CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (Feb. 15, 2025) – Playing without two of its top three scorers, Quimari Peterson did all he could to put the Buccaneers on his back and carry them to a road win at conference rival Chattanooga on Saturday night.
Peterson poured in a career-high 31 points, while ETSU shot 63 percent in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to take down league-leading Chattanooga, as the Mocs held on for a 78-71 win inside McKenzie Arena.
Peterson, whose previous career-high was 30 points earlier this year at Kansas City, scored 26 in the second half. For the game, Peterson was 10-of-20 from the field, 5-of-8 from three and 6-of-6 at the free throw line. To go with the scoring, Peterson also added four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Following the 31-point performance, Peterson moved his season total to 507 points and his career total in a Buccaneer uniform to 979.
D.J. Hughes had a solid night as he set season highs in points (11) and rebounds (9), while Maki Johnson added 10 points and four rebounds. The Bucs were without Jaden Seymour – who is averaging 17.0 points per game – for the second straight contest, while John Buggs III missed his second game this season.
Three-point shooting was the biggest difference as the Mocs were 15-of-29, compared to ETSU going 8-of-17. Chattanooga made two more field goals than the Bucs, 28-26, while ETSU was plus-four in made free throws, 11-7. Overall, ETSU shot 50 percent for the game (26-52), while Chattanooga finished 54 percent from the field (28-52). ETSU outrebounded Chattanooga by five, 29-24, while the Bucs scored 15 second chance points off 11 offensive rebounds. The Mocs turned eight offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points.
With the loss, ETSU moved to 15-12 overall and 8-6 in SoCon play, while Chattanooga remained tied for first with UNCG as the Mocs improved to 19-8, 11-3. Chattanooga has now won its last seven.
