Mocs Win 79-63 Over Visiting Wofford

  • Thursday, February 4, 2016
The Chattanooga Mocs moved to 20-3 on the season with a 79-63 win over Wofford in McKenzie Arena. Tre’ McLean (21) and Justin Tuoyo (20) combined for 41 points as the Mocs moved to 9-1 atop the Southern Conference.

The ebb and flow of the game was reminiscent of the ocean’s tide. The Mocs went up 10 in the second half before the Terriers cut it to three, 43-40, on Jaylen Allen’s 3pt at 14:59.

It reached 14, 62-48, on a Duke Ethridge dunk at 8:35. Wofford scored the next nine to get within five, 62-57, on Fletcher Magee’s triple with 6:37 to go.
Tuoyo had the answer.

He scored on a layup then blocked two shots on the next Terrier possession. He book-ended that with another layup on a nice feed from Greg Pryor at 5:22. His dunk with 51 seconds to play put the exclamation point on the contest for the 16-point triumph.

Defense played an important role. They held Wofford to just 37.3 percent (22-59) shooting, 33.3 percent (11-33) in the second stanza.
 
“We just really knew that their offense was really good,” Tuoyo stated. “That’s a credit to our scout team. They did a great job with preparing us this whole week and just in the second half, we knew what was coming. The guards did a great job getting through the screens, and we had to do a better job boxing out.

"They had 10 offensive rebounds, but we just knew that a big part was guarding the three-point line. In the second half, we had to put that in the front of our minds, and that’s what we did.” 

His coach echoed his thoughts. “Spencer Collins, I thought, was the key to the game,” Matt McCall added. “When he goes for 20, they usually win. Every shot he took I felt was earned, and he took 16 shots, but I don't know that he ever had a clean look.

“Our guys did a great job, and I really want to give a lot of credit to our scout team too. K.J. Bates, Alex Bran, ZaQwaun Matthews, Jackson White, they did a heck of a job with our scout team the last two days of practice." 

Pryor had seven assists on the night, six in the second half. Chuck Ester added 12 points and six rebounds, while Dee Oldham came off the bench to chip in seven points and a team-high seven boards.

Magee, Spencer Collins and Justin Gordon each had 14 points to pace the Terriers. C.J. Neumann contributed seven rebounds and four steals. 

Chattanooga shot 58.3 percent (28-48) from the field, 70.6 percent (24-34) from inside the 3pt arc. It won the battle of the boards, 34-27, but was minus-3 in turnover margin (14-11).

Wofford took over an early see-saw affair with a 7-2 burst for a 21-13 advantage with 8:45 left in the opening frame. A three-point play by Tuoyo got the lead briefly, 25-24. Gordon responded with two free throws of his own 19 seconds later to regain a one-point advantage. 

McLean wrestled the lead for good with a jumper on the Mocs ensuing possession. Eric Robertson’s three-ball with six seconds to go provided an eight-point halftime margin for the home team.

“We had to play harder,” McLean shared after a question of what changed during the course of the first half. “To start off the game, they were the more desperate team. The last few times we’ve played them, the more desperate team won the game. Tonight to start the game off, that was Wofford. 

“We had to change our mentality."

UTC is just the third team in NCAA DI men’s basketball to record 20 wins for 2015-16. It marks back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1993 and 1994.

The Mocs remain in McKenzie Arena Saturday hosting Furman at 5 p.m. They follow the ladies against Wofford at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at GoMocs.com or by calling the ticket office at 266-MOCS (6627). The games air on the SoCon Digital Network and the Mocs Sports Network through 96.1 the Legend FM in Chattanooga.

 
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