NOTES/QUOTES | PHOTOS

CHATTANOOGA (November 27, 2024) – The Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team earned its fifth-straight win after a strong team effort led to an 84-76 victory over America East-member Bryant in the final game of the Coke Classic MTE inside McKenzie Arena on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Chattanooga (5-3) finished the Coke Classic event a perfect 2-0 following today's win over Bryant (4-4) and Monday's win over Tennessee State to capture the MTE's "title". The Mocs led for a commanding 35:01 of the 40 minutes and weathered the four different lead changes and ties throughout the contest.
 
UTC saw six guys reach double figures in scoring with Makai Richards (17) and Trey Bonham (15) leading the way. Sean Cusano (13), Bash Wieland (12), Honor Huff (11) and Collin Mulholland (10) joined in the double-digit scoring efforts with Cusano adding in a team-high nine rebounds during the win.

RECORDS/SERIES – Chattanooga 5-3 · Bryant 4-4 · First Meeting · UTC now leads the series 1-0.
 
GAME FLOW/INSIDE THE BOX
1H 17:17 – Bash Wieland converted an and-one floater in the paint to give UTC an early 7-2 lead.
1H 14:16 – Earl Timberlake (BRY) finished at the rim to cut the Bulldogs deficit to two, 11-9.
1H 11:51 – After consecutive threes from Sean Cusano, Collin Mulholland finished through a foul to put UTC on an 8-0 run and help build a 21-11 lead.
1H 7:13 – An extended possession finished with a Keyshawn Mitchell (BRY) three to trim the guest's deficit, 25-20.
1H 6:04 – Makai Richards finished an and-one off a Garrison Keeslar pass to cap off five answered, making it 30-20.
1H 4:06 – Trey Bonham knocked down a wide open three to keep the lead at ten, 35-25.
1H 0:06 – Timberlake (BRY) finished at the rim to cap off a 6-0 Bryant run.

HALF – Chattanooga 39, Bryant 37: Bulldogs ended the half with six-straight while UTC went scoreless over last 1:35; Mocs led for the entire half and shot 51.9% (14-of-27) from the floor.
 
2H 15:59 – Wieland and Bonham hit on back-to-back triples to stop Bryant's run that carried into the second half, allowing UTC to regain the lead, 45-42.  
2H 12:12 – Bryant jumped back in front of a Kvonn Cramer (BRY) layup, 53-52.
2H 10:12 – Jack Kostel came away with a steal at midcourt which led to a Wieland layup, upping the lead to 59-55.
2H 7:35 – After a Bonham layup, Mitchell (BRY) connected on a hook shot to bring the Bulldogs back within six, 63-57.
2H 6:25 – Richards hit a three with the shot clock winding down to up the lead to nine, 68-59.
2H 4:30 – Cusano entered the three-point clinic with his third of the game to allow for a 73-65 edge.
2H 1:04 – Honor Huff knocked down the game's dagger three to put UTC up ten, 81-71, in the final minute.

FINAL – Chattanooga 84, Bryant 76
 
KEY NOTES | MORE
- The Mocs saw yet another dominating effort from its reserves… bench combined to outscore Bryant's bench 43-20… 141 combined bench points from UTC over the last four games (35.3 per game).
 
- Chattanooga ended the game shooting 49.1% (28-of-57) from the field… limited Bryant to a 36.9% (24-of-65) total… Mocs went 17-of-22 (77.3%) from the FT line… 45-of-58 (77.6%) from the line over the last two games.
 
- UTC dished out 19 assists during the win… ties for second-most this season… committed just 11 turnovers… earned a 14-13 edge in points off turnovers after forcing 11 miscues from the Bulldogs.

POSTGAME QUOTES | MORE
F Makai Richards on a steady 17-point effort.
"Yeah, it's a slow steady grind. You never know how a game is going to go, it's really about the flow. I really stuck with it, tried to dive hard and make the shots in front of me. I was just trying to help my team win in any instance possible."
 
HC Dan Earl's overall thoughts after 84-76 win over Bryant.
"Really proud of the guys. That was a really good team win. We had six guys in double figures and a variety of different guys really impacted the game. That was as dialed in as we have been defensively with paying attention to the scouting report, who we're guarding. Overall, I thought we played great team basketball. Better team basketball makes for a better Thanksgiving."

UP NEXT – Chattanooga vs. Lipscomb – Tuesday, Dec. 3 – 7 p.m. ET – ESPN+ – McKenzie Arena
 
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