Mocs Rally From 20-Point Deficit to Beat Wofford 83-81 in Overtime
(gomocs.com)
Down 20 points in the first nine minutes of the game, the Chattanooga Mocs men’s basketball team responded with a stingy defensive effort and saw clutch moments down the stretch to earn an 83-81 overtime victory over Wofford in thrilling Southern Conference action inside McKenzie Arena on Wednesday night.
Chattanooga (11-7, 3-2 SoCon) fell behind 31-11 just 9:18 into the contest after Wofford (9-9, 3-2 SoCon) started with an efficient shooting attack. The Mocs cut into the deficit over the course of the first half to eventually trail by 12, 46-34, at the halftime break.
UTC used a fast effort to open the second half to help chip away at the double-digit deficit, eventually crawling all the way back to take a 56-54 lead on a Collin Mulholland layup with 11:13 remaining. Trailing 73-67 with 1:07 left, Bash Wieland hit back-to-back crucial threes with a defensive stop sandwiched between to tie the game 73-73 and send things into overtime.
The two teams traded points over the first four-plus minutes of the extra period and played its way to an 81-81 deadlock with just 26 seconds left on the board. With UTC holding possession for a potential final shot, Trey Bonham used a strong drive and shrugged off contact to finish at the rim to give UTC an 83-81 lead with 3.0 seconds before Wofford’s game-winning, three-point attempt clinked off the front iron.
Wieland (20), Bonham (15) and Honor Huff (15) led the Mocs in scoring during the victory while Sean Cusano put in a gritty effort with 10 points in 10 minutes of action. Chattanooga knocked down 16 threes (16-of-33, 48.5%) and finished the game shooting north of 50.0% (29-of-55, 52.7%) for the fourth-straight game and seventh time in the last nine.
