Chattanooga Mocs Beat ETSU to Earn Trip to NCAA Tournament

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) – Greg Pryor and Tre’ McLean each had 13 points, and top-seeded Chattanooga held on to defeat second-seeded East Tennessee State 73-67 on Monday night to win the Southern Conference championship and earn an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament.

Eric Robertson added 12 points for the Mocs (29-5), who reached the field of 68 for the first time since 2009, when they lost 103-47 to No. 1 seed UConn in the first round.

With a win, Chattanooga claimed its 11th SoCon tournament title, one shy of all-time leader Davidson, which is now in the Atlantic 10.

After the game, first-year coach Matt McCall hugged McLean at midcourt and said, “We’re going, baby.”

Pryor, who also had six rebounds and three assists, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Desonta Bradford had 14 points, T.J. Cromer had 13 and Ge’Lawn Guyn had 11 for East Tennessee State (23-11).

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