(Photo Credit: Dale Rutemeyer/GoMocs.com) Justin Tuoyo became the fifth Moc this season to record 20 or more points with 18 of his career-high 20 in the second half

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GREENVILLE, S.C.---The Chattanooga Mocs won a see-saw 74-71 overtime decision at Furman Thursday night. There were 12 ties and 11 lead changes as the Mocs improved to 16-8, 9-2 in the Southern Conference, a game behind Wofford in first-place at 10-1.

“It's never easy on the road,” coach Will Wade said. “You have to grind them out. It wasn't a work of art tonight, but good teams find a way to win. That's what we did tonight.”

Justin Tuoyo had a career-high 20 points to lead the Mocs on a special night. Ronrico White tallied 12 topping the 1,000-point plateau.

“I did not know that was it,” White smiled after the hard-fought win. “Once I came out of the game, I saw I had over 10 points so I knew then. It felt good. I have been here a while. It is a great honor to be among some of the best basketball players who have every played here. Brandon Born, Willie White, Gerald Wilkins, the list goes on and on. 

“It is a tremendous honor.”

Furman was paced by Stephen Croone's game-high 31. Daniel Fowler added 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Eric Robertson drained a trey with 9:19 left in regulation to give the visitors a 55-50 lead. That capped a 10-2 run and appeared to put the Mocs in firm control.

The Paladins reeled off nine unanswered points as they held Chattanooga to just one field goal for more than six minutes. But it was a big one. Robertson found an open Tuoyo underneath who jammed it home as Croone tried to foul to stop the basket. The three-point play cut it to one. He hit two more at 4:21 for a 60-59 advantage.

After forcing back-to-back turnovers, the Mocs got the shot of the night. White drilled a three from the right corner with 3:07 to go for his 1,000th-point a four-point lead. The Paladins would not go away.

Layups from Kendrec Ferrara and Fowler evened the score at 63-all with 1:39 to go. Furman went 2-4 from the line in the final minute to go up two. Jones scored with 37 seconds left to tie it at 37. The Mocs tightened up defensively to send it into overtime.

The extra five minutes seemed like the first 40. The Mocs went up four on baskets by Tuoyo and Greg Pryor. Croone tied scoring on back-to-back possessions for the final tie of the game.

Chattanooga's work on the offensive boards paid dividends. Jones got two on misses before scoring on a layup with 1:46 to play. Three straight stops, and the Mocs were up two with the shot clock off. Tre' McLean broke the press and led Tuoyo with a pass from midcourt. Tuoyo's dunk put an exclamation point on it, although the game wasn't over.

Leading 74-71, the Mocs had a final defensive possession to stave off the home team. With 5.6 to play, Furman looked to Croone. His contested three clanged off the goal into Geoff Beans' hands. His desperation three was thwarted by Lance Stokes for the win.

“One thing I do think we did better was we executed our offense better down the stretch,” Wade added. “We had a better pace. We had good shots. We didn't hit them all, we drove them in there. We got much better looks and our pace was much better down the stretch, which is something that we've been trying to focus on and we were certainly better tonight.”

It was all Furman early. It led by nine early and took a six-point advantage into the final minute of the opening frame. Robertson and White connected from long range, the latter coming in the final second, to send the teams into intermission knotted at 36-36.

“This is how life on the road is,” White noted. “They came out real aggressive and ready to play. Things weren't going our way early, but we fought back, kept fighting and found a way to win.”

The Mocs continue on to Cullowhee, N.C., for their next outing. They take on Western Carolina Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The game broadcasts on the radio locally at US 101 the Legend at 96.1 FM. Gameday links to video (SoCon Digital Network), audio (MSN) and live stats are available on GoMocs.com. Follow @GoMocsMBB on Twitter for live updates.

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