CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Nov. 27, 2024) – Behind stifling second-half defense and a total team effort, the ETSU men's basketball team handed Charlotte its worst home non-conference loss in seven years, as the Buccaneers surged past the 49ers 75-55 on Wednesday afternoon inside Halton Arena.  

ETSU continued with its theme of being a tough second half group, as the Buccaneers – who scored the final five points of the first half – outscored Charlotte 44-19 in the final 20 minutes. The 19 points were the fewest allowed by a Buccaneer team in a half since holding USC Upstate to 18 in the first half back on Nov. 18, 2021. On the season, ETSU is now outscoring its opponents by 57 points in the second half.
 
It was a total team effort as all 12 Buccaneers who dressed logged minutes, and nine players scored points. Quimari Peterson led the way with a game-high 16 points, while Karon Boyd and Jaden Seymour combined for 26 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in their Homecoming game. Boyd, fresh off a career-high 20-point effort on Sunday, finished with 14 points, seven boards and three assists. Seymour totaled 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks, while he has now scored in double figures in all seven games this season. John Buggs III added 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting (3-of-5 from three).
 
As a team, ETSU held Charlotte to less than 40 percent shooting from the field (21-53) and to a 24 percent clip from beyond the arc (4-17). In the second half, the 49ers went 6-of-22 (27%) from the floor and just 1-of-10 from three-point range. The Bucs were plus-15 on the glass, 45-30 and plus-10 on the offensive boards, 16-6. ETSU outscored Charlotte 19-2 in second-chance points and 13-0 in fastbreak scoring.
 
ETSU extended its win streak to three straight as the Bucs improved to 5-2, matching their best seven-game start since the 2021-22 season. Charlotte dipped to 3-3 and has now lost back-to-back home non-conference games for the first time since the 2020-21 season. With the win, the Bucs now lead the all-time series, 4-2, while ETSU has defeated a team from the American Athletic Conference for the second straight year. The Bucs beat East Carolina 86-70 last December. Meanwhile, Charlotte's 20-point setback marked its worst home non-conference loss since Dec. 5, 2017, when the 49ers fell 80-57 to Wake Forest.
 
Charlotte controlled much of the first half as they led for over 18 minutes, but with ETSU trailing 34-21 with 4:39 left before the break, the Buccaneers flipped the switch. The Blue & Gold closed the half on a 10-2 run – scoring the last five points – to pull within five, 36-31. The Bucs made four of their last eight shots in that closing run, which saw Buggs nail his first three with under a minute to go and Boyd followed up with a second-chance tip-in at the buzzer to give ETSU all the momentum.
 
The Bucs carried the energy with them into the second half as ETSU started the first five minutes and 36 seconds on an 18-5 run to go up 49-41 following an offensive rebound and a put back by DJ Hughes.
 
Charlotte pulled within five with a three on its next trip down the court, but from there it was all Blue & Gold.
 
ETSU used the next six minutes to mount a 13-2 run, and saw its lead grow to 16, 62-46 with just under nine minutes left to play. The knockout punch came during a stretch where ETSU scored on three straight possessions starting with Allen Strothers connecting on a jumper in the paint, followed by Seymour finishing with a lay-up and ending with Maki Johnson stealing the inbounds pass and laying one in to cap off the impressive run.
 
The Buccaneer lead finally hit 20 when Peterson found Buggs for his final three of the night, while Coach Savage was able to go deep into the bench and ETSU took its largest lead of the game, 73-51, following two made free throws by Seymour with 2:19 left to play.
 
ETSU didn't turn the ball over once in the final 20 minutes and scored 12 points off seven Charlotte miscues, while the Bucs outscored Charlotte 8-0 in second-chance points. The Blue & Gold also capitalized on their trips to the charity stripe in the second half as ETSU went 9-of-10, compared to the 49ers going 6-of-15.
 
Davion Bradford and Hughes joined Boyd with seven rebounds, while Johnson scored eight points and finished a plus-18 in 14 minutes off the bench.
 
Charlotte's Nik Graves and Jaehshon Thomas each scored 13 points in the losing effort.
 
For more information on Buccaneer men's basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.