ETSU downs Chattanooga in rivalry game

JOHNSON CITY — Jordan McCullum scored a career-high 24 points as East Tennessee State men's basketball team matched its win total from each of the previous two seasons with a win over Chattanooga on Wednesday night. With the game nationally televised on the CBS Sports Network, the Bucs scored a 73-61 victory over the Mocs at Freedom Hall Civic Center. McCullum became the sixth ETSU player to score 20 or more points in a game this season. ETSU improved to 19-7 overall and a league-leading 11-2 in the Southern Conference, including a regular-season sweep of Chattanooga. The Mocs fell to 10-16 and 4-9. The Bucs continued a trend of sharing and taking care of the basketball. They had an 11-5 assists-to-turnover ratio. Still, the game remained close with ETSU's advantage reaching double figures, 57-47, on Brian Taylor's layup at the 8:32 mark, only to see the Mocs rally to cut the lead to three before ETSU pulled away at the end. Blake Barkley continued to be a thorn in the Mocs' side. Barkley, who hit a pair of winning free throws in the game at Chattanooga, finished with 11 points. It was his 13th straight game in double figures. Taking advantage of their free throws, McCullum and Barkley combined to hit 15-of-17 at the line. Cam Morris also had 11 points and Maki Johnson ended with 10 points, which included a pair of crucial 3-point shots. Morris, Johnson and McCullum tied for the team-best with six rebounds each. Taylor II added eight points and four assists. The Bucs were down just 15-13 in the first half despite going 6:54 without scoring a point. They were 0-for-11 from during that stretch. Thanks to the defense, they held on until Maki Johnson hit a 3-point shot from the left corner to give ETSU a one-point lead. ETSU led the rest of the half other than a tying score by Chattanooga at 18-apiece. Jaylen Smith drove the length of the court to score a layup and give the Bucs a 32-27 lead at halftime. Jordan Frison led the Mocs with 15 points and six rebounds. Tate Darner had 13 points and Brennan Watkins finished with 11 for the visitors. NEXT UP ETSU is scheduled to host Samford on Saturday noon in another nationally televised game, this one on ESPNU. Chattanooga hosts Western Carolina on Saturday 4:30.