(Photo Credit: Dale Rutemeyer/GoMocs.com) Ronrico White (pictured) and Justin Tuoyo led a balanced Chattanooga attack with 14 points each
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala.---Five Chattanooga Mocs reached double figures in an 82-76 win at Samford Thursday night. The win puts the Mocs, who are now 12-7 overall, in a first-place tie with Mercer atop the Southern Conference standings at 5-1.
Justin Tuoyo and Ronrico White led a balanced attack with 14 points apiece. Martynas Bareika and Casey Jones chipped in 12 apiece, while Chuck Ester added 10 points off the bench. Darius Jones-Gibson had a game-high 24 to pace the Bulldogs.
Tuoyo had a double-double with 11 rebounds as well as Chattanooga was plus-eight on the boards (36-28). His eight offensive rebounds were three more than any Bulldog had total on the night.
“I told Coach Wade, one thing I want to do is contribute more on the offensive glass,” Tuoyo said. “He just told me to go to the rim, and I just try my hardest that after every shot to get possession of that offensive rebound.
“It was a great team win,” he added. “Samford played a good game, so we had to do everything we could to get the win.”
Samford led for almost all of the first 28 minutes. Ester gave the Mocs their first lead, 47-46, with 12:46 to play. It was tied at 54-all with 10 to play when Chattanooga took control.
White gave his squad the lead for good with a three-pointer from the right corner. After a Jones-Gibson layup cut it to one, Tre' McLean answered with a three-point play with 8:36 to go for a 60-56 advantage. McLean sparked a 17-2 run capped by seven points in a row from Bareika for a cozy 13-point margin, 71-58, with 4:21 remaining.
“I thought we got great contribution from Chuck and Tre' specifically,” coach Will Wade noted. “Chuck's been like that every day in practice, and we had yet to see it in all the games. I told the staff, 'I got a feeling Chuck's going to bring it in the game,' and he did.
“Tre' is one of our better players in practice,” he continued. “It hasn't transferred necessarily in the game, but he was awesome today. He was attacking, his three's looked awesome. He's a tremendous shooter, it just hasn't fallen yet. He's going to have a game where he hits two or three, the roof is going to come off and he's going to have a great end of the year for us.
“I thought those guys really did a nice job contributing.”
The Bulldogs would not go quietly into that good night. Brandon Roberts made it a seven-point lead with 2:25 to go, 72-65. The rest of the way, Samford attacked the basket on offense and fouled on defense to try to get back in the game. The home team cut it to four twice as the Mocs made eight of 12 at the stripe in the final minute-plus, but it was a bend-but-not-break for the blue and gold to secure the win.
““You've got to hold on,” Wade added. “These are the type of games you need to win on the road. We didn't play well here last year and gave one away. You have to dig them out and find a way to win, and we did that tonight. That's credit to our guys. It wasn't perfect.
“We had a lot of adversity tonight, but we battled through and found a way to get it done.”
Chattanooga returns to the Scenic City to host a pair of SoCon contests next weekend. High-scoring VMI comes to town Thursday followed by UNCG on Saturday. The contest with the Keydets tips off at 7 p.m., in McKenzie Arena. Click the tickets link above to order and print at your home or office.
The game broadcasts online via the SoCon Digital Network and on the radio locally at US 101 the Legend at 96.1 FM. Gameday links to video (SDN), audio (MSN) and live stats are available on GoMocs.com. Follow @GoMocsMBB on Twitter for live updates.
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ABOUT CHATTANOOGA BASKETBALL
- The Mocs are by far the most successful program in the Southern Conference since joining the league in 1977-78. The team has won 28 titles with 10 regular season, 10 tournament and eight division.
- 15 NCAA Tournament Appearances: 1961 (DII), 1973 (DII), 1975 (DII), 1976 (DII Runner-up), 1977 (DII National Champs), 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 (Sweet 16), 2005, 2009
- 10 SoCon Tournament Crowns: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2005, 2009
- 10 SoCon Regular Season Championships: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
- 8 Division Titles: 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011
- The 1997 team went to the NCAA Sweet 16 with wins over Georgia and Illinois.
- 5 SoCon Players of the Year: Willie White (1981-82), Keith Nelson (1991-92), Tim Brooks (1992-93), Chad Copeland (1993-94) and Johnny Taylor (1996-97).
- 1 SoCon Defensive Player of the Year: Z. Mason (2014).
- 3 SoCon Coaches of the Year: Murray Arnold (1982, '83), Mack McCarthy (1986, '92, '93) and Will Wade (2014).
- 9 NBA Draft Picks: Walter “Moose” McGary (1973 & '74), William Gordon (1977), Wayne Golden (1977), Russ Schoene (1982), Nick Morken (1982), Willie White (1984), Gerald Wilkins (1985, 13 seasons) and Johnny Taylor (1997 1st Round).
