Contributed/ETSU Athletics

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – In front of a buzzing crowd on black-out night at Freedom Hall, the ETSU men’s basketball team came up just short in a thrilling Southern Conference showdown, falling 90-88 to the Western Carolina Catamounts on Thursday night.

The Catamounts set the tone early, jumping out to a fast start and forcing ETSU to play from behind for much of the first half. Western Carolina capitalized on early opportunities and carried a double-digit lead into halftime, putting pressure on the Buccaneers to respond after the break. ETSU did more than just respond– they answered with renewed energy in the second half, stringing together defensive stops and timely baskets to chip away at the deficit.

The Bucs outscored Western Carolina after the intermission and cut the lead to a one-possession game in the final minute, bringing the Freedom Hall home crowd to its feet. Despite the valiant effort from the Bucs, Western Carolina was able to escape Johnson City with a conference victory under their belt, making just enough plays down the stretch to secure the two-point win.

Individually, ETSU was led by Brian Taylor II, who posted a career high 24 points to pace the Buccaneers. Cam Morris III added 15 points, while Blake Barkley finished with 13 points. Allen Strothers also contributed off the bench, reaching double figures to help spark the second-half surge. While the Buccaneers did add a loss to their record, they are not carrying that into their next game. Instead, they are using the setback as fuel for the fire.

When speaking with Coach Savage about the team mindset around winning and losing, he said, “We gotta recruit like minded guys… we talked about winning in recruiting, and if you didn’t, you’re out, and these guys did. That’s the glue that holds you together, that’s team chemistry putting winning above all else.”

The Bucs rebounded from the loss with an 86-72 win at Wofford on Feb. 1.

ETSU hosts Furman Feb. 4.

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