Four Bucs scored in double figures as ETSU wins on Coach Oliver’s birthday

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Dec. 4, 2021) – The ETSU men’s basketball team delivered head coach Desmond Oliver a victory on his birthday.

Four Buccaneers scored in double figures, including Ledarrius Brewer (Meridian, Miss.) netting a season-high 19 points and Charlie Weber (Owings, Md.) pouring in a career-high 17, as ETSU routed Lenoir-Rhyne, 90-66, on Saturday night inside Freedom Hall.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• ETSU remained undefeated at home as the Blue and Gold have won their first three games inside Freedom Hall, with the Bucs improving to 6-3 on the season. With the win, ETSU also extended its streak to 71 straight victories over non-Division I teams.
• The Bucs shot 51 percent from the field (31-61) and 42 percent from three (10-24), while going 18-of-21 at the free throw line (86 percent).
• The Blue and Gold assisted on 24 of their 31 makes, setting season highs in both.
• ETSU led wire-to-wire and led by as many as 26 points.
• Seven Bucs scored at least eight points in the 24-point win.
• The Bucs were plus-11 on the glass, 38-27, while nine different players grabbed at least one rebound.
• Lenoir-Rhyne shot 42 percent from the floor (25-59) and 26 percent from beyond the arc (6-23), marking the fifth time this season ETSU has held an opponent below 30 percent from three-point range.
• Saturday was the first-ever meeting between the two programs since the 1925-26 season.

TOP PERFORMERS

• Ledarrius Brewer led all players in scoring with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting (3-of-4 from three) and grabbed nine rebounds.
• Charlie Weber, who made his first collegiate start, set a new career high in scoring for the third time this season and second time in his last three outings. Weber finished a perfect 4-of-4 at the free throw line, moving his streak to 18 straight makes at the charity stripe.
• Kordell Charles (Ontario, Canada) and Jaden Seymour (Charlotte, N.C.) combined for 24 of ETSU’s 32 bench points. Charles netted a career-high 14 points on 5-of-6 from the field, while Seymour also set a career high with 10 points and made all four attempts from the floor.
• Jordan King (Albany, N.Y.) and David Sloan (Louisville, Ky.) each dished out five assists, while Mohab Yasser (Giza, Egypt) added eight points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• Lenoir-Rhyne had three players score in double figures with Salle Wilson scoring 12 points.

POSTGAME COMMENTS 

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

GAME SUMMARY

The Bucs scored the first seven points of the night and never trailed during the contest. Lenoir-Rhyne got to within a point at 11-10, but ETSU rattled off six straight scores to go back up seven. From there, the Bears cut the deficit to four, but the Bucs then took command with a 16-4 surge to go ahead, 39-23, following a Ledarrius Brewer triple with just over five minutes left before intermission.

ETSU took a 16-point lead into the break and only saw its lead cut to 14 in the final 20 minutes. A three-pointer by Weber saw the Bucs push the margin to 21 early on in the frame and the lead hovered there for the next 11 minutes until Lenoir-Rhyne made it 74-58 with 5:21 showing on the clock. The Bucs answered when Sloan found Charles for a three on the next trip down, while ETSU pushed its lead to 26 on two different occasions to secure the victory.

UP NEXT

Following six days off, ETSU returns to action Saturday evening when the Bucs host Morehead State at 4 p.m. inside Freedom Hall.

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