CHARLESTON, S.C. (Feb. 28, 2024) – The ETSU men's basketball team completed the season sweep of The Citadel as the Buccaneers bounced the Bulldogs 81-63 on Wednesday night inside McAlister Field House.
 
The Blue & Gold used balanced scoring and strong shooting en route to rolling to the 18-point victory. Four Bucs scored in double figures as ETSU shot a season-high 51 percent.
 
Ebby Asamoah led all scorers with 20 points (16 in the second half) on 9-of-15 shooting, while Jaden Seymour – who picked up his fourth foul at the 16:06 mark of the second half – added 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Quimari Peterson – who also picked up four fouls – posted 12 points, four assists and three rebounds. Jadyn Parker also finished with four fouls, but added nine points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Parker now has 69 blocks on the season, which puts him two shy of tying the ETSU single-season record.
 
With the ETSU starters getting into foul trouble, the Buccaneer bench had to step up and they did. DJ Hughes finished with five points and 11 rebounds, Gabe Sisk netted 10 points, Maki Johnson added eight points on two made threes, and Tyler Rice knocked down a triple. Allen Strothers also collected two assists and two steals off the bench. Overall, the bench produced 26 points, marking the most for the Blue & Gold against a Division I opponent this season.
 
As a team, ETSU was 30-of-59 from the field and went 24-for-40 (60%) from two-point range. The Bucs were solid at the free throw line as they hit at a 79 percent clip (15-of-19). ETSU's defense held the Bulldogs to 1-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc and forced 15 turnovers, which resulted in 19 points. The Bucs were plus-eight on the boards, 35-27, and finished plus-14 in second-chance points, 15-1. ETSU posted 14 offensive rebounds.
 
With the win, ETSU improved to 15-15 overall and 7-10 in league play, while The Citadel – who was coming off a home win over Chattanooga on Saturday – dipped to 11-19 overall, 3-14. With Wofford's thrashing of Samford in Spartanburg, the best seed the Bucs can secure in next week's Southern Conference Tournament is the seventh. ETSU and Mercer are tied for seventh with the Bucs holding tiebreaker over the Bears due to the series sweep. Mercer plays at Furman on Saturday.
 
The Bucs never trailed in the contest thanks to scoring the first four points and building an 11-point lead, 18-7, when Johnson capped off an 12-2 run with his second three of the night at the 12:53 mark of the first half.
 
ETSU's lead hovered around the 10-point margin until Strothers fed a perfect pass to Peterson for a lay-up, making it 36-21 with 2:16 left before intermission. The Citadel closed the half on an 8-2 run, but the Bucs still took a nine-point advantage into the break. 38-29.
 
The Blue & Gold opened the second half like they did the first by scoring the first four points and pushed their lead back into double figures, 42-29. After the Bulldogs scored the next five points to inch within eight, the Bucs used an 8-0 run to regain momentum and take control of the contest as ETSU led 50-34 with 13:19 left on the clock. Sisk and Rice connected on clutch threes during that run.
 
The Buccaneer lead remained in double figures for the remainder of the contest and ETSU went ahead by 20, 81-61, when Sisk made three straight foul shots with 1:20 remaining.
 
The Citadel was led by Madison Durr's 18-point performance, while AJ Smith added 17 and Quentin Millora-Brown finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
 
The Bucs wrap up regular season play on Saturday when ETSU hosts UNCG at 4 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.