Bucs to host Delaware State Saturday at 2 p.m.; Take on either Charleston Southern-Southern Utah Sunday

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 22, 2019) -- The ETSU men’s basketball team is set to play three games over the next four days beginning Saturday afternoon when the Buccaneers host Delaware State in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational mainland games. Following Saturday’s game, the Bucs will then face either Charleston Southern or Southern Utah Sunday at 2 p.m., before wrapping up the homestand with Appalachian State on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Saturday, Nov. 23 

Charleston Southern vs. Southern Utah, 11:30 a.m. | STATS | TICKETS

ETSU vs. Delaware State, 2p  | VIDEO | STATS | TICKETS

Sunday, Nov. 24

Delaware State vs. Charleston Southern-Southern Utah, 11:30 a.m. | STATS | TICKETS

ETSU vs. Charleston Southern-Southern Utah, 2 p.m. | VIDEO | AUDIO | STATS| TICKETS

TICKETS

Fans can purchase tickets online by clicking here or by calling the ETSU Ticket Office at 423-439-3878… Single-game tickets start at $10  … Tickets are good for both games.

LAST TIME OUT

ETSU (3-1) is coming off a 75-63 setback at No. 4 Kansas on Tuesday night inside Allen Fieldhouse … After falling behind by as many as 18 points in the first half, the Bucs cut their deficit to five with just under six minutes to play; however, the Jayhawks held on for the 12-point win.

Junior guard Bo Hodges (Nashville, Tenn.)  scored a team-high 22 points, while adding seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals in 36 minutes … Hodges became the first player to score over 20 points on the Jayhawks this season. 

The Blue and Gold outrebounded Kansas, 33-32, while holding the Jayhawks to one made three-pointer on 14 attempts.

BUCS TO PLAY THREE GAMES OVER A FOUR DAY STRETCH

Starting Saturday, the Bucs will play three games over a four-day stretch … Following the Delaware State game, ETSU takes on either Charleston Southern or Southern Utah on Sunday  at 2 p.m., while then facing former SoCon rival Appalachian State Tuesday night at 7 p.m. inside  Freedom Hall.

HOME SWEET HOME

ETSU has gone 53-11 (.828) inside Freedom Hall in the Forbes era, including a 13-3 mark last season and 2-0 record this year.

BUCCANEERS AT HOME

In their two home games this season, ETSU is holding the opposition to 54 points and limiting them to a 29.6 shooting percentage from beyond the arc (8-27) … The Bucs also have a plus-6 turnover margin as the Blue and Gold are only averaging 11.5 turnovers with the opposition  turning the ball over 17.5 times per game … ETSU is also averaging 6.5 blocks per game … Individually, Tray Boyd III is averaging 16.5 points, while shooting 50 percent  from the field (12-24) and 46 percent from beyond the arc (6-13) … Bo Hodges is posting 15.5 points per game in the two home contests this season, while adding seven rebounds and donning a 59 percent shooting clip (13-22) …  Hodges and Boyd make up 46 percent of the Bucs’ scoring at home as they have accounted for 64 of ETSU’s 140 points.

BALANCED SCORING

The Bucs have had a different leading scorer in their three of their first four games this season … Against Winthrop and Kansas, junior guard Bo Hodges led the Blue and Gold with 17  and 22-point performances … Tray Boyd III  led ETSU with 20 points in the season-opening win over Newberry, while Patrick Good poured in 24 points in the road win at UT-Martin on Nov. 9 … As a team, ETSU has three players averaging double figures scoring with  six players averaging at least seven points per contest. 

BUCS IN THE NATIONAL RANKS

ETSU is among the national Division I leaders in several statistical categories … The Bucs rank 21st nationally in blocked shots (6.0), 30th three-point field goal defense (25.0) and 37th in total blocks (24).

TOWERING ABOVE

For the fifth straight year ETSU’s roster features at least one player measuring 7-feet tall as teammates Lucas N’Guessan and Octavion Corley have both eclipsed that mark… The Bucs are only one of nine Division I programs with multiple 7-footers on their roster with Utah State and Hawaii both having three players measuring at least 7-feet.

WHERE ARE THE BUCS FROM?

Under the direction of head coach Steve Forbes and his staff, the ETSU men’s basketball program has shown that it has a nation-wide -- and even international -- recruiting reach. This season, the team’s 14 roster players come from seven states in the United States, including four from Tennessee and one each from the states of Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada ... More impressively, two other countries show the Bucs’ international reach, with players from the Netherlands and Dominican Republic.

ABOUT DELAWARE STATE

Delaware State has dropped its first five games of the season following a 100-64 setback at Virginia Tech on Wednesday night.

The Hornets are led by John Crosby as he’s averaging 19.8 points per game, while Ameer Bennett is averaging 12.4 points and 6.6 rebounds, while shooting 57 percent from the field.

As a team, Delaware State is averaging 68.4 points per game, while allowing 91.6 per contest.

ABOUT SOUTHERN UTAH

Southern Utah has split its first four games to start the season by picking up wins over Nebraska and Bethesda College … The Thunderbirds dropped a five-point decision at BYU and fell at UCLA on Monday night.

The Thunderbirds return Big Sky Conference Newcomer of the Year Cameron Oluyiitan as he’s registering 10.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 31.5 minutes … Southern Utah is led by John Knight III as he’s averaging 13 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists, while Dwayne Morgan is posting 12.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest.

Southern Utah recorded 17 wins last season en route  to reaching the second round of the CIT.

The Thunderbirds were picked to finish fourth in the Big Sky Conference – the highest they’ve been picked since joining the conference in the 2012-13 season.

ABOUT CHARLESTON SOUTHERN

Charleston Southern has dropped four of its first five games to start the season with its lone win coming against Columbia International in the season opener … Since then, the Buccaneers have lost to North Carolina A&T, Furman, Dayton and Michigan State. 

Dontrell Shuler is averaging a team-best 18.8 points per game, while Phlandrous Fleming Jr. is averaging 8.6 points and 6.8 rebounds. 

Fleming was named to the 2019 Big South Preseason All-Conference First Team after averaging 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

The Buccaneers were picked to finish fifth in the preseason coaches poll.

ETSU VS. THE FIELD

ETSU is 2-0 all-time against Delaware State with the most-recent meeting being an 81-57 victory back on Nov. 20, 2017 … The first-ever meeting  saw the Bucs secure a 63-60 win in the 1984-85 season. 

The Bucs are 4-2 all-time against Charleston Southern with CSU winning the previous two meetings – the most-recent being a 77-76 decision on Nov. 24, 2015 in Charleston … The  first-ever meeting was played on Feb. 17, 1979 when the Bucs won 87-66 in  Johnson City … ETSU  has won two of the three games in Johnson City.

ETSU and Southern Utah have never met.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Bucs wrap up their three-game homestand Tuesday night when ETSU hosts Appalachian State … Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside Freedom Hall.

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For more information on Buccaneer men’s basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s basketball tab.