MACON, Ga. (Jan. 8, 2025) – The ETSU men’s basketball team passed its first Southern Conference road test!
Showing guts, toughness and togetherness, the Buccaneers rallied for a 70-68 win at Mercer on Wednesday night inside Hawkins Arena.
In a game where the Bucs led for the majority of the night, the Bears stormed back and led with under a minute to go; however, an offensive rebound by John Buggs III led to the game-winning three-pointer by Quimari Peterson with 19.8 seconds remaining. ETSU came up with two defensive stops in the final seconds as Karon Boyd pressured Ahmad Robinson on a flailing shot attempt in the paint with 8.7 seconds showing on the clock. After Buggs corralled the rebound, he made one of two free throws putting ETSU up by two. Robinson then had one final look for a three from the right wing, but Gabe Sisk came up with the defensive stop to finish off the road victory.
In a game that featured six ties and four lead changes, the Blue & Gold led for nearly 33 minutes. Both teams made 23 field goals and 15 free throws, but the Bucs made two more threes than the Bears, 9-7. ETSU also came up big on the glass as they outrebounded Mercer by 10, 41-31, including 16 offensive rebounds. Those 16 offensive rebounds accounted for 16 second-chance points. The Bucs also held Mercer 15 points below its season average of 83 points per game.
Quimari Peterson and Jaden Seymour combined for 44 points, while Gabe Sisk just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. Peterson, who was a perfect 4-of-4 at the free throw line, finished with 25 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Seymour, fresh off his SoCon Player of the Week honor on Monday, added 19 points and nine rebounds. The Charlotte native was 6-of-10 from the floor, 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and 4-of-5 at the free throw line. All nine Bucs who saw minutes reached the scoring column.
With the win, ETSU improved to 9-7 overall and 2-1 in conference play, while Mercer – who was 5-0 at home entering the night – dropped to 9-7, 2-1. The Bucs now lead the all-time series 29-13 and have won eight of the last 10 against the Bears in Macon.
