JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 4, 2025) – Holding a five-point lead at the break, the ETSU men's basketball team saw Wofford open the second half on a 20-4 run, and despite a valiant effort, the Buccaneers couldn't get back over the hump as the Terriers held on for an 81-78 victory in front of 4,107 fans on Saturday night inside Freedom Hall.
 
Trailing by as many as 12 near the midway point of the second half, the Blue & Gold mounted a furious comeback in the closing minutes and pulled within a point with 22 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, in the final minute, ETSU missed four free throws, an open jumper and allowed Wofford to grab an offensive rebound following a missed free throw with five seconds remaining to seal the win.
 
On a night where both teams shot the ball well from the field, it was Wofford's toughness that proved to be the difference maker. The Terriers outrebounded the Bucs by three, 26-23 and turned eight offensive rebounds into 12 second-chance points. For the game, the Bucs shot 54 percent (25-46) and the Terriers finished at 62 percent (29-47). Both teams made nine three-pointers; however, they struggled at the free throw line. ETSU finished 19-of-28 (14-of-22 in the second half), while Wofford was 14-for-29 (10-of-22 in the second half).
 
Three Bucs scored in double figures on Saturday with Quimari Peterson netting a game-high 18 points (15 in the second half). Jaden Seymour, who had the open look at a jumper in the paint with six seconds left and the Bucs down by one, tallied 14 points and seven rebounds. John Buggs III finished with 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
 
With the loss, ETSU had its six-game home win streak snapped as the Bucs dropped to 8-7 overall and 1-1 in league play. After suffering a tough loss at home to UNCG on Wednesday, Wofford bounced back en route to improving to 7-8, 1-1.
 
Wofford jumped out to an early start as the Terriers lead 10-5 in the opening four minutes, but the Bucs fought back and tied the game at 17 following a floating jumper by Seymour at the 8:34 mark. The bucket started a 9-2 run where ETSU pushed its lead to 26-19 after Karon Boyd found Buggs for a three with 6:38 remaining before the break. Four minutes later, another Buggs three gave the Bucs their largest lead of the night (37-28) and ETSU led 39-34 at halftime.
 
After halftime, Wofford stormed back by making its first nine field goals and used the 20-4 run to go up 54-43 following a three-pointer by Jackson Sivills with 15:39 remaining. The Terriers then took their largest lead of the night at 70-58 with 7:14 showing on the clock.
 
ETSU then turned up the pressure and went on to score 18 of the next 26 points to cut the deficit to two, 78-76 when Allen Strothers stole an inbounds pass and found Gabe Sisk for layup with 34 ticks left. With the Bucs down 79-77, Strothers again stole an inbounds pass and found Sisk where he was fouled in the act of shooting with 22 seconds left in the contest. Sisk missed the first and made the second, making it a 79-78 score.
 
ETSU was then forced to foul and Jeremy Lorenz missed both free throws, giving the Bucs the ball with 20 seconds remaining. However, Seymour's jumper from just inside the free throw line with six seconds left couldn't drop and Boyd was forced to foul Sivills. Sivills made the first and missed the second, but ETSU couldn't grab the rebound, resulting in the Blue & Gold to foul again. After Luke Flynn made one of two at the line, Wofford led 81-78 with 1.2 seconds on the clock. ETSU was unable to get a shot off as Boyd's inbounds pass was deflected and time ran out on the Buccaneer comeback.
 
Wofford outscored the Bucs 47-39 in the second half where the Terriers shot 65 percent (15-23) and ETSU went 12-of-24 from the field.
 
Dillon Bailey led the Terriers with 18 points, while Kyler Filewich ended with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
ETSU hits the road for the first time in 2025 as the Bucs play at Mercer on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
  
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, go to ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.