Big week ahead for first-place Bucs

More opportunities await the East Tennessee State men's basketball team this week. The Southern Conference leading Bucs, who are 15-6 overall and 7-1 in the SoCon, have a chance to avenge its only league loss to Western Carolina at home on Thursday 7 p.m. They travel to Wofford on Saturday 2 p.m. in a showdown of the top two teams. ETSU escaped with a pair of one-point road wins at Samford and Chattanooga before returning home last Saturday in an 84-55 romp over The Citadel. The Bucs lost 72-68 to Western Carolina on the road back on Jan. 14 in front of a small crowd listed at 1,498. Now, they have the home-court advantage where they've recently drawn around 4,000 fans and have been 11-1 at home. "They obviously got us down there, and I didn't think we played very good offense," ETSU coach Brooks Savage said. "We guarded them fine, but they're a dangerous team. They can get going, so we have to play well Thursday. We want to keep our lead in first, and that puts us at the halfway point." Three ETSU players are averaging 14 points or better this season. Cam Morris III leads the Bucs at 14.5 points per game and has a team-best 29 blocks, while fellow 6-foot-8 post player Blake Barkley is next at 14.2 points and a team-best 5.5 rebounds. Brian Taylor II is also at 14 points along with three assists per game. The big three provided all but 11 points in the first meeting with Western Carolina. Taylor scored 23 points, Morris netted 19 and Barkley posted a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jaylen Smith led the Bucs in the last game against The Citadel with 17 points and five assists. Playing the sixth-man role, he's averaging 9.6 points. Jordan McCullum in another starting role down low, and starting point guard Allen Strothers have been effective in the Bucs' overall plan. There are certain elements that Savage believes the Bucs need to execute well against the Catamounts. "We have to work on our pace and spacing," Savage said. "Our offense doesn't have to be super-fast, but it has to be organized. We have to get on our spots on the floor and get going. The ball needs to touch the paint, touch a post player's hands at some point. The front court guys don't have to shoot it, but you want your best 2-3 players involved." Maki Johnson has picked up his game defensively, while making 38.6 percent of his 3-point shots. Gabe Sisk and Isaiah Sutherland have also played big roles lately in the Bucs' hot streak. ABOUT WESTERN CAROLINA The mountain rivalry has seen runs from both sides. ETSU won 14 straight in the series from 2016-22 only to see the Catamounts win eight of the last nine meetings. Western Carolina (7-12, 3-5) is coming off an 88-58 rout of VMI. Cord Stansberry, a 6-4 junior guard, had a team-best 20 points against ETSU. Stansberry, who leads the team with a 13.6 point average, has scored a dozen or more points in the last eight games including 17 in the win over VMI. Marcus Kell, a 6-8 post who scored 15 points against ETSU, ranks second on the team with 13.3 points and 4.6 rebounds. Julian Soumaoro, a 5-11 guard, is the team's third-leading scorer at 11.5 points per game. The Catamounts were balanced in the win over ETSU. Samuel Dada, a 6-9, 225-pound freshman forward, had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Soumaoro scored nine points, while Tidjiane Dioumassi, a 6-4 graduate guard, had eight points and five assists. There's a blackout where the fans are encouraged to wear black. The first 250 fans will receive a special "Black Out' t-shirt from Alumni Hall. ABOUT WOFFORD The Terriers (14-7, 6-2) are tied with Mercer a game behind the Bucs in the league standings. Wofford currently has the second-place tiebreaker after an 80-77 win over the Bears last Saturday. It's a challenging week for Wofford, which hosts preseason league favorite Chattanooga on Thursday night. Wofford is currently on a three-game win streak and like the Bucs have been tough at home with an 8-2 record. The Terriers are the second-highest scoring team in the league and Kahmere Holmes, a 6-3 sophomore guard, ranks second individually at 19.3 points per game. He's scored 20 or more points in six straight games. Nils Machowski, a 6-3 junior guard from Germany, has been the most consistent scorer in double figures in the last 15 games. He's second on the team at 16.5 points per game. Cayden Vasko, a 6-6 junior guard, averages 9.6 points and four assists per game. The Terriers are talented, but young, with 6-9 freshman Brian Sumpter and Luke Flynn, a 6-1 sophomore, are other starters. Chace Watley, a 6-2 freshman, has gotten more playing time of late. He posted 14 points and seven rebounds in the Mercer victory. Savage knows the challenges of both a quick turnaround, and playing at Wofford. It has been a tough rivalry with an even 15-15 split over the last 30 games. "The turnaround wasn't bad this time around, having already played Citadel," Savage said. "It will be a little different with Wofford. But, everybody plays Thursday so it's the same for both teams. We don't have far to go so that helps. We don't change a lot, so it's just getting up, playing hard and executing."