Mocs Advance To NIT Title Game With Win Over Loyola Chicago

INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is playing for the National Invitation Tournament championship on Thursday night.

Let that sink in for a moment. This was no April Fool’s joke. It is simply the product of a team that refuses to let go of a dream, unwilling to end a magical season, absolutely undaunted by the pedigree of any foe, determined to continually lean into the bonds of brotherhood to will themselves to one victory after another.

On Tuesday night inside of historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, this Chattanooga (28-9) team of destiny took down Loyola Chicago by an 80-73 score in the NIT semifinals, setting up a showdown with the University of California Irvine (32-6) on ESPN Thursday night at 9 p.m.

Finally, the rest of the country is getting to see what Chattanooga fans have known all along – there is not a more special pair of guards in college basketball than Trey Bonham and Honor Huff.

Bonham led the Mocs with 23 points, with 13 of those coming in the first half to keep UTC within four at intermission. Huff added 12 points, including a 3-point dagger with 34 seconds remaining as the shot clock was winding down to give Chattanooga a four-point cushion.

The sheer joy on the faces of Bonham and Huff following the game was magnetic. Their journey that began at VMI after being overlooked by other colleges will now conclude with an opportunity to win a championship together after following UTC head coach Dan Earl to Chattanooga. It’s a far cry from the painful emotions demonstrated last month following the Mocs loss to Furman in the Southern Conference tournament semifinals.

“Obviously a lot of y'all saw the video after we lost in the conference tournament how I felt not being able to get it done for my brother right here and for my teammates,” Huff said with a nod to Bonham when meeting with the media afterwards. “So, to be able to play for something just as big, I guess, in the NIT is a big thing for us. We want to win. We don't want the season to end on a bad note. We already felt that pain and agony from the conference tournament. So, our mindset is going win, and like I said, I don't want to let him down again. That hurt me too much. We're coming to play on Thursday.”

Bonham is a senior, so Thursday’s finale will be his last game together with his backcourt sidekick Huff, who has one more year. He’s hopeful to finally claim a championship that has eluded him his entire basketball career.

“I was talking to somebody, and I was like, ‘I've never played in a championship game in my life,’” Bonham said. “I know - it's kind of crazy, right? It's a blessing. Hopefully, I can get it done. I'm like Jordan. I'm going to go undefeated in championships.

“I’ve loved every minute here at Chatt these last two years. I'm glad Honor was being annoying, blowing (my phone) up when I was in the portal, and the trust I've had in Coach Earl. He's had trust in me from the jump, recruiting me when nobody else did.”

The ability to witness the careers of his dynamic guards and their development has been a special privilege according to Earl.

“Both are phenomenal young men,” Earl said. “We started together at VMI, which is a great institution but it's hard to go to school there. And they battled through there. They took different paths and followed us to Chatt, and hopefully it shows they believe in what we're doing.

“I've been hard on both those guys, Trey in particular. He's got a lot to his game, and at times I'm holding back the reins a little bit, and that can be frustrating. He's handled it well. They have remained coachable.”

After trailing by four at halftime, the Mocs went on an 11-2 run early in the second half to take a five-point edge with 15:22 remaining. Loyola tied the game at 47-all, before another spurt – this one 20–10 covering nearly seven minutes – increased UTC’s advantage to ten, 67-57, with 7:33 left in the game.

Six straight points by Loyola quickly trimmed the margin to four as the Mocs went nearly four minutes between baskets. But UTC was able to maintain a slim lead thanks to making six of seven free throws during that stretch.

The Ramblers then heated up from outside with a trio of 3-pointers, the final one closing the gap to 74-73 with 2:37 left.

Neither team could produce any points for the next two minutes until Huff drilled his step back three from long range to give the Mocs a four-point advantage. After a Loyola miss, Garrison Keeslar made one of two free throws to nudge the margin to five with 15 seconds left, and Bonham scored one final late basket on a dunk after another errant Ramblers attempt to provide the final exclamation point.

The Mocs never trailed in the final 17:51 with Loyola able to tie the contest only once during that span.

Huff also connected on a decisive late 3-pointer in the triple overtime win over MTSU in UTC’s NIT opening round contest. When asked what was going through his mind as he attempted his clutch basket, he didn’t hesitate with a response.

“What would Kyrie Irving do?” Huff said. “Right wing…Golden State Warriors 2016… sidestep to the right…bucket. I just knew I wanted to close it out. And just like MTSU, I felt like that was the time to do it. I had the switch with the big (defender), and I guess they didn't learn that you have to step up a little closer. And like I said, the rest is history.”

Earl pointed to a renewed focus on the defensive side of the ball as a key to victory, limiting Loyola to 46% from the field in the second half after the Ramblers shot 54% in the opening frame.

“Everybody points out our offense,” Earl said. “But we can be a good defensive team. Loyola missed some shots, especially late. They got free on a couple open baskets, and they missed shots that they might normally make. But we'll take a little of that. I thought it was a hard-fought game, and I thought we competed and battled throughout defensively, and that's when we're at our best and gives us the best chance to win.”

UTC once again managed to claw back from a nine-point first half deficit, and Earl attributed that to the efforts of Bonham in the early stages.

“I thought Trey was phenomenal, particularly in the first half with getting into the lane and getting some layups,” Earl said. “It helped getting pressure off us, so I thought that was huge.”

Staging comebacks is nothing new for UTC according to Bonham, having overcome a 16-point deficit in last week’s quarterfinal win at Bradley with his game-winning shot in the final seconds.

“I'm kind of used to it now,” Bonham said. “I told them at halftime that the game is too close. They (Loyola) messed up. We're a second half team. I knew if we're not down 20 at halftime, then I feel like we're going to win. I'm used to it.”

Bonham finished his evening going 10-of-16 from the field including 3-of-6 on 3-pointers. Huff was 4-of-13 overall and 4-of-10 on threes along with three assists. Bash Wieland scored 12 for UTC while dishing out three assists, and Makai Richards rounded out the quartet of Mocs in double figures with ten points while making all five of his tries.

Senior forward Keeslar continued his stellar play defensively while scoring five points and recording team-highs in rebounds (seven) and assists (five). Sean Cusano stepped up with seven points and five boards from the bench, while Latif Diouf snagged five rebounds and Jack Kostel connected on a pivotal first half 3-pointer in addition to a pair of steals.

The Mocs finished the game shooting 53% (32-of-61), converting on 59% of their second half attempts. They were successful on 9-of-21 3-pointers, including 5-of-7 in the second half. Chattanooga managed to out-rebound the taller Ramblers by a considerable 29-22 margin and handed out 22 assists against only eight turnovers.

Loyola (25-12) had four players in double figures including Jayden Dawson (19), Miles Rubin (14), Jalen DeLoach (13), and Des Watson (10).

The win sends UTC to a championship game in a national tournament for the first time since winning the 1977 NCAA Championship the Mocs final season in Division II.

Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com