Huff Leads Mocs Past Wofford, 81-65

The Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team saw all eight players score and used a game-high 29 points from Honor Huff to help capture an 81-65 victory over Wofford during Southern Conference action on Wednesday night inside McKenzie Arena.
 
Following the key league victory, Chattanooga improves to 19-9 overall and ups its SoCon record to 11-4. The Mocs remain in a two-way tie for second place with UNCG and carry the No. 3 designation due to tiebreakers. Wofford drops to 15-13 overall and 8-7 in conference action after the defeat.
 
Leading 39-38 at halftime after five lead changes and 14-made threes between the two teams, UTC used a strong 10-0 run to open the second half to help build a sizeable advantage. The Mocs featured a stealthy attack on both sides of the floor to aid the second-half spark.
 
"I was proud of the guys for continuing to fight. First half, I thought Wofford was moving faster than us," said head coach Dan Earl after the victory.
 
"We had a spirited conversation in the locker room and came out with that 10-0 run in the second half. That really made a difference in the game."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Jan Zidek provided an early spark off the bench for Chattanooga with eight-straight points on the help of back-to-back threes and a layup in transition to give the hosts a 12-8 lead with 13:22 left in the opening half. UTC limited Wofford to 4-of-14 start from the field and claimed a 16-11 lead moments later at the 11:53 mark.
 
A few defensive stops and a quick 7-0 run over the next three-plus minutes allowed the Mocs to stretch things out to an 11-point lead, 25-14, with 8:31 on the board. Wofford immediately responded with a scoring attack that amounted to a 16-3 run to jump ahead 30-28 (4:21).
 
The Mocs used three-straight triples from three different players with Honor Huff, Demetrius Davis and Noah Melson all connecting from behind the arc to help UTC regain a slight 39-38 lead at the break. The two teams combined for 14 three-pointers, seven each, in the first half.
 
Chattanooga knocked down four of its first five shot attempts to start the second half including a pair of long balls to find themselves back up double digits, 49-38, with 16:19 remaining in the contest. Once again, the Terriers answered quickly with consecutive threes before a Myles Che tip-in allowed for a 51-43 UTC edge (14:50).
 
Wofford continued its push and cut its deficit to two, 54-52, on the help of the three-ball with 12:23 left in the game. Chattanooga put together a 15-5 spurt which included a dead-ball technical foul from Wofford to push ahead 69-57 with just over seven minutes to go.
 
UTC held on to its double-digit lead at the game's final media timeout, 73-59 (3:58), before eventually capping off the 81-65 victory on a Tyler Millin three in the final seconds. Chattanooga saw all eight players score during the victory while outscoring Wofford in bench points, 24-20.

RECORDS/SERIES – Chattanooga 19-9, 11-4 SoCon · Wofford 15-13, 8-7 SoCon · Series: UTC now leads the all-time series 32-22.

THREE KEY NOTES | MORE
1. Chattanooga finished with 12 made 3PT FGs on 31 attempts during the win… the 12 total threes lands the squad at 301 for the season… total marks the second-most made in a single season… the Mocs made a program best 398 3PT FG's last season in 2022-23.
 
- The Mocs finished the contest shooting 49.1% (28-of-57) in total… 38.7% (12-of-31) from deep… 92.9% (13-of-14) from the charity stripe… SoCon best FT% this season… best SoCon FT% mark on 10+ attempts since 94.4% (17-of-18) at The Citadel on January 9, 2021.
 
- Honor Huff finished with a game-high 29 points on 11-of-19 FG, 5-of-11 3PT, 2-of-2 FT… third-straight 25+ point scoring effort… surpassed 800 career points… now sits at 93 made 3PT FG this season… ties Jamal Johnson (22-23) for 4^th most in single season… 60^th career game.

QUOTABLE | MORE
HC Dan Earl on what he told the team at halftime.
"We actually got a couple transition buckets in the first, which was really what we were wanting to do. We wanted to play fast. They were, I thought, more physical and moving faster than us. Right before the half there was a free throw line block out where we were a little lackadaisical and they weren't messing around. We got on the guys a little bit and told them that if you want to win this game, you're going to have to work harder on both sides of the ball. I was really pleased with our effort coming out of the half with that 10-0 run that gave us some breathing room."
 
F Jan Zidek on how he's had to reinvent himself due to his minutes fluctuating this year.
"The coaches make the decisions and I just try to embrace my role. Now, coming off the bench, I just try to give a boost to the second unit. Sometimes teams have their second unit come into the game, and they might have some drops in their performance. I try to be one of those guys who gives a boost to the second lineup. I just embrace my role and do what I do."

NEXT UP – at The Citadel – Saturday, February 24 – 12:00 p.m. ET – Charleston, S.C. – ESPN+