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Number One Seed ETSU made their first appearance in the tournament today, facing The Citadel Bulldogs. Coming off of a win last night over Chattanooga, The Bulldogs sought to continue their good fortune in Asheville.
Starting for The Bucs was Allen Strothers, Brian Taylor II, Blake Barkley, Cam Morris III, and Jordan McCullum. On the Visitor side, The Citadel starters were Eze Wali, Carter Kingsbury, Christian Moore, Sola Adebisi, and Braxton Williams.
First Half;
Within 3 minutes, a hard fall on the court forced Jordan McCullum straight to the locker room, but made his way back to the court at 14:11. With his return, McCullum made a layup to bring ETSU out of a scoring drought at 12:17. Inconsistent ball control and a heavy defensive presence from The Citadel forced ETSU to lose their 8 point lead multiple times. With a clutch 3 from Jaylen Smith at 5:22, The Bucs create another gap in score, 26-22.
However at 2:03, Coach Brooks Savage took a timeout after 2 turnovers cost The Bucs 5 points and the lead. After the timeout, an instant change in Offense from ETSU came, with a 3 from Maki Johnson, plus a fast break dunk from Brian Taylor II. Taylor continued to dominate. Taylor scored an additional jumper at 0:57, then layup with an assist from Strothers at 0:39. This gave The Bucs a 4 point lead at 0:39 left in the half.
Leaders for The Bucs were Barkley (12 points, 5-5 FG, 1-1 3’s, 1-2 FT’s, 3 rebounds), McCullum (3-4 FG’s, 2 rebounds, 1 assist), and Taylor (3-9 FG’s, 5 assists). Overall, ETSU went 15-31 FG’s, 5-15 3’s, 14 rebounds and 8 assists. Additionally, The Bucs gave The Citadel 13 FT’s, 8 of which were made.
Notable players for The Bulldogs were Braxton Williams (12 points), Marc Gonzales (2 rebounds, 1 assist).
Second Half;
Coming back strong, The Bucs made a second chance layup by Barkley, assist from Strothers at 19:27. The Bulldogs came back from the half just as physical, pushing The Bucs bad looks and some missed chances. The Bucs didn’t let that stop them from owning offensive rebounds and second chance points.
After a timeout at 14:54, Barkley came back and forced a tough layup while being defended by Sola Adebisi. This sparked The Bucs to go on an 11-0 run at 16:30. The Bucs started slipping, allowing 2 back to back 3’s from The Bulldogs, then immediately bounced back for a 3 from Brian Taylor.
After 2 back to back jumpers from Jaylen Smith, The Bucs are up 63-50 with 7:36 left. The Bulldogs responded with a hookshot from Adebisi. The Bucs wanting to further their lead, came back with a layup from McCullum and 2 back to back 3’s from Barkley.
With 3:19 minutes to go, The Bucs were up 72-58. The Bucs and Bulldogs traded 3’s again, one from Maki Johnson at 2:31, and one from Sola Adebisi at 1:22. 1:21 left, 75-61 The Bucs. Subbing for Jordan McCullum, Gabe Sisk saw some gametime for the first time today. Sisk scored his first points as well this tournament with a Fast Break Layup, with an assist by Sutherland.
The Bulldogs made a strong surge late in the Second, but it wasn’t enough to push them ahead. Eze Wali and Dante Kearse made a strong effort, 8 points for Wali and 6 points for Kearse.
The Bucs ended the contest 83-76 to advance to Saturday. Barkley led ETSU with 24 points, shooting 10-11 of FG’s, 3-3 on 3’s, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals. McCullum also led the way with 13 points, going 6-10 with FG’s, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Additionally, Taylor excelled with 11 points, going 5-12 with FG’s, 2 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals.
Next Up;
The Bucs are headed to the SoCon Semifinals tomorrow with a tipoff at 4pm. The Bucs will face the winner of the #4 and #5 seed matchup between Mercer and Western Carolina on Saturday night at 8:30pm.
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