JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 8, 2024) – After falling behind by as many as 20 points midway through the first half, the ETSU men's basketball team battled back to pull within four; however, the Buccaneers were unable to dig out of the early hole as Eastern Kentucky held on for an 82-78 win in Friday's SoCon/ASUN Challenge inside Freedom Hall.
EKU's shooting was the difference maker as the Colonels – who won the ASUN regular season title a year ago – knocked down 12 triples and shot nearly 50 percent from the field (30-61). The Bucs, meanwhile, netted half of those threes and finished with a 43 percent shooting clip (26-61).
Four Buccaneers scored in double figures with
Quimari Peterson leading the charge for the second straight game as he poured in 20 points.
Jaden Seymour (18 points),
John Buggs III (16 points) and
Karon Boyd (14 points) also finished in double figures. Buggs accounted for four of ETSU's six made threes, while Boyd recorded his second career double-double with 12 rebounds – tying a career high. Seymour just missed one of his own with nine boards.
With the setback, ETSU dipped to 1-1 on the season and suffered its first Friday home loss since the 2017-18 season. EKU, who had lost three straight against the Bucs, improved to 2-0 on the young season.
The Colonels used strong shooting to open a 14-point lead as EKU knocked down five of its first seven threes and led 23-9 at the 12:49 mark. Three minutes later EKU saw its advantage to grow to 20, 34-14, and the Colonels took a 13-point lead into the break.
For the half, EKU connected on nine of its 14 attempts from long distance and shot 59 percent from the field (19-32). The Bucs were held to 4-of-13 from three-point range and shot 40 percent (12-30). The Blue & Gold also missed seven free throws in the opening 20 minutes – going 10-of-17. EKU outscored the Bucs 51-38 in the first half.
Coming out of halftime, ETSU inserted Boyd – who had nine points in the first half – into the starting lineup and the Bucs chipped away at their deficit.
ETSU pulled to within eight in the opening five minutes after Buggs made a three, but like they did most of the night, EKU answered with a big bucket as Jordan Crawford made one of his five triples on the next possession, making it 60-49 at the 14:49 mark.
Over the next two-plus minutes, the Bucs got the deficit back into single digits, but EKU would always answer the call.
Near the midway point of the second half, ETSU was able to make it a six-point contest at 66-60 and 68-62, but four straight points by the Colonels pushed their lead back to 10 with just under eight minutes to play.
The Bucs never backed down and Peterson made it a five-point game, 72-67, after putting in a driving lay-up with 4:40 showing on the clock. However, on EKU's next possession, George Kimble III responded with a three, but once more the Blue & Gold dug deep and showed more fight.
Following back-to-back free throws by Seymour, Peterson picked Kimble's pocket and made a floater from just outside the paint, making it 75-71 with just over two minutes left in the contest. Unfortunately, EKU put a stop to any Buccaneer comeback by scoring the next five points to go back up by nine and the Colonels held on for the four-win road win.
EKU also had four players score in double figures with Devontae Blanton matching Peterson with a 20-point performance. Crawford finished with 17 off the bench, while Kimble added 13 and Mayar Wol posted 10.
For the second straight game, ETSU finished plus-11 on the boards, 42-31; however, the Bucs were only able to convert 21 offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points. ETSU – who went 10-of-12 at the free throw line in the second half – finished 20-of-29 for the contest.
ETSU wraps up its three-game homestand Wednesday night when the Bucs host Tusculum at 7 p.m. inside Freedom Hall.
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, go to ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.
