Chattanooga opened the second half on a 20-0 run and weathered College of
Charleston's second-half 3-point barrage to win its record-tying 10th Southern
Conference Men's Basketball Championship title on Monday, 80-69, to claim the
league's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. Tony
White (6'0''-G-88) Jr. scored a career-high 31 points for the Cougars, but
Keyron Sheard led Chattanooga (18-16), the North Division's top seed, with 18
points. Tournament Most Outstanding Player
Stephen McDowell (5'11''-G-85) had 15 points, Ty Patterson 12 and
Kevin
Goffney (6'5''-F-86) 10 for the Mocs, while
Andrew Goudelock (6'1''-G-88) had 15 for College of Charleston (26-8), the
South Division's No. 3 seed.
The game was tied at 34 at the half, but the Mocs came out of the locker room on
fire, scoring the first 20 points of the frame to seemingly take control.
McDowell got the scoring binge started with a 3-pointer in the first minute, and
Patterson added three triples of his own - including one as the shot clock
expired - to get the Mocs rolling.
Khalil
Hartwell (6'8''-F-85)'s steal and thunderous dunk made it an 18-point game
and got the home crowd on its feet, and Sheard's pair of free throws made it
54-34.
College of Charleston finally got its first bucket of the half on a Goudelock
3-pointer with 13:23 to play, and White hit back-to-back 3s to force a
Chattanooga timeout.
The Mocs turned the ball over out of the timeout and Goudelock drained another 3
- Charleston's fourth in a row - to get the margin back under 10 at 54-46 with
11:19 to play.
Antwaine Wiggins (6'7''-F-88)' layup pulled the Cougars to within six to cap
a 14-0 Charleston run, but Sheard hit a layup on the other end to stop
Chattanooga's drought.
The Cougars weren't done, however, getting another Goudelock 3-pointer to make
it a five-point game with 8:26 to play.
Nicchaeus Doaks (6'7''-F-87)' layup made it 58-51, and Goffney's one-handed
follow dunk on a missed 3 from Patterson pushed the lead back to nine. After a
Charleston turnover, Sheard drained his lone 3 of the game to put the Mocs' lead
back in double digits.
White answered with one of his seven 3-pointers, but Sheard was fouled on a
3-point attempt and hit all three free throws to make it 66-54 with five minutes
to play.
White scored seven points in the final two minutes to make things interesting,
but Chattanooga salted away the game at the free throw line. McDowell was
4-for-4 in the final two minutes, while Goffney was 3-for-4 and Sheard 2-for-2.
The first half was hotly contested, with neither team leading by more than seven
and the lead changing hands five times. A McDowell jumper made it 25-18 with
just under eight minutes to play in the half, but White had a jumper and a 3 in
a 7-0 Charleston run that tied the game. Chris
Early (6'7''-F) scored all six of his points consecutively in a 9-2
Chattanooga spurt that stretched the lead back to seven points at 34-27, but a
layup from
Jermaine Johnson (6'7''-F-85) and a couple of free throws from White made it
a one-possession game. Marcus Hammond hit a 3 as the shot clock expired with
less than a minute left to knot the score heading into intermission.
The Mocs' 10th league tournament title ties the record held by Davidson and
former SoCon member West Virginia.
Goffney and McDowell earned spots on the SoCon All-Tournament first team for
Chattanooga, while Doaks was named to the second team. White was on the first
team for Charleston, while Goudelock,
Dustin Scott (6'8''-F-85) and
Jeremy Simmons (6'8''-F-89) were on the second team.
Courtesy of SoCon
Tournament Final: Chattanooga - College of Charleston 80-69 Tournament Semifinals:
Chattanooga - Samford 81-70
Davidson - College of Charleston 52-59
Southern Conf. Player of the Year:
Stephen Curry of Davidson Southern Conf. Defensive Player of the Year:Max
Paulhus Gosselin (6'6''-G-85) of Davidson Southern Conf. Freshman of the Year:
Harouna Mutombo of Western Carolina Southern Conf. Coach of the Year:Ed Conroy
of The Citadel
Search
InStat FREE TRIAL
Your promo code is eurobasket Click for FREE TRIAL to InStat
Shulman
Chattanooga opened the second half on a 20-0 run and weathered College of
Charleston's second-half 3-point barrage to win its record-tying 10th Southern
Conference Men's Basketball Championship title on Monday, 80-69, to claim the
league's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
