STATS |
NOTES |
QUOTES SPRINGFIELD, Ill.---The Chattanooga Mocs topped Illinois 81-77 behind six double digit scorers. They did so in resilient fashion coming back from a nine-point deficit with 6:26 left in the game.
"Our guys showed unbelievable resiliency and perseverance tonight when it really could have gone the other way," coach
Matt McCall shared. "I was just really proud of how our team played, and how they continue to play even though there was some things that weren't going our way in the game.
"They kept fighting and found a way in the end to win the game."
Chattanooga led by as many as 15 in the first half and was up 12, 47-35 after a
Casey Jones jumper at 17:48.
Greg Pryor answered five straight from the Illini with a three-pointer at 16:36 for a 50-40 margin.
Illinois kept the pressure on. Malcolm Hill tied it at 55-all at 11:33 with a foul called on
Eric Robertson as the ball went through the basket. Maverick Morgan's bucket two seconds later gave Illinois its first lead of the game at 11:31.
That lead would eventually stretch to nine, 69-60, on another Hill basket with 6:26 remaining. That gave the Illini momentum capping a 34-13 spurt over 11-plus minutes of clock time.
The Mocs battled back. They scored on seven of the next nine possessions shooting 5-5 from 3pt range.
Chuck Ester hit two of the treys, the second cutting the lead to one, 72-71 at 3:55.
Hill answered with a tough jumper at 3:20 only to see
Tre' McLean knot the score at 74 with 2:52 to go.
Tuoyo swatted a Khalid Lewis offering, but Mike Thorne, Jr., rebounded only to miss a fall away close to the basket. Robertson hit his fifth three-pointer of the contest at 1:58 to give his squad the lead for good, 77-74.
A defensive stop was followed by
Greg Pryor's jumper at 1:04. The Illini got a triple from Michael Finke at the 49-second mark when the teams traded stops. Finke's missed three at 11.1 was boarded by McLean who was immediately fouled. He calmly sank two to provide the final tally of 81-77.
Robertson led the balanced Mocs attack with 15, all coming on a 5-10 effort from 3pt range. Tuoyo and Ester each posted 12 with McLean adding 11 with seven rebounds. Pryor and Ethridge each claimed 10. Jones was limited to six points, but he led the Mocs in rebounding (8) and assists (5).
Hill had a game-high 25 points. Thorne, Jr., added a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
"That's what we want every single night," McCall mentioned discussing the balanced attack. "We want our guys having a high number of assists and sharing the basketball, so we're going to get five or six guys in double figures. We have the firepower and the depth on offense to be able to do that almost every single night."
Chattanooga jumped out to an 11-2 lead on a short jumper by
Justin Tuoyo. The lead swelled to 15, 29-14, on a Robertson three that ended a 10-2 run.
Ethridge's tip dunk at 4:29 made it an 11-point game, 37-26. The Illini closed the half with a 6-2 spurt as both defenses kept getting stops. Thorne, Jr.'s dunk at 1:34 provided the 39-32 halftime advantage for the visitors from the Scenic City.
"When you're playing in an environment like this, on the road in a BCS-level school, if you can get your team off to a good start, you're going to end up having a chance at the end of the game," McCall added. "I felt like we were able to do that with our press.
"We were able to get some stops early, get on a break, get some easy baskets, and then you start playing with more and more confidence as the game goes."
It marked the second win over a power-5 conference team opening with a win at Georgia eight days ago. UTC beat Georgia and Illinois in the 1997 NCAA Tournament to reach the Sweet 16.
Tonight was the first of a five-game-in-10-night road swing for the Mocs. The squad returns to action Monday at No. 7 Iowa State. Game time is 8 p.m., on Cyclones.TV web stream. Check the men's basketball schedule page on GoMocs.com for links to video, audio and live stats. Follow @GoMocsMBB for live tweets from the contest.
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page or on Twitter. Find out how to join the UTC Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here. 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).
- 2 SoCon Defensive Player of the Year: Z. Mason (2014),
Justin Tuoyo (2015).
- 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).
