ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The 2020 regular-season champion ETSU Bucs left nothing to chance, cruising to a 72-58 victory over upstart Wofford on Monday in the title game of the Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale. The Bucs claim the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
 
Isaiah Tisdale capped a strong tournament run leading the Bucs with 24 points. He was joined in double figures by Tray Boyd III with 11. Chevez Goodwin paced the Terriers with 18, while Tray Hollowell registered 13 off the bench.
 
Messiah Jones got the Terriers within two early in the second frame. It was a 40-38 game at 15:50 when the Bucs methodically pulled away via the defensive end, allowing one score for nearly six minutes. The key shot came at 10:45 when Joe Hugley’s 3-pointer from the right wing put the Bucs ahead 12, 52-40.
 
Jones scored again in the at the basket, but once the advantage topped 10, ETSU did not allow the upset-minded Terriers an opening.
 
It was a back-and-forth start to the contest. ETSU jumped out to an 11-2 lead before Wofford surged with a 9-0 run to tie it on back-to-back scores from Jones and Ryan Larson. Hugley’s old-fashioned three-point play followed by a triple by Tisdale got the advantage back to six, 17-11.
 
The Terriers outscored the favored Bucs 13-2 over the next five-plus minutes, jumping out by five on another Jones layup, 24-19. It was all ETSU from there with two Tisdale free throws sending the Bucs to the locker room up 36-31. Tisdale had the last 10 of the spurt with his 3 at 2:45 giving his squad a lead it never relinquished.
 
ETSU’s travel plans are revealed on Sunday, March 15, at 6 p.m. The Bucs join basketball fans around the country tuning into CBS to begin plotting their brackets and preparing for the next step.
 
RECORDS: ETSU 30-4 | Wofford 19-16
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
- ETSU won its eight Southern Conference tournament championship. That ties North Carolina for fourth-most in league history behind Davidson (12), Chattanooga (11) and West Virginia (10).
- Tonight was the Terriers’ first loss in the championship game. Their record stands at 5-1 in the finals with wins in 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2019.
- ETSU’s 30-win season is the fourth by a Southern Conference member, joining North Carolina (30-5, 1946), NC State (30-7, 1951) and Wofford (30-5, 2019).
 
3 STATS TO KNOW
- Tisdale averaged 16.3 points per game for the tournament with tonight’s 24 falling just one point shy of his first two games combined (25).
- Goodwin (8-for-8), Hollowell (5-for-7) and Jones (4-for-5) combined to shoot 85 percent (17-for-20). The rest of the squad made 6-of-33 (18.2 percent).
- ETSU recorded a season-high 89.5 percent at the free-throw line. The 17-for-19 performance just cleared 31-for-35 (88.5 percent) in the Feb. 15 72-67 win at VMI.
 
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS
First Team
Tray Boyd III, ETSU
Isaiah Tisdale, ETSU (MOP)
Daivien Williamson, ETSU
Ramon Vila, Chattanooga
Chevez Goodwin, Wofford
 
Second Team
Kaelon Harris, The Citadel
Isaiah Miller, UNC Greensboro
Carlos Dotson, Western Carolina
Mason Faulkner, Western Carolina
Storm Murphy, Wofford
 
Pinnacle Award (highest GPA on championship-winning team)
Patrick Good, ETSU
 
 
2020 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship presented by General Shale
Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville, Asheville, N.C.
 
Friday, March 6 (ESPN+)
Game 1 - (9) VMI 96, (8) Samford 78
Game 2 - (7) Wofford 93, (10) The Citadel 76
 
Saturday, March 7 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 3 - (1) ETSU 70, (9) VMI 57
Game 4 - (5) Western Carolina 70, (4) Mercer 56
Game 5 - (7) Wofford 77, (2) Furman 68
Game 6 - (6) Chattanooga 78, (3) UNCG 68
 
Sunday, March 8 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 7 - (1) ETSU 97, (5) Western Carolina 75
Game 8 - (7) Wofford 72, (6) Chattanooga 70
 
Monday, March 9 (ESPN)
Game 9 - (1) ETSU 72, (7) Wofford 58