Mocs Milestone: Chattanooga Reaches NIT Semis for the First Time in Program History
PEORIA, ILL--For the first time in its history, Chattanooga will take part in the final four of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) semifinals after knocking off No. 3 Bradley on the road, 67-65, to move on to the tournament's penultimate stage.
The Mocs become just the second SoCon team to ever reach the semifinal round of college basketball's oldest NCAA sponsored tournament, joining North Carolina State, which made it to the NIT's Final Four way back in 1947!
With the win, the Mocs improve to a SoCon-best 27-9, while Bradley concludes its season with a 28-9 mark. UTC will await the winner of Kent State-Loyola-Chicago, which take place tonight in Chicago. The Mocs and the winner of that aforementioned matchup will meet next Tuesday, April 1, 2025, at Hinkle Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University at a time to be determined later.
The Mocs got the win, despite trailing by as many as 16 points in the opening half and 13 at the break, and did so before a rowdy crowd of 4,594 fans on-hand at Carver Arena Tuesday night to cheer on the Braves.
The Mocs' highly-efficient offense was fueled by the usual suspects, with Honor Huff (21 pts) and Trey Bonham (17 pts) combining to score 38 of the team's 67 points and connect on nine of the team's 11 three-pointers in the win.
Huff led the way with his 21-point effort coming on an 8-for-17 effort from the field, which included a 5-for-13 effort from long-range and added three assists, one steal and one rebound to his overall totals in 40 minutes of action.
Bonham finished his night by contributing a 5-for-12 shooting effort from the field, which included a 4-for-8 effort from long-range and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line. Bonham added six rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal in the win.
Bradley placed four players in double figures in the loss, as Demarion Burch paced the Braves with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and added four rebound and two assists. Burch would be joined in double figures by Duke Deen, who added 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and a 2-for-6 effort performance from three-point range, while also connecting on 1-of-2 foul shots to equal his scoring total for the night. Christan Davis and Jaquan Johnson rounded out the Braves in double figures with 10 points apiece.
Chattanooga finished the night connecting on 40.6% (26-of-64) from the field, which included a 30.6% (11-of-36) effort from three-point land. Bradley, which connected on 60% (15-of-25) in the opening half of play, finished the night by being cooled off a little in the second half by UTC, but still ended up posting an impressive 54.2% (26-of-48) shooting effort from the field, including a 33.3% (6-of-18) shooting effort from three-point land.
The Braves finished the game connecting on a 63.6% (7-of-11) from the free throw line, while the Mocs were 66.7% (4-for-6) on the evening.
Chattanooga owned its biggest edge in second-chance points, as it outscored the Braves 13-2 in second-chance points, and that proved especially decisive in what was a close game in the second half. Chattanooga held an even bigger advantage on points off turnovers, as it posted a 20-5 edge in that category, forcing 12 Braves turnovers, while committing only five.
The Mocs posted 11 of its 32 total rebounds on the offensive end, while Bradley could only corral four offensive rebounds in the contest, but held a narrow 33-32 edge on the glass. Both teams tied, 28-28, in points in the paint, while Chattanooga claimed a slight advantage in total assists, at 17-12.
How It Happened:
Over the past two seasons in both Trey Bonham and Honor Huff have provided Mocs basketball fans with plenty of memorable moments to file within their collective memory banks, and as the duo sees their time playing together perhaps drawing to a close, the duo is making the most of their NIT journey together.
In Tuesday night's enticing NIT tilt between the Mocs and Braves, which decided the first of four semifinal spots in the 2025 edition of the tournament, it was Bonham that took and an extra kick-to-the-corner pass from teammate and best friend Huff to connect on a corner three with 14.1 seconds remaining, and Bonham was cool as a cucumber, hitting nothing but the bottom of the net on a corner three, giving the Mocs a 67-64 lead.
After Bradley took a timeout to set up a play, and the Mocs wisely committed a foul on Bradley's Duke Deen after letting some time run off the clock, as almost 10 seconds elapsed before giving its final foul to put the Braves in the bonus for a 1-and-1 with 4.8 seconds left.
Deen made the first, however, intentionally missed the second and UTC's Latif Diouf grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled with 2.7 seconds left. He went to the line and missed the front end, leaving the Mocs up two (67-65) and the Braves with a sliver of hope if they could connect on a miracle three-pointer, however, Deen's 65-foot heave was no good and the Mocs celebrated their 12th road win of the season.
The game was one that saw the Braves jump out to an early lead in the opening half of play, and it looked as if they might put the Mocs out of it early in the contest, opening up a 16-point advantage, at 38-22, following a Duke Deen three-pointer with 2:15 remaining in the opening half of play. A switch to the 1-3-1 zone just prior to the half altered Bradley's offense just enough to help the Mocs ensure there would be no further harm done for the remainder of the opening 20 minutes.
The Mocs would get the final three points of the half when Honor Huff connected on one of his five three-pointers in the contest with 66 seconds remaining, and that would at least give Chattanooga a little momentum heading into the second half of the game, trailing 38-25 at the half.
In the second half, the Mocs went about trimming the lead in a meticulous fashion before eventually being able to overtake the Braves on a Garrison Keeslar three-pointer with just under nine minutes remaining. Demarion Burch would give the Braves an 11-point, 44-33, lead with on a jumper in the lane with 16:21 remaining.
After Huff answered with a three on the other end nine seconds later, which would trigger a quick 7-0 spurt by UTC, making it a 44-41 game, and suddenly we had a ballgame on our hands.
The Braves would eventually push the lead back to seven following after scoring on consecutive possessions, but Chattanooga continued to chip away and would eventually get two within two after Huff converted a layup on a beautifully executed sideline, out-of-bounds play, and three Bonham free throws, which would get the Mocs to within 48-46 within two, at 48-46, with 11:47 remaining.
For the next three minutes, the Braves managed to maintain its lead, however, couldn't continue to hold it, with Chattanooga doing its part on both ends of the floor to continue its imminent threat. The stage would eventually be set for Keeslar, who isn't noted for his outside shooting capabilities, to make one of the biggest threes of the season for the Mocs, as he took a pass from Huff and knocked down a wide-open left wing triple to give Chattanooga a 54-52 lead with 8:44 remaining, which was the first lead Chattanooga had held since it was 2-0 following its opening possession of the game.
Following a steal by Keeslar, the Mocs would increase their lead to four, at 56-52, when Bash Wieland knocked down a jumper in the lane with just over eight minutes left. Bradley used a quick 5-0 run to surge back in front, which was highlighted by a Connor Dillon three and a Deen jumper, making it a 57-56 Braves lead with 6:23 remaining.
After a pair of missed threes on each end, Chattanooga would regain the lead when Bonham connected on a top-of-the-key three with 5:10 remaining, putting the Mocs back in front, 59-57. It would set the stage for quite a final flurry of basketball over the final five minutes, with the contest between the two mid-major powers seeing a pair of ties and two lead changes over that final stretch of the game.
With the game tied, 61-61, following a Bash Wieland layup with 1:44 remaining, the Mocs forced a crucial Bradley turnover and then on the other end, Bonham came up with the first of his two absolutely monumental threes to help the Mocs assume what was a 64-61 lead at the exact same point of the second half (1:06 left) that Huff would connect on a three in the first half to help quell Bradley's momentum.
However, the Braves had an arrow left in their quiver in the form of Duke Deen, who launched his perfect high-arching arrow of a three from the left wing with a hand in his face to tie the game, bringing the crowd to a higher decibel level after Bonham had silenced them just moments earlier.
At 64-64 with 41 seconds remaining, Earl drew up one final "picket fence" play to take the Mocs into their own version of a Hoosiers-like story next week at Hinkle Fieldhouse, as Huff served as the decoy and Bonham played the role of Jimmy Chitwood, with his corner three with 14.2 seconds left giving the Mocs a three-point lead and put all the pressure on the Braves. The Mocs would make that hold up, winning a thrilling 67-65 decision to reach its first-ever NIT Final Four.
UTC/SoCon Notes
--With the win, the SoCon has now had a team win 27 or more games in a season in 10 of the past 11 campaigns, and that is with the COVID-19 Season (2020-21) included. That is the only season in which at least one SoCon team has failed to reach 27 or more wins. That's the longest such streak in the 105-year history of the league.
--UTC has 47 road wins since 2020-21, which is the most in all of NCAA Division I college basketball. The Mocs improved to 12-5 away this season, including having won 10-straight on the road to tie Houston for the nation's longest active streak.
--Chattanooga has been one of the hottest teams in college basketball over the past two months, having won 15 of its past 16 games, with the lone loss in that span being an 80-77 overtime loss in the SoCon semifinals to Furman. Chattanooga also improved to 19-4 since the calendar flipped to 2025.
The Mocs become just the second SoCon team to ever reach the semifinal round of college basketball's oldest NCAA sponsored tournament, joining North Carolina State, which made it to the NIT's Final Four way back in 1947!
With the win, the Mocs improve to a SoCon-best 27-9, while Bradley concludes its season with a 28-9 mark. UTC will await the winner of Kent State-Loyola-Chicago, which take place tonight in Chicago. The Mocs and the winner of that aforementioned matchup will meet next Tuesday, April 1, 2025, at Hinkle Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University at a time to be determined later.
The Mocs got the win, despite trailing by as many as 16 points in the opening half and 13 at the break, and did so before a rowdy crowd of 4,594 fans on-hand at Carver Arena Tuesday night to cheer on the Braves.
The Mocs' highly-efficient offense was fueled by the usual suspects, with Honor Huff (21 pts) and Trey Bonham (17 pts) combining to score 38 of the team's 67 points and connect on nine of the team's 11 three-pointers in the win.
Huff led the way with his 21-point effort coming on an 8-for-17 effort from the field, which included a 5-for-13 effort from long-range and added three assists, one steal and one rebound to his overall totals in 40 minutes of action.
Bonham finished his night by contributing a 5-for-12 shooting effort from the field, which included a 4-for-8 effort from long-range and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line. Bonham added six rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal in the win.
Bradley placed four players in double figures in the loss, as Demarion Burch paced the Braves with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and added four rebound and two assists. Burch would be joined in double figures by Duke Deen, who added 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and a 2-for-6 effort performance from three-point range, while also connecting on 1-of-2 foul shots to equal his scoring total for the night. Christan Davis and Jaquan Johnson rounded out the Braves in double figures with 10 points apiece.
Chattanooga finished the night connecting on 40.6% (26-of-64) from the field, which included a 30.6% (11-of-36) effort from three-point land. Bradley, which connected on 60% (15-of-25) in the opening half of play, finished the night by being cooled off a little in the second half by UTC, but still ended up posting an impressive 54.2% (26-of-48) shooting effort from the field, including a 33.3% (6-of-18) shooting effort from three-point land.
The Braves finished the game connecting on a 63.6% (7-of-11) from the free throw line, while the Mocs were 66.7% (4-for-6) on the evening.
Chattanooga owned its biggest edge in second-chance points, as it outscored the Braves 13-2 in second-chance points, and that proved especially decisive in what was a close game in the second half. Chattanooga held an even bigger advantage on points off turnovers, as it posted a 20-5 edge in that category, forcing 12 Braves turnovers, while committing only five.
The Mocs posted 11 of its 32 total rebounds on the offensive end, while Bradley could only corral four offensive rebounds in the contest, but held a narrow 33-32 edge on the glass. Both teams tied, 28-28, in points in the paint, while Chattanooga claimed a slight advantage in total assists, at 17-12.
How It Happened:
Over the past two seasons in both Trey Bonham and Honor Huff have provided Mocs basketball fans with plenty of memorable moments to file within their collective memory banks, and as the duo sees their time playing together perhaps drawing to a close, the duo is making the most of their NIT journey together.
In Tuesday night's enticing NIT tilt between the Mocs and Braves, which decided the first of four semifinal spots in the 2025 edition of the tournament, it was Bonham that took and an extra kick-to-the-corner pass from teammate and best friend Huff to connect on a corner three with 14.1 seconds remaining, and Bonham was cool as a cucumber, hitting nothing but the bottom of the net on a corner three, giving the Mocs a 67-64 lead.
After Bradley took a timeout to set up a play, and the Mocs wisely committed a foul on Bradley's Duke Deen after letting some time run off the clock, as almost 10 seconds elapsed before giving its final foul to put the Braves in the bonus for a 1-and-1 with 4.8 seconds left.
Deen made the first, however, intentionally missed the second and UTC's Latif Diouf grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled with 2.7 seconds left. He went to the line and missed the front end, leaving the Mocs up two (67-65) and the Braves with a sliver of hope if they could connect on a miracle three-pointer, however, Deen's 65-foot heave was no good and the Mocs celebrated their 12th road win of the season.
The game was one that saw the Braves jump out to an early lead in the opening half of play, and it looked as if they might put the Mocs out of it early in the contest, opening up a 16-point advantage, at 38-22, following a Duke Deen three-pointer with 2:15 remaining in the opening half of play. A switch to the 1-3-1 zone just prior to the half altered Bradley's offense just enough to help the Mocs ensure there would be no further harm done for the remainder of the opening 20 minutes.
The Mocs would get the final three points of the half when Honor Huff connected on one of his five three-pointers in the contest with 66 seconds remaining, and that would at least give Chattanooga a little momentum heading into the second half of the game, trailing 38-25 at the half.
In the second half, the Mocs went about trimming the lead in a meticulous fashion before eventually being able to overtake the Braves on a Garrison Keeslar three-pointer with just under nine minutes remaining. Demarion Burch would give the Braves an 11-point, 44-33, lead with on a jumper in the lane with 16:21 remaining.
After Huff answered with a three on the other end nine seconds later, which would trigger a quick 7-0 spurt by UTC, making it a 44-41 game, and suddenly we had a ballgame on our hands.
The Braves would eventually push the lead back to seven following after scoring on consecutive possessions, but Chattanooga continued to chip away and would eventually get two within two after Huff converted a layup on a beautifully executed sideline, out-of-bounds play, and three Bonham free throws, which would get the Mocs to within 48-46 within two, at 48-46, with 11:47 remaining.
For the next three minutes, the Braves managed to maintain its lead, however, couldn't continue to hold it, with Chattanooga doing its part on both ends of the floor to continue its imminent threat. The stage would eventually be set for Keeslar, who isn't noted for his outside shooting capabilities, to make one of the biggest threes of the season for the Mocs, as he took a pass from Huff and knocked down a wide-open left wing triple to give Chattanooga a 54-52 lead with 8:44 remaining, which was the first lead Chattanooga had held since it was 2-0 following its opening possession of the game.
Following a steal by Keeslar, the Mocs would increase their lead to four, at 56-52, when Bash Wieland knocked down a jumper in the lane with just over eight minutes left. Bradley used a quick 5-0 run to surge back in front, which was highlighted by a Connor Dillon three and a Deen jumper, making it a 57-56 Braves lead with 6:23 remaining.
After a pair of missed threes on each end, Chattanooga would regain the lead when Bonham connected on a top-of-the-key three with 5:10 remaining, putting the Mocs back in front, 59-57. It would set the stage for quite a final flurry of basketball over the final five minutes, with the contest between the two mid-major powers seeing a pair of ties and two lead changes over that final stretch of the game.
With the game tied, 61-61, following a Bash Wieland layup with 1:44 remaining, the Mocs forced a crucial Bradley turnover and then on the other end, Bonham came up with the first of his two absolutely monumental threes to help the Mocs assume what was a 64-61 lead at the exact same point of the second half (1:06 left) that Huff would connect on a three in the first half to help quell Bradley's momentum.
However, the Braves had an arrow left in their quiver in the form of Duke Deen, who launched his perfect high-arching arrow of a three from the left wing with a hand in his face to tie the game, bringing the crowd to a higher decibel level after Bonham had silenced them just moments earlier.
At 64-64 with 41 seconds remaining, Earl drew up one final "picket fence" play to take the Mocs into their own version of a Hoosiers-like story next week at Hinkle Fieldhouse, as Huff served as the decoy and Bonham played the role of Jimmy Chitwood, with his corner three with 14.2 seconds left giving the Mocs a three-point lead and put all the pressure on the Braves. The Mocs would make that hold up, winning a thrilling 67-65 decision to reach its first-ever NIT Final Four.
UTC/SoCon Notes
--With the win, the SoCon has now had a team win 27 or more games in a season in 10 of the past 11 campaigns, and that is with the COVID-19 Season (2020-21) included. That is the only season in which at least one SoCon team has failed to reach 27 or more wins. That's the longest such streak in the 105-year history of the league.
--UTC has 47 road wins since 2020-21, which is the most in all of NCAA Division I college basketball. The Mocs improved to 12-5 away this season, including having won 10-straight on the road to tie Houston for the nation's longest active streak.
--Chattanooga has been one of the hottest teams in college basketball over the past two months, having won 15 of its past 16 games, with the lone loss in that span being an 80-77 overtime loss in the SoCon semifinals to Furman. Chattanooga also improved to 19-4 since the calendar flipped to 2025.
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