CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The Chattanooga Mocs (6-8) won their 14th Dr Pepper Classic title with a 74-59 win over Utah Valley (7-9) Friday night. Keegan Bell (Huntsville, Ala.) captured most valuable player honors leading UTC to the championship in the 22nd installment of the holiday tradition.

Bell had 15 points tonight with seven assists and four rebounds. He and his mates hit their first six shots in running out to an early lead. An Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) three-pointer at 4:22 in the first gave the Mocs a 29-18 advantage.

UVU battled back behind Holton Hunsaker. He hit two threes in the final minute-plus before the break to cut the UTC margin to just four, 30-26, at intermission.

Isiah Williams' three-pointer with 17:13 to go once again got the Wolverines within four, but that's as close as it would get. UTC methodically put the game away outscoring Utah Valley 36-21 over the next 13 minutes. The senior trio of Ricky Taylor (10, Brownsville, Tenn.), Wattad (8) and Bell (5) scored 23 of the 36.

Time and again, the Mocs answered whenever the Wolverines called. UVU did not go down without a fight. Geddes Robinson sparked a second half effort on the boards to keep it close. Robinson, who secured all-tourney honors, had 12 points and 11 rebounds, seven on the offensive end. The Wolverines posted 13 offensive rebounds in the second half, 14 for the game.

Wattad had a team-high 19 points making seven of 11 from the field including a five-for-nine performance beyond the arc. He made the all-tournament team along with Drazen Zlovaric (Novi Sad, Serbia) who got his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds for a second straight night. Taylor added 16 points and seven boards.

Hunsaker led all scorers with 21. Keith Thompson chipped in 12 points as he, Hunsaker and Robinson combined to shoot 16 of 33 from the field (48.5%), while their teammates were four-for-30 (13.3%).

For the second straight night, the Mocs were special in the second half. In the two Dr Pepper Classic first halves, UTC scored 62 points and shot 38.7 percent (24-62). After intermission, those numbers inflated to 59.6 percent (34-57) with 94 points tallied.

Tonight, Chattanooga shot 62.5 percent (15-24) after the break. More impressively, it was 11 of 14 (78.6%) inside the arc.

Darrion Pellum's 33 points led Hampton to an 82-79 win over Longwood in the consolation game. Pellum added seven rebounds and five assists. Antwan Carter paced the Lancers with 23 points and five rebounds. Both earned all-tournament status.

Chattanooga starts off the New Year in Knoxville tackling Tennessee on Monday, January 2. Game time is slated for 7 p.m., and it will be televised on SportSouth.

Listen to "Voice of the Mocs" on ESPN 105.1 FM in Chattanooga or on GoMocs.com via MocsVision. Follow @GoMocs on twitter for stats and notes in game and go to GoMocs.com for links to live stats as well as post-game information.

DR PEPPER CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT
MVP: Keegan Bell, Chattanooga

Omar Wattad, Chattanooga
Drazen Zlovaric, Chattanooga
Geddes Robinson, Utah Valley
Antwan Carter, Longwood
Darrion Pellum, Hampton