NOTES | QUOTES | PHOTOS

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (Mar. 9, 2024) – On a night where everything was going for the Mocs, the Chattanooga men's basketball team cruised their way into the Southern Conference Semifinals following a dominant 75-57 victory over No. 6 seed Wofford in the team's quarterfinal matchup on Saturday in Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville.
 
After trailing for just 0:46 of game time, the Mocs shot the ball with great effectiveness to build what was eventually an insurmountable lead for the Terriers to come back from. Led by Demetrius Davis' team-high 19 points, a total of four Mocs would finish in double-figures as UTC cruised its way into Sunday's slate of games. The win moves Chattanooga to a record of 21-11 on the year, while Wofford wraps up its season at 17-15.

"Obviously, proud of the guys. That was a hard-earned win. Can't say enough about Wofford and how hard they play and how hard they are to guard," said head coach Dan Earl after the game. 

"A lot of guys contributed to the effort tonight. Sam [Alexis] and Jan [Zidek] played great. I'm just so proud of Demetrius Davis. He kept his head up all year and has kept playing. I'm super proud of him and this is what you need in March, guys to step up. He was awesome, but a true team effort across the board."
 
Chattanooga wrapped up the night having shot 45.3 percent (24-for-53) from the floor and 41.9 percent (13-for-31) from behind the arc. That, compounded with the Mocs clamping the Terriers up to shoot just 36.1 percent (22-for-61) from the field and 28 percent (7-for-25) from three, helped guide the Mocs to a commanding start to their weekend in Asheville.

HOW IT HAPPENED
For much of the opening 5:30 of action, both teams exchanged a series of blows and leads with a total of five leads changes and five ties taking place over that time period. However, an Honor Huff three-pointer with 14:08 left to play would give Chattanooga an 18-15 advantage and a lead that the Mocs wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the night.
 
Behind a well-rounded scoring attack from UTC headlined by 10 opening-half points from Sam Alexis, the Mocs would take a 38-32 lead into the halftime break over the Terriers. Honor Huff would also contribute nine of his eventual 12 total points in the opening 20 minutes.
 
The Terriers were able to hang around with the Mocs for much of the second half, remaining just two possessions away from Chattanooga for much of the opening portion of the frame. Following a Corey Tripp three-pointer with 14:03 left on the clock, Wofford was within striking distance, trailing narrowly at 45-42.That was until the Mocs turned to the duo of Jan Zidek and Demetrius Davis to help power through the finish line.
 
Davis had himself a career night, leading the Mocs with 19 points including tying his career-high for three-pointers made with four. The point marks a season-high for Davis, and was just one point shy of his career-high. That, paired with Zidek's 13 points, allowed the Mocs to continue to build upon their lead.
 
Down to 2:18 left in the game, Davis provided the exclamation point for the Mocs, slamming home a dunk with authority. A couple more buckets for the Mocs would be all she wrote in Asheville, with UTC running away with the 18-point victory over the Terriers.

RECORDS/SERIES – Chattanooga 21-11, 12-6 SoCon · Wofford 17-15, 10-8 SoCon · Series: UTC now leads the all-time series 33-22.

NOTABLE | MORE
- Chattanooga will now make its third-straight appearance in the SoCon Semifinals... 27^th Semifinal appearance in program history.
- UTC's all-time SCT Quarterfinals record now moves to 27-18.
- Chattanooga will also be gunning for their third consecutive appearance in the Southern Conference title game.
- The last time UTC made three-straight appearances in the SoCon Championship was four-straight from 2003-06 (1-3).
- The last time any SoCon team made three-straight appearances in the title game was UNCG from 2017-19.
- The Mocs are slated to take on No. 7 seed ETSU in the Semifinals on Sunday... 18th all-time meeting against the Bucs in SCT play. 
- This is head coach Dan Earl's ninth appearance in the SoCon Tournament appearance (7x w/ VMI, 2x w/ UTC).
- Earl's career SCT coaching record now stands at 7-8... 4-1 at UTC.
- Following his 12-point outing tonight, Honor Huff now ranks 16^th on UTC's single-season scoring leaderboard with 559... Huff remains in fourth in program history when it comes to 3PTM one the year with him sitting at 107. He trails third-place Stephen McDowell by one.
- Sam Alexis is now tied for sixth in program history in single-season blocks, with Alexis now sitting at 66 following a three-block night against Wofford.
- Demetrius Davis set a new season-high for scoring with a team-high 19 points on the night. Davis' career-high of 20 came on Feb. 18, 2023 against UNCG.
- Trey Bonham has officially surpassed 1,100 points in his career after dropping nine against the Terriers. Bonham currently sits at 1,102 (334 with the Mocs).

QUOTABLE | MORE
Demetrius Davis, Sr., F
On season-best performance tonight following a year of adversity.
"It means everything. Coach Earl and my teammates have always told me to keep my head up when I'm shooting. It's what I've been doing all season, staying in the gym trying to find my shot again. It happened to fall tonight."

NEXT UP – Semifinals - vs. No. 7 ETSU – Sunday, March 10 – 6:30 p.m. ET – Harrah's Cherokee Center (Asheville, N.C.) – ESPNU

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