CULLOWHEE, N.C. (Feb. 16, 2024) – From Chattanooga to Cullowhee, N.C. 
 
The ETSU men's basketball team concludes its two-game road swing Saturday when the Buccaneers take on Western Carolina at 4 p.m. inside Ramsey Center in Cullowhee, N.C. 
 
GAME INFO
DATE: Saturday, Feb. 17
TIME: 4 p.m. 
LOCATION: Ramsey Center  
TEAMS: ETSU (13-13, 5-8) at Western Carolina (18-8, 7-6) 
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: CatamountSports.com
RADIO: WXSM-AM 640 | 104.9 NASH ICON (Jay Sandos)
TWITTER: @ETSU_MBB
 
ABOUT THE BUCS

• ETSU looks to end a two-game slide as the Bucs sit 13-13 overall and 5-8 in league play
• The Bucs are coming off an 84-71 setback at Chattanooga on Wednesday night where Quimari Peterson scored a team-high 22 points 
• As a team, ETSU ranks 14th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (13.7) and 23rd in blocks per game (5.0)
• Individually, Jadyn Parker ranks seventh nationally in total blocks (60) and 13th in blocks per game (2.3) … Karon Boyd is 37th in offensive rebounds per game (3.1) … Ebby Asamoah ranks 35th in three-point field goals made (70) and 41st in three-pointers per game (2.8)
• Parker's 60 blocked shots rank fourth among ETSU single-season leaders and he's six shy of tying Zakee Wadood (2002-03) for third, 10 away from second and 11 shy of tying the program record, set by Isiah Brown in 2010-11
• Asamoah needs 11 more threes to tie Major Geer for 10th among Buccaneer single-season leaders … Asamoah needs four more threes for 200 in his career and is 53 points shy of 1,000
• Jaden Seymour leads the team in scoring (15.3) and is third in rebounding (6.5) 
• Since Feb. 16, 1987, in a game against Davidson, the Bucs have made at least one 3-pointer in 1,150 consecutive games ... ETSU was 0-for-8 in that 1987 game ... With Western Kentucky going 0-for-21 from beyond the arc on Nov. 9 at Wichita State, the Bucs now have the third-longest streak in the country behind Duke and UNLV … UNLV tops the list with 1,216 games
• The 2023-24 Buccaneer roster features 15 players ... ETSU's roster consists of one graduate player, two redshirt juniors, four juniors, one redshirt sophomore, three sophomores and four freshmen … Three players hail from North Carolina and Indiana, and one each from Tennessee, Iowa, West Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Kentucky, Virginia and Maryland
• The Bucs return four players from last year's roster who logged minutes, including starters Jaden Seymour and Allen Strothers, along with Justice Smith and Braden Ilic … Overall, ETSU only returns 29 percent of its scoring, 37 percent of its rebounding and 38 percent of its minutes played in 2022-23 … Seymour totaled 253 points, 218 rebounds and 1,793 minutes, Smith posted 237 points, 111 rebounds and 683 minutes, while Allen Strothers recorded 109 points, 51 rebounds and 776 minutes and Braden Ilic added for 46 points, 33 rebounds and 199 minutes
• After losing three starters and eight players from last year's team, head coach Brooks Savage and his staff brought in 11 new guys for the 2023-24 season … Seven of the Bucs are transfers – Ebby Asamoah (Delaware), Karon Boyd (USC Aiken), DJ Hughes (Butler), Jadyn Parker (North Florida), Quimari Peterson (John A. Logan), Tyler Rice (William & Mary) and Timmy Fasehun (Gulf Coast State College) … Four Bucs are true freshmen – Maki Johnson (Huntington Prep), Gabe Sisk (Ballard HS), Jaxson Jones (The Skill Factory) and David Meriwether (Lawrence North HS)

ABOUT WESTERN CAROLINA  

• The Catamounts enter weekend play at 18-8 overall and 7-6 in league play 
• Western Carolina has won two of its last three games but is coming off an 88-62 setback at Samford on Wednesday night  
• The Catamounts are led by SoCon Preseason Player of the Year selection Vonterius Woolbright … Woolbright is averaging 22.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game 
• Woolbright leads the country with three triple-doubles, 22 double-doubles and 320 rebounds, while ranking second in free throw attempts (230), third in field goals (203), fourth in points (580), eighth in free throws made (164)
• Western Carolina ranks 29th nationally in rebounds per game (39.7) and 10th in defensive rebounds per game (29.1)
• Overall, the Catamounts are averaging 76.8 points and lead the SoCon in scoring defense at 68.9
• Ten of Western Carolina's 18 wins this season have come at home  

SERIES HISTORY 

• ETSU leads the all-time series 62-30
• The Catamounts have won the last five meetings – matching their longest win streak in the series since the 1993-94 – 1997-98 seasons 
• Prior to this current WCU run, ETSU had won 14 straight in the series and 31 of the last 32 meetings
• ETSU has won 14 of the last 16 meetings in Cullowhee; however, the Catamounts have taken the last two 
• Western Carolina beat the Bucs 80-66 back on Jan. 10 in Johnson City
• Forty-seven games in the series have been decided by nine points or less with ETSU winning 28 of them … Twenty-five games have been decided by five points or less with Western Carolina going 15-10 in those contests … Seventeen games have been decided by three points or less with ETSU winning seven

UP NEXT 
ETSU returns home for a Wednesday night matchup against VMI 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.