ETSU snaps eight-game home losing streak  

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 1, 2023) – The Bucs unleashed months of frustrating home losses into the Wofford Terriers on Wednesday night. 

Jordan King (Albany, N.Y.) and Jalen Haynes (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) each scored 22 points, as ETSU men’s basketball snapped an eight-game home losing streak with a 77-52 rout over Wofford inside Freedom Hall. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• ETSU, who picked up its first home win since Nov. 30, improved to 9-15 overall and 5-6 in league play. Wofford dropped to 13-11, 5-6. The victory was also the Bucs’ first home win in SoCon play since last Feb. 7 when ETSU took down Furman, 75-71.
• The Bucs swept the season series for the first time since 2019-20 and the 25-point win was the second-largest margin of victory against the Terriers.
• The Blue and Gold led by as many as 31 points in the second half, marking their largest lead at home this season.
• For the game, ETSU shot a season-high 62 percent from the field (32-52) and knocked down nine of its 23 attempts from beyond the arc. Wofford posted a 43 percent clip (23-54) and was held to three of 21 from long distance. In the regular season series, the Terriers went 7-for-52 from three-point range against the Bucs.
• Both teams scored 32 points in the paint, while ETSU outrebounded the Terriers, 35-27.
• The Blue and Gold assisted on 16 of their 32 made field goals, while the Bucs only turned the ball over eight times.
• ETSU held Wofford to 26 points in both halves – improving to 73-10 when holding the opposition to less than 30 points in the first half since the start of the 2015-16 season. 

TOP PERFORMERS

• Haynes totaled his fifth career 20-point game as he finished 10-for-11 from the field en route to netting the 22 points. The Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. native made his first 10 shots of the night and ended with a .909 shooting percentage, marking the third-highest by a Buccaneer in single-game history. Haynes also had four rebounds and two assists.
• King notched his 13th career 20-point scoring game as he accounted for four of ETSU’s nine made triples to go with six assists (one turnover) and three rebounds.
• Jamarius Hairston (Salisbury, N.C.) continued his stretch of scoring in double figures as he finished with 12 points and five rebounds. Hairston set a career-high with four made threes.
• Brock Jancek (Knoxville, Tenn.) came off the bench to post eight points and eight rebounds, while Jaden Seymour (Charlotte, N.C.) added six points (3-3 shooting) and 10 boards.
• Sophomore guard Cameron George (Knoxville, Tenn.) registered his first collegiate points when his three-pointer with 1:46 remaining gave ETSU the 31-point lead, 77-46.
• Wofford was led by Messiah Jones and Jackson Paveletzke as they each scored 10 points. 

GAME SUMMARY

Wofford scored the first basket of the night, but from there it was all Blue and Gold. 

ETSU scored the next 10 points and eventually pushed its lead to 14 when Jancek connected on a jumper in the paint, making it 18-4 with 13:21 left in the half. With the Bucs making eight of their first 10 shots, the Terriers were forced to burn a 30-second timeout to try and weather the storm. 

Wofford was able to cut its deficit to nine, but the Bucs never let the Terriers inch any closer. 

ETSU took a 10-point lead into halftime, 36-26, and pushed the margin to 17 in the opening minutes of the second half as a driving lay-up by King made it 45-28 at the 15:56 mark. 

From there, the Buccaneer lead hovered between 15 to 17 points until a pair of free throws by Haynes made it 58-37 at the midway point of the half. Then the rout was on as the margin hit 25 thanks to a dunk by Seymour and King followed with his final bucket of the night – a three-pointer – making it 74-46 with less than four minutes to play. 

George finally got in on the fun as he hit his first attempt for his first collegiate points, resulting in the 31-point lead, and the Buccaneer faithful went home with free Chick-fil-a thanks to Messiah Jones missing back-to-back free throws at the 17:24 mark of the second half. 

UP NEXT

ETSU now hits the road for two tough league games, beginning Saturday at SoCon-leading Samford. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. ET inside Pete Hanna Center.

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