing of his young Buccaneer career with 14 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks, and
John Buggs III added 11 points, three rebounds and two assists.
As a team, ETSU – who outscored the Royals 45-32 in the second half – shot 50 percent from the field (33-66) and finished plus-14 in the paint, 48-34. The Blue & Gold were plus-10 on the glass, 44-34 and recorded 17 second-chance points. Defensively, ETSU held Queens to 26 percent shooting from three-point range (8-31), while limiting the visitors from Charlotte to a 35 percent clip from the field in the second half (10-29).
ETSU has now won back-to-back games for the first time this season as the Bucs improved to 4-2, while Queens – who beat USC Upstate 98-74 on Saturday – dipped to 3-4. The Bucs captured their sixth MTE title in the last nine years and their first since 2021-22 when ETSU won the Naples Invitational.
The first half mirrored Friday's opening 20 minutes as the teams combined for five ties and 12 lead changes with ETSU taking a 37-35 lead into intermission. Queens led 19-13 in the opening eight minutes, but then the Bucs went on to score 11 of the next 15 points to go up 24-23 following
Gabe Sisk finding Bradford for a lay-up with 7:02 remaining before the break. The final seven minutes featured seven of those lead changes before ETSU scored the final three points to take the two-point lead into halftime.
The Bucs never relinquished their lead as the Blue & Gold opened the first six-plus minutes on an 18-6 run to open a 14-point advantage when Buggs found Peterson for three, making it a 55-41 score with 13:51 showing on the clock. ETSU eventually led by as many as 21 twice in the second half at 69-48 and 77-56 before celebrating the 15-point win.
ETSU shot 59 percent (19-32) in the final 20 minutes, along with going 6-of-12 from beyond the arc. Boyd scored 12 of his 20 in the second half and Peterson added 11 in each half on Sunday.
Queens was led by Leo Colimerio as he finished with 20 points and five rebounds.
ETSU looks for its second straight win over a team from the Queen City as the Bucs travel to take on Charlotte Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m.
For more information on Buccaneer men's basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.
