Still missing a trio of key players, the Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team battled with a strong second-half performance, but ultimately dropped a hard-fought 86-74 decision at national power Saint Mary's (CA) on Thursday night inside UCU Pavilion in Moraga, Calif.
The defeat marks the second time since the start of the 2012-13 season that Chattanooga has started a fresh campaign 0-2 with the other occurrence happening in 2017-18. Saint Mary's (CA), now 2-0, continues its dominance against non-conference opponents over the last 10 years as its record in such games improved to 110-39 (.738).
Trailing 39-29 at the halftime break, Chattanooga responded with an emphatic 16-4 run with Honor Huff and Trey Bonham combing for 12 of the 16 points during the stretch to give the guests a 45-43 lead.
SMC proved to be too much for the shorthanded Mocs after a key 12-2 run in the middle portion of the half helped create enough separation down the stretch.
Four different Mocs reached double figures in scoring with Makai Richards leading the way with a career-high 19 points. Honor Huff (14), Trey Bonham (13) and Garrison Keeslar (12) joined Richards as the double-digit scorers for UTC.
UP NEXT – Chattanooga at Austin Peay – Monday, Nov. 11 – 8 p.m. ET – ESPN+ – Clarksville, Tenn.