E. Tennessee St. uses early blitz for win over W. Carolina

Jan 19, 2021, 10:38 am

CULLOWHEE, N.C. -- Isaiah Tisdale scored 26 points with career-high 12 rebounds and East Tennessee State beat Western Carolina 85-66 on Saturday.

Tray Boyd III scored 16 points off the bench for the second straight game, Lucas N'Guessan 15 and Bo Hodges 14 for the Buccaneers (17-3, 6-1 Southern Conference) who earned a pair of votes in the AP Top 25 poll.

East Tennessee State built a 20-7 lead and never trailed. The Buccaneers finished the first half with a 52-34 lead. Tisdale finished with 6 3-pointers in nine attempts beyond the arc and the Bucs were 29- of-58 (50%) shooting and 17 of 22 from the foul line.

The Bucs now have won four straight and nine of 10.

Mason Faulkner led the Catamounts (12-5, 4-2) with 18 points, Xavier Cork scored 16 and Matt Halvorsen 11. Western Carolina has dropped back-to-back contests following a five-game win streak.

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