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ETSU Bucs traveled to Lexington on Saturday, to face VMI Keydets on the road to try and further secure their stronghold on the SoCon. Early tipoff at 1pm at Cameron Hall for this matchup, with an attendance of 1,433. The Keydets heading in had a 6-19 record overall, with a 1-11 record in SoCon play. Keydet’s solo win this far being over the UTC Mocs in January. The Bucs however, had almost a polar opposite season, leading the conference with 18-7 overall and 10-2 in SoCon play.
Trouble for Keydets in First Half
The Keydets are still without Ricky Bradley Jr, Senior Guard this season. An injury has kept him off of the court, which is still leaving a gap for team in not only senior leadership (as he is the only senior) but also in consistent points. In past seasons, Bradley Jr has been a constant and reliable addition for both offense and defensive plays, leading them all the way to the SoCon Championship Semifinals in 2025.
Apart from missing a key Keydet, VMI struggled with ball control, and missing shots from around the court. In the first 7 minutes, the Keydets kept up with an aggressive, domineering Bucs. After the 12:21 mark, the Keydets struggled to maintain a small deficit against The Bucs. By halftime, the Keydets were down by 7, and shooting 12-32 on FG’s, 5-15 on 3’s, and 4-7 on FT’s.
Meanwhile on The Bucs side of the court, Maki Johnson with an astounding 12 points. Blake Barkley with a slam dunk at 8:33, and rebounds galore. The Bucs shot 13-28 for FG’s, 6-15 of 3’s, and 8-10 for FT’s.
Second Half Shutdown
Immediately to start out the second half, The Bucs went on a 10-0 run to boost their score up to 50-33. They Keydets continued to struggle in the paint and around the arc as The Bucs pushed them into making questionable shots. Continuous pressure defensively and ball control led The Bucs to having a lead as high as 21 points in the second.
Missed rebounds by The Keydets were taken advantage of from The Bucs (40 rebounds for Bucs vs 21 for Keydets). In addition to rebounds, maximizing points from turnovers (18 points) led The Bucs to victory at Cameron Hall.
Double-Double & Then Some
Barkley was a game leader, with an astounding Double-Double. Barkley played for 31 mins, was 7-9 on FG’s, 2-2 on 3’s, 6-8 on FT’s, with 12 rebounds, and 2 assists. Another for The Bucs was Cam Morris III, with 30 minutes on the court, 7-10 on FG’s, 2-2 on FT’s, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and a block. In addition to having a standout first half, Maki Johnson was a huge contributor. With 30 minutes played, 5-6 on FG’s, 5-6 on 3’s, 6 rebounds, and a single turnover. The Bucs ended overall with shooting 56% for FG’s, 42% for 3’s, and 85% for FT’s and 7 steals. ETSU Bucs now lead the SoCon in Steals PG, and Blocks PG.
For The Keydets, Linus Holmstrom had a stelar game. Holmstrom played for 34 minutes, shot 7-12 on FG’s, 6-10 on 3’s, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Kaden Stuckey also had a solid game, playing for 28 minutes, 4-9 on FG’s, 5-5 on FT’s, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist.
Back to Freedom Hall
The Bucs are headed back home this week, to host UTC Mocs on February 11th, with a tipoff at 7pm. In 6 days time, The Bucs will host Samford on Saturday February 14th with a Noon tipoff.
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