ETSU remains perfect at home by outscoring Eagles 25-2 in points off turnovers

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Dec. 11, 2021) – Just when Morehead State thought they were going to mount a comeback run, the Buccaneers said, “Not in our house!”

After seeing the Eagles tie the game at 65 with seven minutes remaining, the Bucs scored eight straight points, including back-to-back threes by David Sloan (Louisville, Ky.), as ETSU men’s basketball defeated the reigning Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champions, 82-75, on Saturday evening inside Freedom Hall.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• ETSU used its pressure defense to provide the spark as they turned 14 Eagle turnovers into 25 points, while also totaling nine steals. To go with the points off turnovers, the Bucs were also plus-14 in transition scoring, 19-5.
• The Bucs shot 46 percent from the floor (31-67) and posted a 45 percent mark from beyond the arc, going 13-for-29. The 13 made threes tied a season high for the Blue and Gold.
• Despite making 11 less trips to the free throw line than Morehead State, ETSU took advantage of its opportunities as the Bucs finished 7-of-9, compared to the Eagles going 13-for-20.
• The Blue and Gold trailed by as many as 11 midway through the first half and led by as many as 10 in the late stages of the second half. After trailing by two at the break, ETSU outscored the visitors from Kentucky by nine in the final 20 minutes, 43-34.
• Morehead State shot 44 percent on the night (26-59) and went 10-for-31 from three-point range.
• With the win, ETSU improved to 7-3 on the season and moved to 4-0 inside Freedom Hall. The Bucs have now won four straight over the Eagles and evened the all-time series at, 28-28. Morehead State, who was picked to finish second in the OVC, saw its four-game win streak snapped and dipped to 6-4 on the campaign.

TOP PERFORMERS

• Ledarrius Brewer (Meridian, Miss.) scored the first 10 points for the Bucs en route to netting a team-high 20 points, marking his 17th career game with at least 20 points. Brewer was 7-of-14 shooting and connected on 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, while adding eight rebounds, three steals and two assists. Brewer also extended the Bucs’ three-point streak to 1,070 straight games when he made his first attempt of the contest 53 seconds in.
• Jordan King (Albany, N.Y.), Charlie Weber (Owings, Md.), Mohab Yasser (Giza, Egypt) and Sloan also joined Brewer in double figures. King added 18 points and was 4-of-8 from long distance, while Sloan finished with 12 points (four made threes) and tied a season-high with eight assists. Sloan joined Brewer with three steals. Weber pitched in with 11 points, including the exclamation point with a powerful dunk in transition on a feed from Sloan with 13 seconds remaining. Yasser recorded his first double-digit scoring tally of his young career, ending with 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• Ty Brewer (Meridian, Miss.) led the Blue and Gold with nine rebounds and netted seven points.
• Morehead State was led by Johni Broome as he finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.

GAME SUMMARY

Morehead State grabbed control early as they jumped out to a 24-13 lead following a three-pointer with 11:02 left in the half, but the Bucs quickly answered with a 17-4 run over the next five minutes and 12 seconds to take their first lead of the game, 30-28, thanks to a step back three by Sloan at the 5:50 mark. During the surge, ETSU was 7-of-9 from the field and five different players scored to spark the comeback.

The final six minutes of the half went back-and-forth.

The Eagles responded with an 11-2 run to go back up seven with a minute and half left. However, ETSU scored seven of the last nine points, including the last five – a three by King – and Yasser, who assisted on that triple, ended the half with a steal and score at the buzzer making it a two-point deficit, 41-39.

ETSU carried the energy out into the second half as they scored the first four points to go back ahead by two, and they would never trail the remainder of the night.

Morehead State pulled even at 43, but the Bucs extended their lead to seven, 54-47, when Weber grabbed an offensive rebound and laid one in with 14:02 left. The Eagles scored the next five points to cut the gap back to two, but again, ETSU answered.

Then, with the Bucs ahead 65-60, Morehead State rattled off five straight scores to tie it at 65, but with the Eagles' bench fired up and feeling confident, ETSU landed the knockout punch.

The Blue and Gold scored eight straight points over the next two minutes, including back-to-back threes by Sloan coming off Morehead State turnovers, making it 73-65 with 5:02 showing the clock. Morehead State was left feeling stunned and had to burn a 30-second timeout. The Eagles pulled within five points three different possessions, but ETSU answered each time to secure a critical non-conference home win.

UP NEXT

ETSU wraps up its three-game homestand Tuesday night when the Bucs host North Carolina A&T at 7 p.m. inside Freedom Hall.

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