BOX | NOTES/QUOTES

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (December 21, 2024) – Leading for much of the first half, the Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team fell just short of an upset bid over Big Ten member Indiana during an eventual 74-67 loss inside the famed Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind., on Saturday afternoon.
 
Chattanooga (8-5) jumped out with a strong first half effort, leading for nearly 13 of the first 20 minutes, before Indiana (9-3) closed the half with an 11-3 run to grab a 41-38 lead at the break. UTC trailed by just four, 69-65, with 1:08 left in the contest, but saw the Hoosiers close things out with a late spark in front of its 13,574 faithful fans.
 
"In some ways it hurts that much more because that game was for the taking, and it was right there in the second half," said head coach Dan Earl after the game.
 
"Playing at Indiana, if you want to win that game, you've got to grab all the loose balls and you've got to stick and execute your game plan. As far as that goes, I'm proud of the guys fight today."
 
Honor Huff continued his scoring dominance with a game-high 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting (6-of-12 3PT), marking his third-straight game with 20 or more and third-straight with six made threes. Trey Bonham (11) and Bash Wieland (11) reached double figures in scoring during the defeat.

RECORDS/SERIES – Chattanooga 8-5 · Indiana 9-3 · Fourth Meeting · IU leads 4-0.
 
UP NEXT – Chattanooga at Mercer – Wednesday, Jan. 1 – 7 p.m. ET – ESPN+ – Macon, Ga.
 
GAME FLOW/INSIDE THE BOX
1H 18:11 – Trey Bonham converted a four-point play to give UTC an early 6-5 lead.
1H 16:21 – Honor Huff knocked down his three to keep the Mocs ahead 11-9.
1H 14:15 – Sean Cusano hit a driving layup to give the guests a three-point edge, 15-12.
1H 12:42 – Bonham and Collin Mulholland hit back-to-back triples to extend the advantage, 21-14.
1H 10:45 – Cusano corralled a loose ball offensive rebound and finished the layup to keep the lead at five, 23-18.
1H 8:37 – Makai Richards hit a hook shot on his first attempt to make it 28-23 in favor of UTC.
1H 5:36 – Kanaan Carlyle (IU) gave the Hoosiers its first lead since the early stages with a jumper, 29-28.
1H 3:55 – Huff's second triple of the half allowed UTC to regain a four-point lead, 35-31.
1H 0:07 – Carlyle (IU) capped off a 10-3 half-closing run to give the Hoosiers a 41-38 halftime lead.
HALF – Indiana 41, Chattanooga 38
2H 17:23 – Trey Galloway (IU) came away with a loose ball and drilled a triple to spark a Hoosiers run and force UTC into a timeout while trailing 51-42.
2H 15:30 – Huff connected on another three-ball to cut the deficit to five, 53-48.
2H 13:30 – Malik Reneau (IU) threw down a thunderous dunk, plus the foul, to give Indiana its largest lead, 61-48.
2H 6:49 – Huff hit his fifth and sixth triples of the game to once again help the Mocs cut into the IU lead, 64-59.
2H 1:08 – Bonham's turnaround jumper outside the paint kept UTC within two possessions, 69-65.
2H 0:43 – Galloway (IU) sealed the Hoosiers victory with a wide-open layup behind the defense, upping the lead to eight in the waning seconds, 73-65.
FINAL – Indiana 74, Chattanooga 65
 
KEY NOTES | MORE
∙ Streak of 5+ 3PT FGs extends to 81-straight games… began at 2022-23 season opener… every game under Dan Earl… second-longest active streak in DI (Oral Roberts, 137)… now the 12th longest streak all-time in DI history.
 
∙ UTC knocked down 10 threes in the loss… finished 10-28 (35.7%) for the game… fourth-straight game with 10 or more threes… 50 total over the four-game stretch.
 
∙ Huff finished with a game-high 20 points on 6-13 FG, 6-12 3PT, 2-2 FT… added two boards and an assist… third-straight with 20 or more… third-straight with six 3PTM.

POSTGAME QUOTES | MORE
Honor Huff on today's difference in the outcome.
"I think Indiana being a bit bigger and longer kind of hurt us in the end, but at the end of the day, we gave them a fight. We played our hearts out. I thought when it was a five-point game or so, I'm there thinking and asking, what gets tight if it's a one possession game late, in a game they're supposed to win? That type of thing. I just thought one more shot that fell could have really made a difference in the game."

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