Boxscore
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Junior forward Khalil Hartwell (Philadelphia, Pa.) led four Mocs in double-figures with a career-high 19 points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds as Chattanooga (5-4, 2-0) defeated the College of Charleston (4-4, 1-1) 86-70 Saturday evening in a Southern Conference men's basketball game at The McKenzie Arena.
After jumping out to a 22-point lead in the first half, Chattanooga withstood a fierce rally by the Cougars as they locked up the 16-point victory and improved to 2-0 in the Southern Conference.
Trailing 30-8 with 7:46 remaining in the opening half, the Cougars mounted a run of their own to get back in the game as they closed out the first half with a 20-9 run to draw to within 39-28 at the break.
CofC continued to make it a tight affair in the second half as they pulled to within seven points, 43-36, behind two three-pointers by junior forward Dustin Scott and again at 47-40 with 15:55 to play. Chattanooga would maintain at least a seven point advantage until the 9:57 mark when a three-pointer by junior guard Marcus Hammond narrowed the gap to 60-54.
The Mocs pushed their lead back to ten points within the minute before a 9-1 run, all on three-pointers, made the score 65-63 with 7:35 to play. That would be as close as the Cougars would get as Chattanooga then posted a 14-0 run over the next five minutes to make the score 79-63 and put the game out of reach before wrapping up the 86-70 victory.
Chattanooga staked themselves to an early advantage as they jumped ahead 16-4 at the 14:45 mark of the first half before extending to an impressive 27-6 advantage with 11:08 remaining in the half.
Sophomore guard Tony White, Jr. led five Cougars in double-figures with 12 points and was joined by freshman guard Andrew Goudelock with 11 points and freshman forward Jeremy Simmons, freshman forward Antwaine Wiggins and junior forward Jermaine Johnson each finished with 10 points on the night. Simmons added a team-high eight rebounds while Wiggins and Johnson each grabbed six boards, with all six of Johnson's coming on the offensive glass.
For Chattanooga, Hartwell was joined by junior guard Stephen McDowell (Indianapolis, Ind.) with 15 points and a season-high seven rebounds while senior forward Marcus Watts (Clinton, S.C.) and senior guard Kevin Bridgewaters (Columbia, Ky.) each contributed 12 points. Watts added nine rebounds while junior center Qavotstaraj Waddell (Norfolk, Va.) chipped in with six points and seven rebounds.
As a team, Chattanooga held the Cougars to only 33 percent shooting and outrebounded CofC by 20 rebounds, 56-36. In the second half, the Mocs pulled down 30 rebounds to only 11 for Charleston.
The Mocs return to action on Tuesday, December 18 when Elon visits The McKenzie Arena for a 7 p.m. contest.
