ASHEVILLE, N.C. (March 8, 2024) – Come March, the team who brings the energy and toughness will come out on top.
 
For the Buccaneers, they brought that and then some.
 
The No. 7 seed ETSU men's basketball team rolled to a 98-66 win over No. 10 VMI in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament on Friday night inside Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville.
 
The Bucs got balanced scoring as 11 players scored, including six reaching double figures as ETSU shot a season-high 52 percent from the field (32-62). To go with the strong shooting, ETSU shared the ball as they dished out 18 assists and knocked down 11 of its 20 attempts from beyond the arc. ETSU shot 72 percent at the free throw line (23-32).
 
In a game, where 11 Bucs played over 10 minutes, Tyler Rice came off the bench and netted a team-high 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Jaden Seymour, Jadyn Parker and Maki Johnson each scored 12 points, while Ebby Asamoah and Braden Ilic finished with 11.
 
Quimari Peterson totaled seven points, seven assists, three rebounds and two steals, while Karon Boyd posted five points, eight rebounds and three assists.
 
With the win, ETSU – who won its first SoCon Tournament game since 2021 – improved to 17-15. The 32-point win marked the Bucs' largest SoCon Tournament win since beating The Citadel by 34 points (89-55) in 1992. The Blue & Gold have won four of their last five games and will take on No. 2 seed UNCG in Saturday's quarterfinal game at 2:30 p.m.
 
The Bucs got balanced scoring in both halves with ETSU netting 42 first-half points and a season-high 56 in the second.
 
The early stages of the first half were tightly contested as VMI led 22-20 with just under nine minutes left before halftime. The Bucs then scored the next nine points en route to finishing the half on a 22-9 run to go up 11 at the break, 42-31.
 
ETSU's energy carried over to the second half as they scored the first five points and eventually pushed its margin over 20 when DJ Hughes found Seymour open for a three, making it 57-36 with 15:53 remaining.
 
VMI was only able to clip its deficit to 15, while another Hughes assist on a three by Johnson pushed the lead back over 20 as ETSU led 65-44 at the 11:29 mark. From there, the rout was on as the Bucs cleared their bench and the reserves pushed it to 30, courtesy of Gabe Sisk finding Rice for a fast-break lay-up to make it 82-52 with just under five minutes left to play. ETSU led by as many as 33 and continued its season with the 32-point victory.
 
With the loss, VMI ended its season with an overall record of 4-28. Four Keydets scored in double figures with Taeshaud Jackson finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Bucs are now 3-1 all-time against the Keydets in the SoCon Tournament, while ETSU is 43-25 all-time in SoCon Tournament play.
 
Saturday's game will be aired on ESPN+.
 
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and select the men's basketball tab.