JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 23, 2026) - The Citadel scored six points in the first 90 seconds on Friday night. Six and a half minutes later, they still only had six points, but ETSU had many more.
The ETSU men's basketball team cruised to an 84-55 win over The Citadel on Friday at Freedom Hall behind a double-double from Blake Barkley, 16 points from Cam Morris III, and 17 more from Jaylen Smith to keep the Buccaneers (15-6, 7-1) in first place outright through the weekend.
Sola Adebisi and Logan Applegate hit back-to-back threes for the Bulldogs (6-15, 3-5), and ETSU needed 2:21 of game time to get their first points through two free throws from Barkley. He converted a three-point play to cut the lead to one, and a layup from Morris with 15:35 to go in the half completed the game's only lead change.
Morris added three more points before Smith hit his first three of the night with 13:16 left in the first half. Barkley converted another and-one, and a Maki Johnson three in transition with 12:09 to go prompted a timeout from The Citadel. The lead grew to 19 when Smith hit threes on back-to-back possessions and did so again at 33-14 when Isaiah Sutherland converted underneath with 6:48 left.
Barkley and Morris pushed the lead beyond 20 points in the final seconds of the half, with Morris hitting a desperation three-pointer with five seconds remaining in the half. After a technical foul on Jordan McCullum for leaving the bench to celebrate put time back on the clock, the Bulldogs snagged three more points at the free throw line to cut the deficit to 22 at the break, but they never got within 20 of ETSU in the second half.
Smith led the Buccaneers with 17 points in a return to form, having scored 17 points combined in the previous four games. Barkley's double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds was his third in four games, and Morris notched 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Smith and Allen Strothers led the Bucs with five assists each, and Smith grabbed three steals.
As a team, ETSU shot 56% from the field, including 63% (19-for-30) in the first half. They were 10-for-28 from three and 12-for-17 on free throws. They outrebounded the Bulldogs 42-24, their most rebounds in a game since December 7 against Tusculum. The Bucs recorded 20 assists on 39 made field goals, the most in a game since December 5 against South Alabama and the fifth time they have had 20 or more assists in a game this season. ETSU scored 21 points off 10 Citadel turnovers and outscored them in the paint 40-14.
The Bucs get six days off before hosting Western Carolina on Thursday at Freedom Hall at 7:00pm. Thursday is Black Out Night at Freedom Hall with the first 250 fans through the doors receiving a free t-shirt courtesy of Alumni Hall. Tickets are available at ETSUTickets.com.
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, go to ETSUBucs.com.
