Boxscore
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Junior forward Kevin Goffney (Ethel, La.) and junior guard Keyron Sheard (Red Bank, N.J.) combined for 28 points on 7-of-10 shooting as Chattanooga (8-4) defeated Murray State (5-5) Saturday evening in the first round of the 18th Annual Dr Pepper Classic at The McKenzie Arena.
After leading 40-23 at the break, Chattanooga saw their lead cut in half by a 9-0 Murray State run in the first two minutes of the second half to make the score 40-32. That would be as close as the Racers would get, however, as the Mocs rallied with an 11-4 run over the next 5:45 to extend their lead back to 51-36 with 12:16 to play in the game.
From there, Chattanooga would maintain a double-digit lead the rest of the way, reaching the final margin of 24 points three times, before closing out the 74-50 victory to advance to the Championship Game of the Dr Pepper Classic on Sunday evening.
UTC got off to a strong start early on as they jumped out to a dominating 19-4 lead over the game's first 7:12 behind eight points from Goffney and six from Sheard. Murray State got back in the game with a 9-1 run over the next 4:19 to close the margin to 26-17 with 6:33 remaining in the half before an 11-2 stretch by the Mocs pushed their advantage to 37-19. UTC would then take a 40-23 lead into the half.
Sophomore forward Marvin Williams led the way for the Racers, notching a team-high 12 points to go along with six rebounds while sophomore forward Tony Easley added eight points and five rebounds. Sophomore forward Danero Thomas finished with four points and six rebounds and had his streak of nine consecutive games with a three-pointer snapped as he went 0-4 from beyond the arc.
For Chattanooga, Goffney led all scorers with a game-high 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting and added a game-high five assists to go along with five rebounds while Sheard finished the night with 12 points. Senior forward Marcus Watts (Clinton, S.C.) and senior guard Kevin Bridgewaters (Columbia, Ky.) each added nine points on the night and junior forward Nicchaeus Doaks (Trenton, Tenn.) had a solid all-around night with eight points and game-highs of seven rebounds and three blocks.
As a team, Chattanooga shot 50-percent from the field and limited the Racers to 30-percent for the game.
The Mocs return to action tomorrow evening when they host Wright State in the Championship Game of the 18th Annual Dr Pepper Classic at 8:00 p.m.
NOTES
The win marks the 17th time in the 18-year history of the Dr Pepper Classic that Chattanooga has advanced to the Championship Game ... UTC last won the classic in 2005, defeating Howard, 68-63.
