JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 25, 2025) – It was an inopportune time for ETSU men's basketball to have a cold shooting performance.
 
Playing a longstanding in-state rival and with a crowd over 5,000 fans on hand inside Freedom Hall, the Buccaneers had a rare off-shooting night on their home floor. ETSU shot 33 percent from the field and never could recover from a 12-0 Chattanooga run that spanned from the end of the first half over into the second, as the Mocs defeated the Bucs 71-63 on Saturday in Southern Conference play.
 
Entering the night, ETSU won nine of its 11 games inside Freedom Hall where the Blue & Gold were shooting 48 percent (319-669). On Saturday, the Bucs were held to 21-of-64 from the field and 10-of-31 (32%) from beyond the arc. In addition, ETSU shot 58 percent (11-19) from the free throw line.
 
Jaden Seymour and Quimari Peterson each scored 22 points and combined for 14 of the Bucs' 21 made field goals. Karon Boyd and Maki Johnson were the next two leading scorers as they both finished with seven. Boyd pulled down 12 rebounds.
 
With the loss, ETSU – who hasn't beat Chattanooga at home since Jan. 25, 2020 – dropped to 12-9 overall and 5-3 in conference play. The Mocs – coming off a home loss to league-leading Samford on Thursday – bounced back and improved to 13-8, 5-3.

 
The Bucs controlled momentum early as they jumped out to a 22-10 lead with 8:23 left before intermission.
 
However, ETSU couldn't keep its foot on the gas.
 
ETSU led by seven with less than four minutes remaining in the half and Chattanooga made its move. The Mocs scored the last eight points of the frame to take a 28-27 lead into halftime.
 
Unfortunately, Chattanooga carried the energy into the second half where the scored the first five points and led 32-27 with 18:55 remaining. The Bucs were able to pull within a point when Allen Strothers found Peterson for one of his four threes, making it a 45-44 game with 10:36 showing on the clock.
 
Over the next three minutes, Chattanooga used a 12-1 run to take its largest lead of the night after a three by Honor Huff made it 57-45 at the 7:26 mark. The Bucs never had an answer and the Mocs came away with the eight-point road win.
 
Chattanooga – who shot 58 percent in the second half en route to scoring 43 points in the final 20 minutes – finished the game hitting at a 49 percent clip from the field (25-51). Despite making a season-low three triples, the Mocs doubled up the Bucs in the paint, 40-20. Chattanooga also made seven more free throws and went to the line eight more times than the Bucs. Overall, Chattanooga was 18-of-27 from the charity stripe.
 
The Bucs managed to finish plus-6 on the glass, 42-36, but ETSU was only able to score eight points off 15 offensive rebounds.
 
Chattanooga was led by Trey Bonham's 22-point performance. Bonham was 8-of-16 from the field and went 6-of-6 at the free throw line.
 
ETSU hits the road to take on UNCG Wednesday night at 7 p.m. inside Fleming Gym.
  
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, go to ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.