All five starters scored in double figures; Bucs net 53 second-half points

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 12, 2020) – Strong second halves have become the norm for ETSU men’s basketball since the start of February.

The theme continued as the Buccaneers netted 53 second-half points en route to cruising to a 91-67 win over The Citadel to cap off the season sweep on Wednesday night inside Freedom Hall.

All five Buccaneer starters scored in double figures as they combined for 73 points on 27-of-45 shooting. Sophomore guard Daivien Williamson (Winston-Salem, N.C.) led the way with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while adding five assists and two rebounds. For the ninth straight game senior center Lucas N’Guessan (De Lier, Netherlands) scored in double figures as he finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, while senior guard Isaiah Tisdale (Lexington, Ky.) totaled 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. Senior guard Tray Boyd III (Memphis, Tenn.) pitched in with 14 points and junior guard Bo Hodges (Nashville, Tenn.) registered 13 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals.

For the game, the Bucs shot 55 percent (33-60), along with dishing out 19 assists (eight turnovers) and out-rebounding the Bulldogs by 16, 38-22. ETSU outscored the visitors from Charleston 21-0 in second-chance points and cashed 14 Bulldog turnovers into 23 points.

In the second half, the Blue and Gold shot 55 percent, made six of its 10 attempts from three and shot 72 percent at the free throw line (13-18).

With the win, ETSU – who led for over 38 minutes – improved to 22-4 overall and 11-2 in SoCon play to remain tied atop the league standings with Furman. The Bulldogs suffered their 13th straight loss and dipped to 6-18, 0-13.

The Bucs assisted on their first five shots and grabbed a 14-6 lead four and a half minutes into the contest. ETSU eventually led by nine at the 12-minute mark, but the Bulldogs used a 14-6 run to pull within one, 28-27 with just under seven minutes to go in the half. The Bucs never let The Citadel take the lead and ETSU went into the break up six, 38-32.

Williamson and N’Guessan paced the Bucs with eight points each in the first half – N’Guessan going a perfect 4-of-4 from the field. Overall, seven different players reached the scoring column for the Blue and Gold as ETSU shot 55 percent (16-29) from the field and was plus-18 in points in the paint, 26-8.

After the Bulldogs scored the first bucket of the second half to make it a four-point game, ETSU flipped the switch and turned things into a higher gear.

ETSU scored on seven of its first eight possessions and quickly extended its lead to 12, 53-41, when Williamson hit a bucket in the paint at the 15:19 mark.

The Bucs then opened things up by mounting a 14-2 run over four-minute stretch to go ahead 75-53, thanks to Tisdale converting on a three-point-play with 8:07 showing on the clock. ETSU’s lead eventually soared to 28 on two occasions – the final coming when Williamson found Octavion Corley (Reno, Nev.) for a dunk – making it 91-63 with a minute and a half left to play.

The Bulldogs shot 49 percent (24-49) from the field and went 10-of-24 (42 percent) from beyond the arc. Twenty-one of the Bulldogs’ 22 rebounds came on the defensive end with their lone offensive board coming in the final seconds.

Fletcher Abee led The Citadel with 16 points, while Kaelon Harris (14 points) and Tyson Batiste (10 points) also scored in double figures.

The Bucs now go back on the road to take on VMI Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. inside Cameron Hall.

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