CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Keegan Bell (Huntsville, Ala.) scored 17 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to key the Chattanooga Mocs (2-3) comeback win over visiting Savannah State (1-5) in the opening game of the Hoosier Classic Chattanooga Bracket. Bell's effort included a five-of-10 performance from three-point range.

His biggest shots came down the stretch. He hit two crucial threes inside the final four minutes of the game as he scored 11 points in the final 4:17.

SSU led through most of the game until Chris Early (Huntington, W.Va.) nailed a trey at 5:30 to give the Mocs their first lead, 52-51. The Tigers' Rashad Hassan answered from 15 feet just 20 seconds later to put SSU back up by one, 53-52.

Bell's two free throws with 4:17 to go put the Mocs back on top, 54-53, but it was tied at 54-all after Cedric Smith made one of two free throws at 3:54.

Bell hit a three at 3:21 at 3:21, but the Tigers managed to tie it again at 57, with 2:00 left on a Jyles Smith layup. A missed three-pointer for the Mocs and a turnover for SSU raised the drama to a fever pitch. Bell was up to the task making his fifth trey at 1:05 for the 60-57 advantage.

Daric Rudolph answered with his fifth three-pointer for SSU with 47 seconds to go to knot the score at 60-all. Bell got to the line and put UTC up for good, 62-60, with just 26 second remaining.

Dontay Hampton (Chattanooga, Tenn.) rebounded an errant Joshua Montgomery three-point attempt with 10 seconds to go and hit two at the charity stripe for a four-point lead, 64-60, but the Tigers would not go quietly into that good night.

Preston Blackmon dropped in a three-pointer with five ticks left and Bell stepped to the line with a 64-63 lead with 3.9 to go. He made one of two and a desperation three-point attempt by Montgomery was just off the mark for the 65-63 final.

Early and Drazen Zlovaric (Novi Sad, Serbia) kept the Mocs in the game in the first half. Early's stat line included 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Zlovaric chipped in 12 points and eight boards.

Rudolph had a team-high 15 for the Tigers, while Montgomery added 12. Hassan had 11 points and four rebounds.

Savannah State jumped out quickly on Chattanooga to open the game. SSU built a 15-point lead, 22-7, on a Rudolph trey at 10:09 and had the Mocs reeling. UTC chipped away getting as close as six, 24-18, on an Early three-pointer at 7:09.

Montgomery's trey with 36 to go in the half put the Tigers back up by 13, 35-22, but that's when the Bell show started. He hit his first trey from about 35 feet at the buzzer to give his team some momentum heading into intermission trailing 35-25.

While Bell had a season-high 20 points, the inside guys were pivotal to the win. Early (5-8) and Zlovaric (6-10) combined to shoot 11 of 18 from the floor, 61.1 percent. The remainder of the team struggled at 28.1 percent (9-28).

It was also a tale of two halves. SSU shot 50 percent (13-26) in the opening frame, just 38.5 percent (10-26) in the second. UTC made just 30 percent (9-30) in the first half, 55 percent (11-20) after the break.

Another key for the Mocs was forcing 20 SSU turnovers. Chattanooga scored 30 of its 65 points off those miscues, while the Tigers managed just 11 points off the Mocs 13 turnovers.

The Hoosier Classic Chattanooga Bracket continues Saturday with Savannah State meeting Gardner-Webb at 5 p.m.  The Mocs and Bulldogs square off Sunday at 3 p.m. Live video (UTC games), audio and stats are available at GoMocs.com via the men's basketball schedule page. Fans can also follow on Twitter (@GoMocs) for notes, stats and more.

Tickets are available at the McKenzie Arena ticket office, by phone at (423) 266-MOCS (6627) and online at GoMocs.com. Half-priced general admission tickets ($4) are available online to print at home using promo code ITSTIME. Offer expires two hours before each home contest.