ETSU faces Kent State in Naples Invitational Championship on Wednesday

NAPLES, Fla. (Nov. 23, 2021) – David Sloan (Louisville, Ky.) put the exclamation mark on a high-level basketball game Tuesday night.

Sloan drained the game-winning bucket with 2.5 seconds remaining, while Ledarrius Brewer (Meridian, Miss.) stole the inbounds pass and heaved one towards the rim as time expired, lifting ETSU men’s basketball to a 77-76 victory over Missouri State in the semifinals of the Naples Invitational.

ETSU extended its win streak to three straight and improved to 3-2, while the Bucs advanced to take on Kent State in the championship game of the tournament on Wednesday night at 8 o’clock.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• In a game that was an instant classic, the see-saw battle featured eight ties and 22 lead changes, while the Bucs’ largest lead was eight midway through the first half and Missouri State led by five at the 12:51 mark of the first half. Neither team led by more than four points during the final 13 minutes of contest, while the lead shifted hands five times in the last three minutes.
• The teams combined to make 58 field goals and 26 three-pointers, while ETSU secured its first one-point victory since defeating Western Carolina, 68-67, back on Feb. 29, 2020 to win the Southern Conference regular season championship.
• ETSU finished with a 53 percent clip from the field (30-57) and a 46 percent mark from beyond the arc (13-28). The Bucs assisted on 15 of their field goals with Sloan dishing out six.
• The Bucs out-rebounded Missouri State by six, 27-21, with ETSU converting nine offensive rebounds into nine second-chance points.
• Missouri State moved to 3-2 on the season and will face George Washington in Wednesday’s third-place game.

TOP PERFORMERS

• Sloan led all players with a career-high 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while Jordan King (Albany, N.Y.), Ty Brewer (Meridian, Miss.) and Ledarrius Brewer all scored in double figures.
• King netted 14 points and was 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, while Ty Brewer finished with 12 points and also went 4-for-5 from three-point range. Ledarrius Brewer added 14 points and four rebounds.
• Five different Buccaneers accounted for the season-high 13 made three-ponters.
• Like ETSU, Missouri State had four players score in double figures with Isiaih Mosley finishing with a team-high 18 points.

POSTGAME COMMENTS/GAME-WINNING CALL

Listen to postgame comments by head coach Desmond Oliver with Voice of the Bucs Jay Sandos. 

Listen to the game-winning call by "Voice of the Bucs" Jay Sandos.

GAME SUMMARY

The Bucs scored the first five points of the game and eventually led 26-18 following a free throw by Charlie Weber (Owings, Md.) at the 9:47 mark of the first half. ETSU, who used a 13-0 run to take the eight-point lead, saw Missouri State mount a 19-7 spurt over the next five minutes to go ahead, 37-33. Then, with the Bucs down 39-35 with three minutes left before the break, ETSU scored 10 of the final 14 points of the stanza to go into the locker room up 45-43, thanks to a deep buzzer-beating three by Ledarrius Brewer.

For the half, ETSU shot 62 percent (18-29) from the field and 62 percent from beyond the arc (8-13), while the Bears posted a 57 percent clip (17-30) from the floor and also went 8-of-13 from long range.

The second half was nip-and-tuck the entire way.

The Bucs took their largest lead of the half when King’s fourth three of the night made it a 56-52 score with 13:12 remaining.

With both teams throwing punches back-and-forth, Missouri State landed the next haymaker when Mosley hit a three to put the Bears up 72-68 with just under five minutes left to play.  

From there, both teams and fanbases buckled up for a wild finishing stretch. Teams traded shot for shot in the final three minutes which featured the five lead changes.

But after the Bears went back up one on a jumper by Demarcus Sharp with 29 seconds left, the Bucs had the final possession. After calling a timeout with 8.9 seconds remaining, ETSU drew up the game-winning play as Sloan got to the free throw line and hit the jumper with 2.5 ticks showing on the clock. Missouri State had one final chance but Ledarrius Brewer stepped up and stole the ensuing inbounds pass and heaved the ball towards the rim to run out the clock, sending the Buccaneer faithful into pandemonium. The Bucs swarmed Sloan at midcourt and celebrated down the floor.

BUCS WIN! BUCS WIN! BUCS WIN!@dsloan_4 with the game winner and @LA_NO_CALI with the steal!!!

ETSU 77
Missouri State 76

Bucs play Kent State Wednesday night in the #NaplesInvitational Championship at 8p!#DRRE | #ETSUTough pic.twitter.com/UkOG0jq75X

— ETSU Men's Basketball (@ETSU_MBB) November 24, 2021

UP NEXT

ETSU gears up for the championship game which is set for Wednesday at 8 p.m. when the Bucs take on Kent State.

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