On Saturday, the Buccaneers traveled to Alabama to face off against the Samford Bulldogs, hoping to come out unscathed and stay at the top of the SoCon rankings thus far. The Buccaneers pulled out a satisfying 76-75 victory, in no short part due to the efforts of Blake Barkley.

The Bucs came out swinging in the first half, Barkley racking up a quick 14 points and a handful of rebounds. The redshirt sophomore also found crucial backcourt support in ETSU’s guards, Brian Taylor II (13 pts, 3 rbs, 2 ast) and Allen Strothers (11 pts, 3 reb, 3 stl). The Buccaneers narrowly led Samford 36-35 at the half. Barkley ended the night with career highs in both points (26) and rebounds (11) in 36 minutes, proving just how well he fits into this team.

Samford put up a fight; the lead changed five times throughout the duration of the game and the score was tied twice. ETSU has come out victorious the last three times these teams have met, not having lost since losing to the Bulldogs in the SoCon championship in 2024.

The win came as a full team effort with key free throws from Taylor II to maintain the lead, and the game-winning score was produced by Barkley. He crashed the offensive glass, tipped the ball off a teammate’s shot attempt, and sealed the game for ETSU with four seconds left on the clock.

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