The Chattanooga Mocs extended their Southern Conference lead with a 62-54 win over visiting Furman Saturday evening. Justin Tuoyo led the way with a game-high 19 points as UTC improves to 21-3, 10-1 in the SoCon.
“We just needed to get some stops and rebounds,” coach Matt McCall noted. “That was what the game was going to come down to. Once the ball is up in the air, I have all the confidence in the world in my guys. We’ve been in close situations like that before. Being in those situations early in the year prepared us for league play, so we have to find ways to win games with our defense.
“You’re going to have to rely a lot on your defense, no question about that,” McCall added.
“This was our fourth game in seven days, and there were going to be nights offensively that we struggled, so we needed to win it with our defense. I’m really proud of our guys.”
Tuoyo’s three-point play at 14:41 gave the Mocs their biggest lead of 14, 39-25. The Paladins slowly chipped away at the advantage. Stephen Croone cut it to six, 41-35, on a three-point play of his own. Greg Pryor scored on a three-pointer then in the mid-range to extend it back to 11, 46-35 with 9:46 to go.
Tuoyo came up big with a tip-in at 3:35 for a 10-point cushion, 55-45. Furman scored seven straight to get within three, 55-52, on Daniel Fowler’s triple at 1:10. It was still a three-point affair with 30 seconds to go, 57-54, as UTC took over.
Chuck Ester made it a four-point game, 58-54, with a free throw with 24 seconds remaining. Croone drove the left side but turned it over at the baseline under pressure from Tre’ McLean. Pryor and Dee Oldham hit four free throws in the final 14 seconds for the eight-point win.
“(Pryor)’s a winner,” McCall continued. “As your point guard, I want a guy like that on my team. His approach to me, and what he does every day, is what makes him such a great player. I wish I had him here, along with all of these guys, for four years. I’m fortunate to be coaching these guys.”
Tuoyo was joined in double figures by Pryor (11) and McLean (10). Chuck Ester chipped in eight points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Croone paced the Paladins with 18 points, five rebounds and three assists. Devin Sibley had 12.
UTC’s defense limited its guests to 38.3 percent shooting from the field, 26.3 percent from 3pt range. It forced 14 turnovers with an 18-7 margin in points off turnovers.
The Mocs lead the SoCon by two games over Mercer and ETSU in second at 8-3. Furman dropped to fourth, another half-game back at 8-4. Wofford is fifth at 7-4.
It’s back to the road for Chattanooga traveling to Mercer for the first of three away from the Scenic City in the next week. The Mocs and Bears square off in Macon on Monday before spending next weekend at Western Carolina (Thursday) and East Tennessee State (Saturday).
All three games air on ESPN3 online and the Mocs Sports Network through 96.1 the Legend FM in Chattanooga. Monday’s game is a 7 p.m., start.