Five Bucs score in double figures

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 22, 2023) – Jordan King (Albany, N.Y.) loves seeing The Citadel Bulldogs. 

After netting a career-high 42 points against the Bulldogs back in January, King was one of five Buccaneers to score in double figures as he finished with a game-high 27 points to lead ETSU to a 78-70 win over The Citadel on Wednesday night inside Freedom Hall. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• ETSU secured its third series sweep of the season as the Bucs improved to 11-19 overall and 7-10 in conference play. The Citadel moved to 10-20, 5-12.
• With the win, the Bucs – who are now 3-0 at home in the month on February – set themselves up to be the No. 5 seed in next week’s Southern Conference Tournament. With a win over UNCG on Saturday, ETSU will secure the fifth seed.
• The Bucs led wire-to-wire and were ahead by as many as 17 points with 4:39 remaining, but the lead was cut to five with under a minute to play and ETSU held on for the conference victory.
• For the second straight game, ETSU shot 50 percent from the field (26-52) and hit 44 percent from beyond the arc (8-18). The Citadel posted a 44 percent clip from the floor (24-55) and was held to 4-of-20 from three-point range.
• The Bucs shot 72 percent at the charity stripe (18-25), while the Bulldogs went 90 percent at the line (18-20).
• The game featured 33 fouls – 26 coming in the second half – which included Jalen Haynes (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) being ejected after picking up back-to-back technical fouls with 3:51 remaining.
• ETSU was plus-five on the glass, 34-29, registering 10 offensive rebounds. The Blue & Gold recorded 11 second-chance points.
• Both teams scored 49 second-half points after ETSU led 29-21 at halftime.
• The Bucs used their eighth different starting lineup of the season on Wednesday night as Braden Ilic (Morristown, Tenn.) made his first collegiate start. The Bucs, who got Josh Taylor (Atlanta) back from injury, were without the services of Allen Strothers (Newport News, Va.), Brock Jancek (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Jeremy Gregory (Charlotte, N.C.). 

TOP PERFORMERS

• To go with his 27 points, King also added three rebounds, three assists and one block. King was 8-of-13 from the field (4-6 from three-point range) and went 7-of-8 at the free throw line.
• Jaden Seymour (Charlotte, N.C.) collected his fourth career double-double as he totaled a career-high 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Seymour also finished with three assists and two steals.
• Justice Smith (Lyons, N.Y.) and Jamarius Hairston (Salisbury, N.C.) both scored 10 points.
• Prior to being ejected, Haynes tallied 14 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes of work.
• The Citadel was led by Stephen Clark as he finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. 

GAME SUMMARY

ETSU jumped out of the gates quick as they scored the first five points and eventually built a 13-point lead seven minutes into the contest when a second-chance put-back by Haynes made it 17-4. The Citadel cut the deficit to six three different times, but the Bucs took a 29-21 advantage into halftime. 

The Bucs opened the second half scoring seven of the first nine points to see their lead grow back to 13, 36-23, thanks to a pair of free throws by Hairston at the 17:33 mark. The Bulldogs responded with an 8-0 run to clip it to five, while a lay-up by AJ Smith made it a 41-37 score with 11:11 remaining. 

That’s as close as The Citadel would get as ETSU mounted a 20-7 run over the next seven minutes and took its largest lead of the night at 61-44, following a step-back three by King with 4:39 showing the clock. 

What looked like a runaway victory turned into the Bucs having to hold on for the win. 

In a matter of a minute and 19 seconds, the Bulldogs pulled within seven and eventually cut the deficit to five when David Maynard’s lay-up following a Buccaneer turnover made it 70-65 with 55 ticks left. The Bucs made six of their eight free throws in the closing seconds to secure the victory. 

UP NEXT

ETSU closes out regular season play Saturday when the Bucs host UNCG on Senior Day. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. inside Freedom Hall.

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