On Feb. 10, ETSU men’s basketball played Virginia Military Institute (VMI) inside Freedom Hall and won a close game with a final score of 69-65.
ETSU came into this game having lost two straight in Southern Conference play. ETSU now moves to 10-17 with a 6-8 record in conference games. VMI continues to struggle, falling to 6-21 overall with a 1-13 record in the conference.
In the opening half, the game was back and forth with no team leading by more than five points. The Bucs had a five-point lead with under eight minutes left in the first half when Braden Ilic (Morristown, Tenn.) made a three-point shot. ETSU took a 31-30 lead into halftime in a nail-biter of a game.
In a game with nine lead changes, both squads were looking for ways to extend their leads. ETSU was able to hold the lead in the second half until a layup by VMI’s Asher Woods put the Keydets up by one. The Bucs answered quickly with a layup of their own by Jalen Haynes (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) to make the score 37-36 with 15 minutes left to play.
Continuing to battle back and forth, ETSU was able to capture the lead and hold it for good when Haynes grabbed the board from a missed jump shot by VMI and connected with Jaden Seymour (Charlotte, N.C.) in the fast break for an alley-oop, giving the Bucs the lead at 59-57 with five minutes remaining.
To eliminate the chances for a Keydet comeback, Jordan King (Albany, N.Y.) found Jamarius Hariston (Salisbury, N.C.) for a three-point shot to push the lead to five with just a minute left in regulation.
King led the way for the Bucs, scoring 18 while playing nearly the whole game and logging 38 minutes. Haynes pitched in 12 points on 50 percent shooting from the field while securing seven rebounds for the Blue and Gold.
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