ETSU’s Southern Conference Tournament run came to a surprising end Saturday evening as the No. 3 Buccaneers fell 72-60 to No. 6 Wofford in the SoCon quarterfinals at Harrah’s Cherokee Center.
The Bucs had a strong start, opening the game with a 7-0 run and later stretching their lead to 10 points midway through the first half. Their defensive pressure and consistency kept them ahead until a late Wofford push evened the score at 27 entering the second half.
ETSU started the second half strong, briefly reclaiming the lead on a 10-1 run. Wofford answered with an 11-0 run of its own, swinging the momentum to the Terriers for good. The Bucs battled to cut the deficit to six points with just over a minute to play, but a late three-pointer from Jackson Sivills was the dagger to put the game out of reach.
Offensively, ETSU shot 31 percent from the three point line and hit seven three-pointers, but struggled to match Wofford’s fire power from beyond the arc. The Terriers connected on 11 threes at over 40 percent.
Wofford dominated the glass with a 38-26 advantage, including 11 offensive rebounds that led to 17 second-chance points. ETSU could only muster just 11 second-chance points in comparison. Rebounding proved to be a huge factor in this one.
Despite the loss, Qumari Peterson had a great game. In 39 minutes of play Peterson scored over a third of ETSU’s total points, putting up 22 points on the night, also adding four rebounds, and four assists to his stat sheet.
ETSU put together a strong season, finishing third in the SoCon standings and racking up 19 wins. The Bucs’ campaign showcased resilience, but their conference title hopes came up short against a powerful Wofford squad.
With the season over, ETSU will look ahead to next year, aiming to build on this performance and make a deeper postseason push.
