ETSU ends game on 30-13 run to defeat MTSU in final game of Gulf Coast Showcase

ESTERO, Fla. (Nov. 27, 2020) – Defense travels. 

The ETSU men’s basketball team forced 27 turnovers – scoring 25 points off those MTSU mistakes – and closed the game on a 30-13 run en route securing the Bucs’ first win of the Jason Shay era as the Blue and Gold defeated the Blue Raiders, 57-43 on Friday from #BeachBubble Gulf Coast Showcase inside Hertz Arena.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• ETSU secured its first win of the season and improved to 1-2, while MTSU dropped its two games of the tournament.
• With MTSU leading 30-27 at the 15:18 mark of the second half, ETSU finished the game on its 30-13 run to secure the 14-point non-conference win. 
• Sixteen of MTSU’s turnovers came in the second half where the Bucs cashed them into 15 points on the offensive end. 
• The Bucs held the Blue Raiders to 15 made field goals and 30 percent shooting (4-21 from beyond the arc). This marked just the 10th time since the start of the 2010-11 season where  ETSU has held an opponent to a shooting percentage of 30 percent or lower. 
• ETSU outscored MTSU 8-0 in fast-break scoring.  
• MTSU was held to four made field goals in the final 12 minutes of the contest, in which ETSU, outscored the Blue Raiders 25-11 to close the game. 
• Friday marked the 60th time since the start of the 2015-16 season where the Bucs held their opposition to 30 points or less in the first half. ETSU improved to 58-2 in those contests with the win over the Blue Raiders.
• The game featured 10 ties and eight lead changes, while the Bucs led for the final 10:23. 
• ETSU was plus-4 on the glass and scored 11 second-chance points off seven offensive rebounds.
• Nine of the 10 Buccaneer players reached the scoring column, while bench produced 17 points. 
• For the game, ETSU shot 34.5 percent (20-58), while going 4-of-22 from beyond the arc and 13-for-19 at the free throw line

TOP PERFORMERS

• Ledarrius Brewer (Meridian, Miss.) scored a game-high 20 points, while also grabbing eight rebounds and forcing two steals. This marked the 11th time of Brewer’s career where he scored at least 20 points and the 46th time he scored in double figures. 
• Silas Adheke (Lagos, Nigeria) totaled eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 22 minutes of action, while Ty Brewer (Meridian, Miss.) added eight points and four rebounds off the bench. 
• For the second straight game, Damari Monsanto (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) finished with six rebounds (three on the offensive end) to go with his four points, and Serrel Smith (St. Petersburg, Fla.) accounted for four of the Bucs’ 12 steals. 
• MTSU was led by Deandre Dishman’s 10-point, 6-rebound effort. 

COACH SHAY POSTGAME INTERVIEW

Listen to head coach Jason Shay’s postgame interview with “Voice of the Bucs” Jay Sandos:  

GAME SUMMARY

First Half

The first half was tightly contested as neither team led by as many as four points. The Bucs started with buckets on back-to-back possessions from Adheke and David Sloan (Louisville, Ky.) to take the early lead, but the Blue Raiders answered by scoring 12 of the next 16 points to go ahead, 12-8 with 11:48 remaining in the half. From there, the teams combined for four ties  and five lead changes before a steal by Smith led to a Ledarrius Brewer fast-break dunk, giving ETSU the 24-22 lead at the break. 

Both teams took 28 shots in the opening 20 minutes with ETSU making nine field goals and MTSU putting eight through the net. The Bucs’ three-point streak was in jeopardy as they missed all 10 attempts, while the Blue Raiders were slightly better at 2-of-13. 

Second Half

MTSU started the second half by scoring eight of the first 11 points to regain a 30-27 lead at the 15:18 mark, but a second three-pointer by Ledarrius Brewer eight seconds later ignited the Buccaneer run. The Blue Raiders were able to pull back even at 32, but a steal by Vonnie Patterson (Louisville, Ky.) resulted in a fast-break score from Marcus Niblack (Leesburg, Fla.), putting  the Blue and Gold back ahead, 34-32, with just over 10 minutes to play. Thanks to the Bucs’ stifling defense they never relinquished their lead and eventually extended the margin to 15 (55-40) following a pair of free throws by Ledarrius Brewer with 50 seconds left on the clock. The key plays in the late Buccaneer run featured back-to-back steals and dunks – the first via a steal and outlet pass to Ty Brewer and then the Brewer combo added the second when Ty hit Ledarrius for the dunk in transition – pushing ETSU’s lead into double figures for the first time at 42-32. The back-breaker came just over a minute later when Sloan nailed a deep three as the shot clock hit zero, making it 45-34 with 5:06 showing on the clock.

NOTABLES

• The Bucs have now won three straight against MTSU and moved the series record to 35-25, in favor of the Blue Raiders. Friday marked the first meeting between the two in-state schools since Nov. 28, 1998. 
• After going 0-for-10 from beyond the arc in the first half, Ledarrius Brewer kept the Bucs’ three-point streak alive when his long-range jumper at the 17:44 mark of the  second half mades it 1,038 straight games with a three for the Blue and Gold. 
• The 43 points scored by MTSU marked its fewest in a game since being held to 44 against Oklahoma State on Dec. 16, 2014. 
• The 43 points allowed by the Bucs were the fewest since holding Milligan to 41 last Dec. 15. 
• Coach Shay became the 17th head coach in program history to lead ETSU to a victory. 

UP NEXT

ETSU returns to action on Dec. 8 when the Bucs head over the mountain to face UNC Asheville inside the Harrah’s Cherokee Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. 

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