BIRMIGHAM, Ala. (Jan. 17, 2026) - ETSU's trip to the Pete Hanna Center ended the only way it could: in Blake Barkley's hands.
The redshirt sophomore's tip-in of a missed layup with four seconds remaining lifted ETSU to a 76-75 win over Samford on Saturday on national television.
After Keaton Norris hit a three to give the Bulldogs (9-10, 2-4) their first and only lead of the second half with seven seconds left, Jaylen Smith got a lane to the basket for a potential game-winning layup but missed. Barkley followed Smith to the rim and scored, setting new career-highs with 26 points and 11 rebounds on the final play of the game to put the Buccaneers (13-6, 5-1) back in the win column.
ETSU led all but 56 seconds of the first half when Allen Strothers hit an early three pointer to put them in front and scored again 44 seconds later. The lead reached 13 points on a jumper by Strothers with 7:03 left in the first half and again when Barkley hit two free throws with 5:33 left in the period to make it 31-19. Samford fought back behind Jadin Booth, who scored eight of their final 12 points of the half to get the lead down to four. Maki Johnson hit a three in the final seconds of the half to send ETSU to the break ahead 38-31.
The Bucs were unable to pull away from the Bulldogs, who stacked up threes from Booth, Keaton Norris, and Kam Martin to tie the game at 63 with 6:30 left. Strothers hit the second of back-to-back jumpers in the paint to get ETSU back in front, and ETSU held the lead until Keaton Norris scored twice in the final 20 seconds, including the go-ahead three that set the stage for Barkley's game-winner.
Barkley hit his first seven shots and finished 9-for-10 from the field as well as 8-for-8 from the free throw line. In addition to Barkley's career-highs, Strothers tied a career-high with 11 points. Brian Taylor II scored 13, and Cam Morris III added 10 in 19 minutes while navigating foul trouble. Strothers led the team with three assists and three steals, and Morris had two blocks.
As a team, the Bucs shot 55% from the field (27-for-49) with six made threes on 12 attempts and 94% from the free throw line (16-for-17). They outrebounded Samford 30-25, won points in the paint 40-18, and turned the ball over just six times.
The win coupled with Furman's loss to Wofford gives ETSU sole possession of first place in the SoCon through three weeks. The Bucs stay on the road, and on national TV, when they visit surging Chattanooga on Wednesday on ESPNU. Tipoff is set for 7:00 at McKenzie Arena.
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, go to ETSUBucs.com.
