East Tennessee State and Davidson played one of the most exciting basketball games of the 2023-24 season with the Bucs coming through with a 70-68 win in Johnson City.
Ebby Asamoah scored six points in the final 78 seconds and the Bucs survived to potential game-winning shots. Now, the Wildcats will have the home-court advantage in a game scheduled Saturday at 5 p.m.
Davidson (2-0) defeated Bowling Green 91-85 in its last contest. Reed Bailey, a 6-foot-10 junior forward, led the Wildcats with 24 points and Connor Kochera, a 6-foot-5 fifth-year guard, was hot on his heels with 23 points.
Bobby Durkin, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, was in the mix with 20 points. All the top five scorers for Davidson in the win over Bowling Green are returners from last season’s 15-17 team. They also include 6-foot-4 sophomore guard Matt Loughanne and 6-foot-10 junior forward Sean Logan.
Matt McKillop is in his third season leading the Wildcats after his father, Bob, retired in 2022 after 33 seasons as Davidson head coach.
ETSU coach Brooks Savage knows it would be a big feather in the Bucs’ cap if his team could beat the Atlantic 10 team again.
“Davidson, the brand has been the same as long as a McKillop has been there,†Savage said. “They’re tough, physical and are going to hit you from the opening tip. Every time a shot is taken, they’re going to hit you and every time you drive it, they’re going to chest blast you. It’s not for the weak. It’s not going to be easy down there.â€
The Bucs (2-1) are coming off an 82-54 victory over Tusculum on Wednesday night. ETSU finally got on track offensively, hitting 55.2 percent from the field and 11 of 21 from 3-point range. Still, Savage has been bothered by slow starts by his team in early games, particularly in an 82-78 loss last Friday against Eastern Kentucky.
“There’s no easing into the game. You have to start the game breathing fire,†Savage said. “We have to have more edge to us. We have to execute the first play, get a stop and first-shot rebound. We can’t turn the ball over early. We practice with four-minute games like we play the first four minutes of a game.â€
Quimari Peterson, the 6-foot-1 senior guard, leads the Bucs with 16 points per game through the first three contests.
It’s a homecoming for the next two top scorers. Jaden Seymour, the 6-foot-8 senior forward who grew up in nearby Charlotte, is averaging 15 points per game after the first three contests. Karon Boyd, the 6-foot-5 junior from Concord, N.C., is at 11.7 points and seven rebounds per game. John Buggs III, the graduate student transfer from North Texas, leads the team’s newcomers with 9.7 points per game.
Davidson leads the all-time series 26-20, although the Bucs have gone 7-3 in the last seven matchups. But, Savage is more concerned about the present with Tusculum the last Division II team on the schedule.
“Every game left on our schedule is winnable. Every game on our schedule, we could lose,†Savage said. “It’s time to go. They’re similar (to Eastern Kentucky) with the cutting and things, so we’ve been working on that all week to give ourselves the best chance and be as prepared as possible.â€