JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 8, 2025) – How sweep it is!
 
A season-best 5,472 Buccaneer fans brought the noise and ETSU men's basketball delivered the dub.
 
In a game featuring seven ties and 17 lead changes, the Bucs outlasted defending Southern Conference champion Samford, 66-59 on Saturday evening inside Freedom Hall.
 
Quimari Peterson scored a game-high 22 points, while Maki Johnson – who stepped up with Jaden Seymour playing limited minutes due to suffering an in-game injury – poured in a career-high 18 points and Karon Boyd added 14 points. Peterson filled up the stat sheet with seven rebounds, a career-high six steals and three assists, while Johnson also added a career-high nine rebounds and three assists. Fresh off his 20-rebound performance Wednesday night at VMI, Boyd grabbed five rebounds, posted three steals and blocked a career-high four shots.
 
In a game where neither team led by more than nine points, ETSU held Samford 25 points below its season average. The Bucs limited the Bulldogs to 32 percent shooting (20-63) and 30 percent from beyond the arc (10-33). Despite making two less field goals (20-18) and one less three (10-9) than the Bulldogs, ETSU got it done at the free throw line. The Blue & Gold finished 21-of-27 (78%), compared to Samford going 9-of-18. The Buccaneer defense also totaled 11 steals and blocked a season-high 12 shots – the most since swatting a school-record 15 shots against Jacksonville on Jan. 15, 2007.
 
History was made on Saturday as ETSU recorded its third straight crowd of over 5,000 fans inside Freedom Hall – a streak that has never happened during the Bucs' 10 seasons playing inside the venue.
 
With the win, ETSU – who became the first team to sweep Samford since Furman did so in 2022-23 – improved to 15-10 overall and 8-4 in conference play. The Bulldogs – who had their two lowest point totals against ETSU this season (60 and 59) – dropped to 19-6, 9-3. Samford, ranked No. 9 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, is now tied for first in the SoCon standings with Chattanooga and UNCG, while ETSU is one game back.
 

Neither team was able to gain any breathing room in the opening 20 minutes with the half consisting of three ties and 12 lead changes, while largest lead of the frame was five points. The Bulldogs took their largest lead when Riley Allenspach made a hook shot inside the paint, making it 26-21 with just under eight minutes left before intermission. ETSU answered with a 9-2 run over the next five minutes and regained a 30-28 lead thanks to John Buggs III finding Johnson for one of his four triples at the 2:42 mark. The Bucs were held scoreless for the remainder of the half and Samford took a 31-30 lead into halftime.
 
Peterson and Boyd combined for 19 of ETSU's 30 points as they were 6-of-11 from the field in the first half.
 
Samford matched its largest lead of the night in the early stages of the second half when the Bulldogs led 40-35 with 14:32 remaining.
 
But like they did all night, ETSU survived each punch the Bulldogs landed.
 
The Bucs got threes by Johnson and Peterson and tied the game at 41 with 13:32 left play.
 
From there, neither team scored for over the next three-plus minutes, but a lay-up by Boyd snapped the drought and put the Blue & Gold ahead 43-41 with 10:21 showing on the clock.
 
ETSU never trailed for the next six-plus minutes until Rylan Jones made a pair of free throws, putting Samford back ahead, 54-53 at the 3:36 mark. The Bulldog lead didn't last long as Peterson took over with a go-ahead lay-up on the Bucs' ensuing possession and he then came up with his fourth steal and drove in for another score, making it 57-54 with just under three minutes left to play.
 
The Bucs never trailed after the surge – and after Samford pulled within one at 58-57 – ETSU closed the final minute and fourteen seconds on an 8-2 run to secure the sweep and the win. The Bucs made seven of their last eight free throws in the final 50 seconds to ice the game.
 
Johnson scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half, while six of his nine rebounds came in the final 20 minutes. Samford was held to 22 percent shooting (8-36) and 17 percent (3-18) from beyond the arc in the second half.
 
Samford was led by Jaden Brownell as he finished with 18 and Jones added 15 in the losing effort.
 
The Bucs carry their three-game win streak on the road as ETSU takes on Western Carolina Wednesday night at 6 p.m. in Cullowhee, N.C.
 
For more information on Buccaneer men's basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.