TEMPE, Ariz. (Nov. 2, 2026) – The ETSU men’s basketball team battled on the road but lost its season opener to Arizona State, 75-65, on Monday night. ETSU was led by BJ Ward, who netted a career-high 25 points in his first game as a Buccaneer.
Ward, a Preseason All-SoCon pick last month, went 10-for-23 from the field and added four rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Trevor Hennig (15 points) and Jayden Cooper (10 points) also reached double-digit point totals to begin the 2026-27 campaign.
Both teams started slowly offensively in Monday’s matchup. ETSU took an early lead in the opening minutes before Arizona State pulled ahead with a jump shot from Joel Foxwell with a little over 17 minutes to go in the half.
Even with ASU leading most of the first half, the Bucs hung around thanks to six made threes in the opening 20 minutes. Five different ETSU players made those six threes.
The Sun Devils went to the free throw line a total of 13 times in the half and knocked down 12 of those attempts. With a little over five minutes to go before halftime, the Sun Devils extended their lead to 12 points. ETSU battled back over the final minutes to cut the deficit in half, 37-31, with a three from Cooper being the final bucket of the half.
Ward quickly answered in the first few minutes of the second half, cutting the gap to four, 37-33. Arizona State then built its lead back to double digits, but the Bucs kept playing hard. A steal and a layup at the other end of the floor by Ward made it a six-point game, 65-59, with 2:33 to go. Arizona State, however, closed the game by scoring 10 of the next 16 points to preserve the 75-65 victory over the Bucs.
Overall, the Bucs held the edge against Arizona State in field goal percentage (.455 to .434), three-point field goal percentage (.412 to .308) and steals (nine to three).
The Bucs return Friday to take on another power-conference opponent on the road at NC State. Tip-off between ETSU and the Wolfpack is set for 7 p.m.
For more information on ETSU men’s basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click the men’s basketball tab.
