JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 12, 2025) – Brian Taylor II and Cam Morris III understood the assignment: to reinforce the standards of ETSU basketball.
The two veterans combined for 42 points in a 75-63 ETSU win over Northern Kentucky on Wednesday night at Freedom Hall. Morris scored 22, three points shy of his career high, and Taylor scored 20 on a combined 14-for-22 shooting.
The Buccaneers (2-1) got off to a flying start and raced out to a 9-0 lead featuring a jumper from Taylor, a three from Morris, and two baskets from Blake Barkley, with the latter capping the run with a dunk off an incisive pass by Morris in the high post. The Norse (1-2) did not score until 4:17 into the game, but ETSU kept adding to the lead with contributions from Brayden Crump and Jordan McCullum and led 15-2 at the under-12 timeout of the first half.
NKU chipped into the lead from beyond the arc, but momentum turned in the first half when Donovan Oday fought through contact for an explosive right-hand dunk with 4:20 left in the session. The Norse whittled the lead down to one when Oday converted an and-one opportunity with 44 seconds left, but a Morris layup seconds later ensured ETSU had enough to take the lead into the half at 33-32.
The Bucs turned the Norse over on the first three possessions of the second half and extended the lead on the back of those defensive stops, eventually getting it back to double digits when McCullum scored with 11:54 left and stayed that way for good when Taylor hit back-to-back mid-range jumpers in the lane late in the shot clock to put ETSU up 64-51 with 4:12 to go to ensure the Bucs had the total required to get their second win of 2025-26.
Four ETSU starters scored in double figures. In addition to Morris' 22 points and Taylor's 20, Barkley had 13 and McCullum had 10 as the Bucs dominated points in the paint, 42-28. Taylor led the Bucs with nine rebounds while Barkley and Maki Johnson had six apiece. Allen Strothers had four assists and four steals, and Johnson rounded out a yeoman's effort with two assists, two blocked shots, and three steals. As a team, ETSU shot a whopping 59% from the field and 44% from deep, scoring 73 points while taking just nine three point shots.
The Bucs go back on the road Saturday at North Alabama. Tipoff is set for 3:00pm Eastern in Florence.
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, go to ETSUBucs.com.
