2024-25 Chattanooga Mocs Men's Basketball
Game 29 – The Citadel – February 22, 2025
McKenzie Arena – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Postgame Notes & Quotes
 
GENERAL GAME INFO
Game Duration: 1:55
Attendance: 4,148
Officials: Evan Berg, Joshua White, Kurt Tackett
 
TEAM/SERIES RECORDS
Chattanooga: 21-8, 13-3 SoCon
The Citadel: 5-22, 0-16 SoCon
 
All-Time Meetings: 96th
Chattanooga leads 75-21; H: 41-6; A: 32-15; N: 2-0.
Chattanooga leads 70-18 in SoCon regular season games.
 
COACHES RECORDS
Chattanooga: Dan Earl (Penn State '97)
Overall (10th): 133-176, 66-108 SoCon
at UTC (3rd): 60-37, 32-20 SoCon
 
The Citadel: Ed Conroy (The Citadel '89)
Overall (16th): 208-284
at CIT (3rd/7th): 75-141
 
HISTORIC RECORDS
All-Time Program Record: 1,446-1,152 (.554)
Division I Era (since '77-78): 900-583 (.605)
All-Time SoCon Record: 486-295 (.617)
McKenzie Arena Record: 498-152 (.764)
 
TEAM & GAME NOTES
∙ Chattanooga earned its ninth-straight win following a 76-75 thriller over The Citadel… UTC improves to 21-8 overall and 13-3 inside SoCon play after the win.
 
∙ Chattanooga remains one game ahead of UNCG (12-4) atop the SoCon regular season standings… the Mocs and the Spartans meet next on Thursday night in Greensboro… with a win, UTC would earn an outright SoCon title and the No. 1 seed in Asheville.
 
∙ The nine-game win streak matches the longest overall since opening the 2020-21 campaign with nine… the nine-game SoCon regular season winning streak matches the longest for UTC in a single season since 2015-16.  
 
∙ The win marked the 900th for Chattanooga as an NCAA Division I program (since 1977-78)… UTC is 900-583 all-time at the DI level… improved to 486-295 all-time in SoCon games.
 
∙ Chattanooga finished the 2024-25 home slate with a 13-3 record… most home wins in a single season since 2015-16 (13)… 498-152 all-time inside UTC/McKenzie Arena… 34-14 at home in three seasons under Dan Earl.
 
∙ Chattanooga finished with 20 assists on its 27 FGM… fourth-straight game with 20+ assists… first time on UTC record accomplishing the feat in program history.
 
PLAYER NOTES
∙ Chattanooga recognized five seniors ahead of the contest as part of its annual Senior Day festivities… among the five included: Trey Bonham, Frank Champion, Garrison Keeslar, Jack Kostel and Bash Wieland.
 
∙ Bash Wieland led the team in scoring with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting… tied a season-high with four assists… surpassed 900 points for his career (908).
 
POSTGAME QUOTES
Dan Earl, Head Coach
Opening thoughts after 76-75 win over The Citadel.
"[Give] a ton of credit to Citadel. I didn't expect anything different. They are tough kids, they play extremely physical, Coach Conroy does a wonderful job with them. They've been in a ton of games for a team that hasn't quite gotten over the hump, so we didn't expect anything different, but they play well. I give them a ton of credit. And, you know, we withstood a poor shooting night from some of our shooters, some foul trouble, Frank Champion in particular, um, not being ultras smart on defensive times, and we figured out a way to win. So I guess that's the best thing I can say right now. It is good to get another win. and we had, you know, different guys affect the game. 
Makai Richards came in. I thought he gave us some really valuable minutes before he got cut. So, proud of the guys for figuring out we have to continue to get better."
 
On potential lessened effort today.
"To be real with you, I don't feel that we were overlooking them at all, you know, previous game or two I was a little more nervous about that. I thought we were in a good mindset and um you know, uh, this game I did not think that I thought we played hard. They slowed the game down and they are really tough cover, particularly like, look, we got some smaller guards that are really good and we'll ride with them any time, but they are coming downhill. You know, crashing into you, seeking contact, in particular Fox. And then their shooters made shots as well."
 
Bash Wieland, Gr-G.
On the team's performance.
"I really didn't [missing tight games]. We've got to find a way to execute better. A win is a win, but with that being said, we just got to continue to get better."
 
On what the Chattanooga program has meant to him in his final year.
"Yeah, this year, overall has been just such a blessing. I mean, you're taking a risk when you transfer and just the support that I've received from not only the coaches but also just the team and my teammates who have already been here in Chattanooga, but also the other transfers. Since the start of the summer. It's just been great. We've really supported each other. That means the world that I have friends outside of just basketball, like I'll be friends with them outside and even after basketball."