JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 22, 2025) – First it was Quimari Peterson. Then it was John Buggs III.
 
On Wednesday night it was Jaden Seymour's turn.
 
Seymour set a Freedom Hall scoring record with a career-high 34-point outburst as ETSU men's basketball routed Western Carolina 85-58 on Wednesday night in Southern Conference action.
 
Seymour, who notched his second straight double-double and 12th of his career, added a season-high 13 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. The Charlotte native was 9-of-19 from the field, 4-of-9 from beyond the arc and went 12-of-13 at the free throw line – making his first 12 attempts. Following the career night, Seymour passed Trazel Silvers (1991-94) for 17th on the all-time ETSU scoring list with 1,262 points.
 
Seymour is now the third Buccaneer to score at least 30 points in a game this season as Peterson netted a career-high 30 points last month at Kansas City, while Buggs held the Freedom Hall scoring record for 21 days after finishing with a career-high 33 points in the win over VMI on New Year's Day.
 
Joining Seymour in double figures were Peterson and Gabe Sisk. Peterson totaled 13 points, four assists, three steals and three rebounds, while Sisk netted 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting off the bench. Maki Johnson got his first collegiate start and finished with seven points and three rebounds, while Allen Strothers added nine points and three assists. Redshirt freshman Jaxson Jones scored his first collegiate points in the win as he finished with four points on one made triple.
 
As a team, ETSU held the Catamounts to 33 percent shooting (18-54) from the field and 33 percent from beyond the arc (7-21). The Blue & Gold shot 45 percent for the game (29-64) and 78 percent at the free throw line (18-23). The Bucs were plus-15 on the glass, 46-31 and converted 20 offensive rebounds into 25 second chance points. The Bucs were also plus-22 in the paint, 36-14.
 
With the win, ETSU snapped a six-game losing streak to Western Carolina and improved to 12-8 overall and 5-2 in league play. The Catamounts dropped to 5-13, 1-6.
 

The first half was tightly contested with there being two ties and five lead changes and neither team led by more than seven points. With the Catamounts up 31-29 with 4:27 left in the frame, ETSU closed the half on a 15-4 run en route to taking a nine-point lead into the break, 44-35. The half ended with a Buccaneer bang as Peterson scored a lay-up with 14 seconds remaining, he then got a steal and found Seymour for a dunk giving ETSU all the momentum.
 
Seymour scored 21 points in the opening 20 minutes and Peterson pitched in with 11. The duo accounted for 32 of the Bucs' 44 points and went 10-of-19 from the field.
 
ETSU carried the energy over to the second half as the Bucs quickly pushed their lead to double figures when Strothers found Seymour for a three, putting the Blue & Gold ahead 50-38 with 16:51 showing on the clock.
 
The Bucs never saw their lead dip below double figures and the margin grew to 20 when a second chance put back by Seymour made it 64-44 with just over 10 minutes remaining. ETSU's soared to as many as 29 as a jumper by Strothers pushed it to a 78-49 score at the 3:22 mark. The rout was on, and Jones hit the scoring column for first time as a Buccaneer when he made one of two at the free throw line following a technical foul and he later knocked down his first field goal – a corner three-pointer – making it 83-58 with 1:23 remaining.
 
ETSU held Western Carolina to 23 second half points and the Bucs outscored Catamounts 20-2 in the paint in the final 20 minutes.
 
Bernard Pelote led Western Carolina with 21 points on 6-of-16 shooting.
 
ETSU gears up for its rivalry game as the Bucs host Chattanooga Saturday at 4 p.m. inside Freedom Hall.
 
For more information on Buccaneer men's basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.