(Photo Credit: Steve Gotter/GoMocs.com) Justin Tuoyo came out strong in the second half with 14 of his 17 points coming after the break

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CULLOWHEE, N.C.---Slow start, big finish was a recipe for success at Furman Thursday night. It was enough Saturday afternoon in a 73-70 loss at Western Carolina. Chattanooga came back from 14 points down to tie it late, but the winning play eluded the visitors.

“I thought we battled back, which is nice to see,” coach Will Wade stated. “We can't dig ourselves that big of a hole. We have done that in our last three road games at Mercer, Furman and here. It is just tough to battle back and win. We've got to give ourselves a better opportunity to win from the start.”

Western Carolina's halftime lead of 14 (39-25) was quickly whittled early in the second half. Justin Tuoyo scored the first 12 of the squad's first 14 points after intermission to cut it to six, 45-39, with 13:32 left on the clock.

“In the first half, I came out slow…the team came out slow,” Tuoyo shared. “Western Carolina jumped out on us, so we knew in the second half we had the first four minutes to get back in it. We came out attacking and tried to cut the lead down as best we could.”

The Cats recovered and built the lead back to 10 four times before six straight points from the Mocs got them within four. Duke Ethridge drilled a three with 8:15 to go to make is a 56-52 score. Pryor made it a one-point game less than two minutes later with a three-point play at 6:42.

Mike Brown gave the home team a seven-point advantage with an “and-one” at 3:21, 70-63. Eric Robertson sparked a 7-0 run with a three. Pryor capped it with another three-point play at 1:53.

The Mocs trapped Rhett Harrelson as he crossed midcourt. Pryor made the steal and had a three-pointer for the lead that was just off. Western ran the clock down before James Sinclair hit what proved to be the game-winner with a turnaround jumper in the lane against tough defense.

“Sinclair made a big shot,” Pryor said. “We played good defense, he just knocked it down. They are a good team, and he is a good player. You have to give him credit for that.”

Chattanooga had two chances late. Robertson missed a three with just under five seconds to go. Kenneth Hall was fouled. He made the first and missed the second. Jones' desperation three from half-court was off the mark giving the home team a 73-70 win.

Sinclair led all scorers with 21 points sharing game-high rebounding honors with Brown as each grabbed nine. Brown added 16 points for the Cats. Tuoyo had 17 to lead Chattanooga. Ethridge added 13 points and six rebounds off the bench.

Pryor summed it up, “At the beginning of the game, we have to start coming out more focused. The first half of the season, we were a first-half team. The second half, we have come out slow, and we need to adjust it. We have to come out with pace and put two good halves together.”

The Mocs end a three-game road swing next Thursday at Wofford. Game time is 7 p.m., and it broadcasts locally on the radio 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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