Mocs pay back

ASU with home win

By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Home never looked so good for Chattanooga.

The Mocs, who were beaten twice on the road last week, were missing three players either because of suspension or injury, and had two others who were nursing nagging injuries.

Yet the Mocs finished their 89-77 victory over Appalachian State Saturday at McKenzie Arena with six players scoring in double figures and by never letting the Mountaineers mount a serious comeback down the stretch.

The win allowed the Mocs (13-7, 8-2 SoCon) to re-establish a one-game lead over Appalachian State (12-7, 7-3), which beat Chattanooga 92-83 on Jan. 17.

Appalachian State, which beat Furman last Thursday, saw its six-game winning streak come to an end. The Mountaineers don’t get much time off as they host Elon Monday at the Holmes Center.

Chattanooga did not play since a loss to Davidson the previous Saturday. Mocs coach John Shulman put his players through some tough practices and Mountaineers coach Houston Fancher said it showed.

“They were extremely hungry,” Fancher said. “They played with a lot of passion and wanted to make up for the loss of a couple of players today. …We were just not as prepared to play today. From a mental standpoint, we just seemed to cower a little early on and didn’t respond very well.”

Appalachian State, which dominated Furman’s depleted inside defense Thursday, struggled against a Mocs team that was missing 6-foot-8 forward Khalil Hartwell, who has an injured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

But the Mocs countered with 10 points and 10 rebounds from first-time starter Qavotstaraj Waddell. Two of his points came on a game-opening dunk, which gave the Mocs a 2-0 lead that would be tied by the Mountaineers, but never overrun.

Longtime starter Mocs forward Nicchaeus Doaks added 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

Chattanooga, missing backup point guard Keyron Sheard (clavicle) and Matt Gwynne (two-game suspension), still managed to shoot 56 percent from the field and take a 44-34 halftime lead.

“At times like this when your family breaks down and you have a loss in your family, everybody goes to a funeral where everybody comes together,” Doaks said.

The Mocs got 11 points from Marcus Watts, who suffered a mild concussion in Chattanooga’s loss to Davidson last Saturday. Kevin Goffney was also questionable with a sore back, but played anyway and finished with 12 points.

Kevin Bridgewater, Chattanooga’s starting point guard, led the team in scoring with 20 points.

Chattanooga caught a break when Appalachian State forward Jeremy Clayton, one of the Mountaineers’ top defensive players, picked up his second foul five minutes into the game. Clayton played just 11 minutes the entire game and did not score any points before fouling out.

In Appalachian State’s win over the Mocs in Boone, Clayton blocked eight shots.

“Jeremy only played about five minutes (in the first half) and he never really got going,” Fancher said.

“Jeremy is important to us. You look back at all of those wins we had and Jeremy Clayton is a major reason why we got all of those wins. He got a couple of quick fouls in the first half and got a couple of quick ones in the second and never really established himself.”

Appalachian State’s other key inside player, Donte Minter, settled for 13 points, all in the second half.

“They were prepared once the ball was in the air,” Minter said. “I didn’t make wise decisions as far as kicking it out.”

The Mountaineers, who have been shooting no lower than 48 percent from the field during their last four games, hit 39 percent (23-of-59) against Chattanooga.

Clayton was just one Mountaineer who found himself saddled with fouls. Minter, Kellen Brand, Ryann Abraham and Doug McLaughlin-Williams all finished with four fouls, and the Mountaineers were whistled for 31 fouls overall. Chattanooga took advantage by hitting 28-of-39 from the foul line.

Appalachian State made a run at the Mocs midway through the second half. Point guard Donald Sims buried three 3-point shots and Kellen Brand scored off an offensive rebound to cap a 12-8 run, which pulled the Mountaineers to within 48-46

But Chattanooga responded with a 14-7 run of its own and claimed a 62-53 lead that was never lower than seven the rest of the game. The Mocs took their largest lead, 84-68, following a 5-0 run capped by two McDowell foul shots.

Brand finished with 17 points for Appalachian State, which Ryann Abraham scored 13.

“We knew they would throw a punch and we responded OK,” Mocs coach John Shulman said. “It’s very difficult to keep that emotion that we had in the first half and sustain it through halftime. Sometimes you don’t need a halftime or you don’t want a halftime. You want to keep on going.”

Chattanooga 89, Appalachian State 77

Appalachian State (12-7, 7-3)

Sims 6-12 5-7 23, Clayton 0-1 0-0 0, Bermudez 2-7 0-0 4, Brand 6-12 4-5 17, Minter 3-6 7-10 13, Abraham 4-10 2-2 13, Booth 2-6 0-0 6, Bowne 0-1 0-0 0, McLaughlin-Williams 0-4 1-2 1. Totals 23-59 19-26 77.

Chattanooga (89)

McDowell 4-10 5-6 15, Watts 4-8 3-6 11, Bridgewaters 4-7 9-9 20, Waddell 4-5 2-7 10, Doaks 7-10 4-5 18, McCellan 1-2 0-0 3, Ferrell 0-1 0-0 0, Goffney 3-5 5-6 12. Saffore 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-48 28-39 89.

Halftime score—UTC 44, ASU 34. 3-point goals—ASU 12-30 (Sims 6-12, Abraham 3-5, Booth 2-6, Brand 1-3, McLaughlin-Williams 0-4), UTC 7-19 (Bridgewaters 3-5, McDowell 2-7, Goffney 1-1, McClellan 1-2, Doaks 0-1, Ferrell 0-1, Watts 0-2). Rebounds—ASU 31 (Minter 8), UTC 36 (Waddell 10). Assists—ASU 14 (Abraham 4), UTC 14 (Watts, Bridgewaters 4).

Turnovers—ASU 15, UTC 14. Total fouls—ASU 31, UTC 24. Fouled out—ASU, Clayton. Technical fouls—None. A—4,464.