ETSU to face Louisiana in title game of Asheville Championship Sunday at 4:30 p.m. on ESPNU

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (Nov. 11, 2022) – The Buccaneers took the lead early and never trailed as ETSU men’s basketball enjoyed a 77-64 wire-to-wire win over Elon on Friday night in the Asheville Championship inside Harrah’s Cherokee Center.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• With the win, ETSU moved to 2-0 on the young season, while Elon dipped to 1-1.
• The Bucs have now won four of the five games in the all-time series over the Phoenix.  
• ETSU shot just under 50 percent for the contest (49.2) as the Bucs were 29-of-59 from the field and went 7-for-18 from long distance.
• For the second straight game, the Blue and Gold won the battle of the boards as ETSU was plus-5, 33 to 28.
• ETSU’s bench produced 25 points, while the Bucs scored 34 points in the paint.
• The Bucs were balanced in both halves, scoring 39 points in the opening 20 minutes and 38 in the second half.

TOP PERFORMERS

• Four Bucs scored in double figures with Jalen Haynes (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) pacing the group with 17 points (7-of-8 shooting) and six rebounds.  
• DeAnthony Tipler (Ashland, Miss.) and Brock Jancek (Knoxville, Tenn.) combined for the 25 bench points. Tipler finished with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting and Jancek tallied 10 points on 4-of-5 from the field.
• Jordan King (Albany, N.Y.) ended with 15 points, three rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes.
• Josh Taylor (Atlanta), who celebrated a birthday on Friday, finished with eight points and 13 rebounds – both career highs for the Buccaneer newcomer.  
• Allen Strothers (Newport News, Va.) added four points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal.  
• Elon was led by Josh Bowen as he recorded 17 points and four rebounds in the losing effort. Gate City product Zac Ervin added 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting.  

GAME SUMMARY  

First Half

The Bucs jumped out to a strong start by scoring the first five points and pushed the lead to 10, when King knocked down a deep three from the logo, making it 14-4, at the 16:16 mark. After extending the margin to 11, Elon scored the next eight points to make it 22-19 with 10 minutes remaining before the break.

ETSU never let the Phoenix pull ahead despite Elon cutting the deficit to two, as the Blue and Gold used an 8-0 run of their own to push the advantage back to 10, 37-27, following an old-fashioned three-point-play by Tipler with 1:47 showing on the clock. The Bucs carried momentum into the locker room as Jancek connected on a short jumper at the buzzer and ETSU led, 39-31 at halftime.  

The Bucs shot 52 percent in the opening 20 minutes (15-29) and knocked down four of their nine attempts from beyond the arc. King led all scorers with 12 points, while the Buccaneer bench added 13 points – Tipler leading the group at eight points.

Second Half

ETSU carried the wave of energy with them into the second half as they built a 15-point lead over the first four-plus minutes and went ahead 50-35 following lay-up by Haynes. During the next five minutes, Elon cut the deficit to seven, 53-46, with just over 10 minutes left to play, but ETSU never buckled and eventually pushed its lead back into double figures.  

The Bucs built their largest lead of the night when Jancek found Taylor in the corner for a triple, making it 69-53, with just under four minutes remaining. From there, the rout was on and the Blue and Gold enjoyed the 13-point victory.  

UP NEXT

ETSU will face Louisiana in the championship game of the Asheville Championship Sunday at 4:30 p.m. on ESPNU.  

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