UTC coach Will Wade discusses call with an official during UTC's 61-46 win Wednesday against Robert Morris
photo by Dennis Norwood
UTC's Lance Stokes had 2 points, 2 rebounds
photo by Dennis Norwood
Ronrico White (11) had 3 pts., 5 boards, 7 assists
photo by Dennis Norwood
Tough D by UTC
photo by Dennis Norwood
UTC's Alex Bran (14) plays good D
photo by Dennis Norwood
For the Chattanooga Mocs men’s basketball team, it’s good to be home.
Just ask sophomore point guard Greg Pryor whose 13 points, including a trio of 3–pointers sparked a second half offensive surge as the Mocs defeated visiting Robert Morris (Pa.), 61-46 Wednesday afternoon in McKenzie Arena.
The Mocs (2-3) advance to Thursday’s championship game at noon of the Battle 4 Atlantis Mainland against the second game winner of Coastal Carolina and Louisiana-Monroe.
Leading by seven, 32-25, at half, UTC outscored RM, 18-4 in the first 10 minutes of the second half for a game-high 21 point lead at 50-29.
The Colonials (1-4) from the Northeast Conference held one point leads twice in the first 20 minutes but came out cold to start the second half - 1-11 at 9% FG% in first eight minutes - and never recovered. Robert Morris (1-4) did go on an 11-1 run in the final 10 minutes to pull within 11 (51-40 at 4:33, but could get no closer.
Casey Jones’ double-double (14 pts., 13 boards) paced UTC, while Pryor and Justin Tuoyo also contributed 13 points.
Tuoyo had a season-high three blocks.
Robert Morris was led by Lucky Jones with 11 points, while Rodney Pryor added nine points and five rebounds.
First Half: In a back and forth half, Mocs had an early 7-0 led by Tuoyo’s four points. Robert Morris tied it at 11-11 at 11:47 on David Appolon’s pair of free throws and took its first lead at 17-16 (9:03) on Stephen Bennett’s free throws.
The visitors were up 20-19 before UTC went on an 11-0 run capped by Tre McLean’s 3 for a 30-20 advantage at 3:14 and the largest lead of the half by either team.
After Marquise Reed’s five straight points to make it 30-25, UTC’s Eric Robertson made a pair of free throws for the seven point halftime lead.
First Two Points: UTC’s Greg Pryor gave the home team a 2-0 lead on free throws before the opening tip due to a technical foul on Robert Morris for dunking in warm ups. UTC went up 7-0 in less than two minutes.
Held Below 50: The Colonials’ 46 points is the lowest total since 49 against Kentucky last November.
Coach Will Wade on Greg Pryor and Casey Jones: Greg has worked really hard on his game and is our toughest kid."
"Casey looked like his old self today ... he was 9-10 on free throws and is a blue collar guy."
Wade's Game Comments: "We shared the ball well ... we had a huge point of emphasis to get the ball inside to Justin (13 points) and it paid off ... We did a good job of getting the ball in the paint (24-31 free throws, 77.4%) "... best FT shooting of the season.
Cut Down on Turnovers: "We have got to be stronger with the ball ... it's glaring right now ... once we are stronger it will take care of half our turnovers ..." Mocs had 18 today ... had a season high 19 at Butler and 17 at Tenn. Tech.
Chattanooga 61, Robert Morris 46
Robert Morris 25 – 21 – 46
Chattanooga 32-29 – 61
UTC (2-3) Robert Morris (1-4)
Stats:
Points in the Paint: Robert Morris, 22-18
Bench Points: Robert Morris, 23-16
Points off Turnovers: UTC, 15-11
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net