Mocs Second Half Surge Nets 77-68 Win at Wofford

(GOMOCS.COM)SPARTANBURG, S.C.—The Chattanooga Mocs used an 18-0 second half run to claim a 77-68 win at Wofford. It’s the fourth win in the last five meetings against the Terriers including three in a row at Johnson Arena.

Tre’ McLean led five in double digits with 16 points while grabbing a game-high eight rebounds and dishing out a team-best four assists. Greg Pryor and Justin Tuoyo had 14 apiece, while Duke Ethridge chipped in 12 off the bench and Chuck Ester added 10.

Wofford was paced by Spencer Collins with 21 points and eight assists. Fletcher Magee had 18 points, while Ryan Sawvell came off the bench for 10 points and seven rebounds.

Johnathan Burroughs-Cook gave the Mocs a 50-48 lead with 11:29 to go. Back-to-back Wofford scores pushed it to a three-point lead, 53-50. For the next six minutes, it was all UTC.

The visitors scored on eight straight possessions, while getting seven defensive stops in a row. The result was an 18-0 spurt capped by Duke Ethridge’s triple at 4:25. Collins ended the 5:55 drought with a layup 20 seconds later.

"It was stops,” coach Matt McCall stated. “It was rebounds. The press was really, really good. Chuck Ester was a monster in the front of the press tonight. There was one point where Casey Jones stood up and said, ‘We have to get Chuck off the floor. He’s exhausted.’ I said, ‘Well, who do you want to go in for him?’

“But I thought he was terrific in front of the press. They really struggled with him up there. We were good with our rotations in the back. We were able to get some stops."

Tuoyo answered with a layup. The Terriers scored 10 unanswered points over the next two minutes to get within five, 70-65, on a Magee three. McLean and Pryor combined to make seven on eight free throws in the final minute for the nine-point win.

Pryor had perhaps the play of the night. With 31.6 to go, he stripped Eric Garcia at mid-court, fell on the loose ball and called timeout. He then made his free throws getting fouled on the in-bounds pass to get back to a 10-point lead.

“Greg Pryor’s steal on the sideline where he dove for the ball was a big play,” McCall continued. “Those are game-winning plays, and we had a lot of them tonight. I thought it was a total team effort. I really did. I thought we had great minutes out of everybody.”

The Mocs won the battle of the boards 34-30, 19-11 in the pivotal second half. They were +8 in turnover margin (14-6) with a 24-5 advantage in points off turnovers.

"We could not rebound the ball in the first half for whatever reason,” McCall noted. “They’re a physical team. I said to our assistants, ‘We have to keep Dee on the floor because he’s rebounding the ball. So we need to keep him in the game.’

“Duke Ethridge struggled offensively in the first half, but he didn’t give up. He had a huge dunk, and then he made a big three. Johnathan Burroughs-Cook made a really big three. I just thought it was a total team effort."

UTC is now 14-3 on the season, 3-1 in the Southern Conference. Wofford falls to 3-1 in the league, 6-10 overall.

"We go on the road and beat Wofford and our best shooter (Eric Robertson) doesn’t even make a shot,” McCall added. “You’re taking that every night. The biggest thing I’ve been preaching to these guys is team and playing for each other. I don’t think there was a guy more excited in the locker room than Eric Robertson.

“The guy didn’t even score, and that’s what it’s about. That’s playing for each other. That’s playing as a team. For whatever reason, we didn’t have that on Saturday, but we responded well…the right way tonight."

The Terriers led by as many as eight in the second half. It got off to a great start build an early seven-point advantage. It was a five-point margin, 20-15 on a Magee three, the second of his five on the night.

McLean’s layup at 3:10 tied the score at 24-all. It was 31-30 after a Dee Oldham put-back in the waning seconds. The Terriers pushed the ball up the floor. Collins hit Eric Garcia in the corner who hit a buzzer-beating triple for the 34-30 lead.

Chattanooga returns to the Scenic City for a weekend SoCon set. Western Carolina comes to town Thursday at 7 p.m., while East Tennessee State visits Saturday in the second game of a doubleheader with the women. Game time with the Bucs is 5 p.m.