ETSU men’s basketball team faced Samford University on Jan. 15 at Freedom Hall Civic Center. The Bucs won with a score of 88-63 to advance their SoCon record 5-1.

  • (Photograph by Abigail Moore / East Tennessean)
  • (Photograph by Abigail Moore / East Tennessean)
  • (Photograph by Abigail Moore / East Tennessean)

The Bucs started the first half dominating the Samford Bulldogs leading 6-0 before the Bulldogs finally made their way onto the scoreboard due to two free throws due to a foul by senior Isaiah Tisdale (Lexington, Kentucky).

The Bucs continued to maintain the lead going on a 14-4 run after the Bulldogs started to gain headway. With more than a 10-point lead of 33-21 for the Bucs, the Bulldogs came back to cut the difference down to six. However, the Bucs would carry their lead back up to eight before the break at 37-29.

The second half continued to prove successful for the Bucs as they continued their lead over the Bulldogs. Within the first five minutes of the new half, the Bucs advanced their lead to 17 after a layup by senior Lucas N’Guessan (De Lier, Netherlands) making the score 53-36.

Throughout the rest of the half, the Samford Bulldogs could only come within 16 points to match the Bucs before the Blue and Gold would push the lead back up to 23 at 66-43. The Bucs continued to dominate and kept the lead around 20 as red shirt junior Octavion Corley (Reno, Nevada) came in with a last-minute dunk assisted by sophomore Daivien Williamson (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) finishing the score at 88-63.

“We need him (Williamson) to be aggressive offensively,” said head coach Steve Forbes. “There’s very few people that can guard him off the dribble when he’s going downhill like that. He’s got an incredible touch, and he’s not selfish.”

The Bucs finished the night with five players scoring in double figures. Senior guard Tray Boyd III (Memphis, Tennessee) went out with 16 points, while graduate transfer Joe Hugley added 14 points and five rebounds. Senior guard Patrick Good (Johnson City) and Williamson ended the night with 11 points.

The Bucs defeated Western Carolina 85-66 advancing their conference record once again to 6-1. The Bucs will go on to face Chattanooga on Saturday, Jan. 25, at home in Freedom Hall Civic Center at 4 p.m.