BOX | NOTES/QUOTES

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (January 25, 2025) – The Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team made it five-straight victories inside Johnson City's Freedom Hall after a strong second-half effort and gutsy performance led to a 71-63 win over Southern Conference rival ETSU on Saturday afternoon.
 
In a back-and-forth, physical rivalry game, Chattanooga (13-8, 5-3 SoCon) responded from an early 12-point deficit (22-10, 8:23) by holding ETSU (12-9, 5-3 SoCon) scoreless over the final four minutes of the half to grab a 28-27 lead into the break. UTC used an efficient shooting performance and tough defensive presence in the second half to never relinquish the lead and come away with the huge conference win.
 
Trey Bonham tied all game-high scorers with 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting (6-of-6 FT) with 17 of his 22 points coming in the second half alone. Frank Champion (14) and Bash Wieland (11) joined Bonham in double figures while the duo of Garrison Keeslar (7) and Sean Cusano (5) combined for 12 rebounds, eight in the second half, during the win.

RECORDS/SERIES – Chattanooga 13-8, 5-3 · ETSU 12-9, 5-3 · 102nd Meeting · UTC leads 55-47.

GAME FLOW/INSIDE THE BOX
FIRST HALF
∙ ETSU jumped out to an early 10-4 (14:39) lead at the first media timeout following a Jaden Seymour (ETSU) dunk which capped off an offensive possession that featured four offensive rebounds.
∙ The Bucs continued to hold a lead over the next five-plus minutes, 22-12 (7:40), limiting the Mocs to a 5-of-14 (35.7%) start from the floor.
∙ Chattanooga cut its deficit to four, 24-20 (4:29), after a successful Sean Cusano and-one off a Frank Champion assist through traffic.
∙ Champion's easy layup tied things at 27-27 (1:41) before UTC ultimately ended the half by holding ETSU scoreless for the final 3:54, grabbing a one-point edge at the break.
 
HALFTIME: Chattanooga 28, ETSU 27
 
SECOND HALF
∙ Bash Wieland converted on a driving layup in the early stages of the second half to extend the Mocs lead to five, 34-29 (18:02).
∙ The lead grew to as much as eight, 45-37 (13:29), on an Honor Huff fadeaway jumper before the shot clock horn before a Quimari Peterson (ETSU) three cut it to five, 45-40 (12:17), a minute later.
∙ After ETSU made it a one-point game, 45-44 (10:36), Chattanooga went on a 15-5 run to open up a double-digit lead, 60-49, with 5:15 left in the contest.
∙ The closest the Bucs got down the stretch was six with just 0:29 left, 69-63, as UTC controlled possessions and closed out the game from the free-throw line.
 
FINAL: Chattanooga 71, ETSU 63

KEY NOTES | MORE
∙ Chattanooga has now won five-straight games at ETSU inside Freedom hall… eight of the last 11 overall games against the Bucs… 20th all-time win in Johnson City… 55-47 in the all-time series.
 
∙ Chattanooga struggled from behind the arc for the second-straight game after finishing 3-of-13 (23.1%)… lowest amount of 3FGM (3) in a win and game since a 64-58 win at Furman back on February 12, 2022.
 
∙ Trey Bonham finished with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting in total… surpassed 1,400 points in his career… entered with 1,386 and now sits at 1,408… surpassed 3,000 minutes in his career.

POSTGAME QUOTES | MORE
HC Dan Earl on rebounding effort.
"I thought without that one possession, we did an admiral job on the boards. They had 15 more shot attempts than us so we had to be very efficient and we were around the rim. I thought we played with some poise against the press and did a fairly good job against the pressure they gave us."
 
Trey Bonham on taking over in the second half.
"It was going to be a tough game, we knew that, and I feel like I've been built for these types of moments. I wanted the ball in my hand as much as possible to make plays and make plays for my teammates to come away with a win."

UP NEXT – Chattanooga at Western Carolina – Wednesday, Jan. 29 – 7 p.m. ET – ESPN+ – Cullowhee, N.C.

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