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JOHNSON CITY — Nine East Tennessee State players saw the court in the first two games of the 2026-27 season.
On Wednesday night at Freedom Hall, in the first home game of the 2026-27 season, the number grew to 11. And all 11 contributed in some shape, form, or fashion as ETSU turned back Campbell 68-53 for the Bucs’ first win of the season.
Seven Bucs logged 17 or more minutes, but a couple of the guys who had lesser shifts made some of the bigger plays down the stretch as ETSU (1-2) pulled away late against an especially pesky Campbell team that was hanging around down 43-42 with just 8:53 remaining in the game. Colt Busse, who logged nine total minutes, made two crucial 3-pointers in the second half. DeCarl Payne, a junior-college transfer making his ETSU debut, sank a 3 in the first half when the offensive execution was erratic at best.
Bucs coach Brooks Savage, who told I-81 Sports in October he prefers to have a rotation of eight players, seems quite content to have more options.
“The joy of having depth. That’s how it used to be,” he said. “Just, ‘Oh, you don’t want to play? … I’ll bring this guy in.’ And we finally have that. I don’t think we’ve had that in three years because you can’t afford it [financially]. So now we’re able to afford it a little bit more. We also got some good cheap value, some good value on some guys for not very much money that are good players. So it’s nice. It’s a luxury. Accountability by depth. All I got is 200 minutes.”
Bucs point guard BJ Ward, a transfer from Southeast Missouri State, weighed in on the depth of the ETSU bench:
“A lot of people in college basketball, after their [first] five guys, like, it kind of just falls off,” Ward said, after totaling 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, and a block in a game-high 35 minutes. “We can go deeper in our bench, 11 guys, there’s no drop off. … And that’s great to have. Like, when somebody on the starting five is not having the best game, somebody on the bench is coming in and picking up.
“The new five coming off the bench, they’re coming and bringing the same energy,” Ward added.
The energy and execution were lacking for ETSU early. The Bucs missed four of their first five shots from the field, had issues taking care of the ball, and looked altogether out of synch in the new five out offense that ETSU is running.
“We were not strong with the ball,” Savage said. “We were trying to do it off one drive. I think in the second half, you saw possessions with multiple paint touches. You got to have somebody start the party. You know, there’s party starters and party goers. I was both off the field, off the court, you know, so, somebody had to punch a gap and touch the paint and then get off of it, and then you can kind of get them behind the play. But we were not really doing anything. We didn’t have a lot of pop. We weren’t doing anything to really gain an advantage.”
Ward, who had two points at half and only attempted two shots in the first 20 minutes, added that the Campbell players did a lot of face guarding I’m, something that was unfamiliar to him at the college level.
“That was something I hadn’t seen in a minute,” Ward said, “And it kind of shocked me at first. But I had to realize I was a basketball player and I had to do what I had to do.”
After making a nifty bounce pass to Marqus Marion in the final ticks of the half to tie the score at 25, Ward came out firing to start the second, banging a pair of 3-pointers before the first media timeout. He was also without the white headband he wore when the game started.
Superstition? Not quite.
“I actually forgot the headband when I came back out,” Ward said with a smile.
Tyran Mason lacked any headwear, but it didn’t make an impact on his game. A transfer from UT Arlington, Mason led the Bucs in scoring (19 points), also grabbing seven rebounds, and tying Trevor Hennig for the lead in assists (4). Mason scored 10 of his points in the first half, when the offense was sputtering.
“Yeah, I mean, he just, he can kind of do it all,” Savage said. “He’s growing into the role.
“If you watch the tape, you can see it. Just didn’t get a ton of opportunity to do it consistently. And now he is. So he’s got to grow into that a little bit, like all these guys do.”
“I think the coaching staff believing in me and valuing what I bring to the table has allowed me to kind of go out here and play free without worrying,” Mason said.
Rebounding played a pivotal role for ETSU, especially in the second half. The Bucs pummeled Campbell on the boards in the second half to the tune of a 24-8 margin. Thirteen of the 24 second-half boards came on the offensive glass. Marqus Marion, a transfer from Wake Forest, led the way with 10 rebounds. He also scored six points. Kendall Campbell and Mason had seven boards each.
“Blasted them on the backboard,” Savage said, adding, “You know, we don’t have a rebounding problem, contrary to, you know, Internet experts out there that ain’t never seen us play. Don’t know (crap) either. 48% on the offensive glass, 80% on the defensive glass. Crushed them on the backboard.”
Savage spoke highly of Marion, who played sparingly for the Demon Deacons under Steve Forbes, Savage’s former boss before taking this job. Savage compared Marion to Blake Barkley, now at Grand Canyon, and Jordan McCullum, who’s missing this entire season due to a torn ACL.
“Marquis is just, you can see it. It’s going to be like Blake and Jordan last year,” Savage said, adding, “What you think is a good value in the portal … we’re not getting like a 15-point scorer from Tennessee or Duke or something. You know what I mean? So you’ve got to go evaluate and find some value, but then they’re going to have to grow into the role that you think that they can do. And so, it’s a roll of the dice and a gamble and you just try to trust your eye and your experience. So he’s growing into it and he was great.”
Maki Johnson, held scoreless in the Bucs’ first two games, added eighth points on a pair of 3s and a steal and score late that gave ETSU its first double-digit lead of the game. Johnson was the first recruit who committed to Savage at ETSU and has earned his coach’s trust.
“He just knows how to win a game,” Savage said.
ETSU is off until next Tuesday, the 17th, when it travels to Marshall. The Bucs return home Nov. 21 to face Longwood.