Boxscore
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Senior forward Marcus Watts (Clinton, S.C.) connected on two free throws late and junior guard Stephen McDowell (Indianapolis, Ind.) scored a game-high 22 points as Chattanooga (11-5, 6-0) defeated UNC Greensboro (9-5, 3-2) 78-73 Thursday evening in a key Southern Conference men's basketball game at The McKenzie Arena. With the win, UTC maintains its hold on the lead in the Southern Conference's Noth Division.
With the game tied at 67-67 with 1:55 remaining in the game, senior guard Kevin Bridgewaters (Columbia, Ky.) converted two free throws to give Chattanooga a 69-67 advantage before UNCG sophomore guard Mikko Koivisto drilled a three-pointer thirteen seconds later to give the Spartans their first lead, 70-69, since the 12:39 mark of the first half.
On the next play, Bridgewaters came through again for the Mocs, draining a long three-pointer to put UTC back ahead 72-70 with 1:28 to go in the game. It was a lead that would not last as sophomore guard Kendall Toney put UNCG back in the lead, 73-72, with a three-pointer with 1:13 to play.
Junior forward Kevin Goffney (Ethel, La.) then drove the lane with 55 seconds left and laid it in to give Chattanooga the lead for good, 74-73. After a defensive stand at the other end that included a major block by junior forward Nicchaeus Doaks (Trenton, Tenn.), Marcus Watts converted on two free throws to extend the Mocs' lead to 76-73 with 27 seconds to go. UTC then withstood back-to-back three point attempts over the next 20 seconds before salting away the 78-73 victory with two free throws by Doaks in the final seconds.
In the first half, UNCG fought their way out to a 16-12 advantage with 13:08 to play before a 12-2 run by Chattanooga, all on three-pointers, made the score 24-18 UTC at the 9:50 mark. Following a 6-0 run by the Spartans to tie the game at 24-24, the Mocs put together a 7-0 run to regain the lead, 31-24, with 3:07 to play in the half before a 6-2 stretch by UNC Greensboro made it 33-30 at the break.
The Spartans drew even at 43-43 at the beginning of the second half before the Mocs put together a 12-1 run over the next 1:56, fueled by seven straight points from McDowell, to retake the lead 55-44 with 13:01 remaining in the half. Back-to-back three-pointers by Koivisto and Toney keyed an 11-3 run to pull the Spartans to within 58-55 at the 9:43 mark before Doaks took over with three straight baskets, including a thundering dunk, to push the Mocs lead to 64-55 with 7:42 to play.
A three-point play by senior forward Kyle Hines and another three by Koivisto narrowed the gap to 64-61 before junior guard Keyron Sheard (Red Bank, N.J.) connected from long range to extend Chattanooga's advantage to 67-61 with 5:27 to play. Back-to-back threes later by Toney then evened the score at 67-67 and set the stage for the Mocs late games heroics.
Koivisto led the Spartans with a team-high 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc while Kyle Hines posted a double-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Kendall Toney finished the night with 17 points as the only other double-figure scorer and sophomore forward Ben Stywall added seven points and nine rebounds.
For the Mocs, McDowell led all scorers with 22 points, on 6-of-12 shooting from three-point range, and added three steals while Bridgewaters finished with 14 points on the night. Sophomore forward Matt Gywnne (Angier, N.C.) added 12 points and Doaks finished with 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Marcus Watts posted a solid all-around game with six points, seven rebounds and a game-high seven assists.
As a team, Chattanooga connected on 14-of-26 three-pointers while UNC Greensboro finished the night 12-of-34 from beyond the arc.
The Mocs return to action on Saturday, January 12 when they host Western Carolina in a 3 p.m. contest at The McKenzie Arena. The game will be broadcast on SportSouth.
