Champanooga! Inside the Numbers: Chattanooga at UNCG

 

Guard Trey Bonham (2) was one of three double-digit scorers in Chattanooga's Thursday win.  (Photo:  Chattanooga Athletics)

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – Patience is a virtue.

Honor Huff made the well-chronicled move to transfer from VMI to Chattanooga when his then-coach Dan Earl – the only coach at the Division I level to offer the Brooklyn native guard a scholarship – left the Keydets to take over the Mocs. Earl replaced Lamont Paris, who left to go to South Carolina following Chattanooga’s most recent conference championship.

After Huff couldn’t play following the transfer because of the Southern Conference’s rules regarding in-league transfers. few could have anticipated the ending that unfolded Thursday night in Greensboro.

Earl now has a conference title in his third season in Chattanooga. Huff was one of three double-digit scorers in a 75-63 win over UNCG. The Mocs will take the top seed to the SoCon tournament in Asheville.

Now that you know what happened, let’s take a spin…Inside the Numbers!

• Chattanooga held just a three-point halftime lead after a continual tug-of-war during the period. Greensboro led by as many as six in the half, while Chattanooga led by no greater than a single point before Latif Diouf put home a layup with just over a minute to play that afforded the Mocs a three-point margin. There were two interesting underlying points about that first half that we should briefly explore.
• I don’t know that I’ve ever seen three fouls assessed on three-point attempts in a half before, but UNCG pulled the feat in the first period. Earl was far from pleased about the repeated whistles against his team in the first half, as one might imagine. The calls proved beneficial, as the three trips produced nearly a quarter of the Spartans’ first-half points. UNCG went 8-for-9 from the stripe on the three sequences.
• The last three seconds of the first half were also among the craziest I’ve ever seen. UNCG’s Ronald Polite knocked down two free throws, only for Greensboro’s Malik Henry to be whistled for a foul with two seconds to play. Polite was then called for a foul with just over a second to play, followed by another foul against Henry. The third foul was a shooting foul, sending Huff to the line to knock down a pair and send Chattanooga to the locker room ahead, 34-31.
• Only five Mocs attempted more than one shot in the second half. One of those players, guard Jack Kostel, arguably hit the two biggest shots of the night on the only two he attempted in the period. Following a possession in which Kostel assisted Collin Mulholland on a triple, the Mocs boarded a Spartan miss and took off down the floor. Mulholland missed a three, which Bash Wieland rebounded. Wieland kicked to Huff, who missed a three of his own. Noah Melson grabbed that miss and kicked to Kostel, who canned a triple to put Chattanooga ahead five. Greensboro would get within two after that shot, but would never again seize the lead.

SECOND (AND THIRD) CHANCE. JACK! 3⃣ pic.twitter.com/ilEydLEUwT

— Chattanooga Basketball (@GoMocsMBB) February 28, 2025

• Later in the half, Greensboro requested a stoppage while down, 67-56. Frank Champion had a layup spin off on the ensuing Chattanooga possession, but Wieland again snared the carom and assisted Kostel, who banged the three that likely served as the dagger. The shot put Chattanooga ahead, 70-56, with 5:25 remaining. Demetrius Davis answered with a corner three on the other end, but Greensboro would go on to miss its next six shots and could draw no closer than nine.
• Chattanooga managed just seven offensive boards on the night. Three of those boards came on the one possession that set up Kostel’s first second-half triple, with the fourth setting up the Kostel shot that likely decided the game. The Mocs logged 13 second-chance points to Greensboro’s five.
• Both teams had post players in foul trouble much of the night. Davis fouled out for UNCG, while Jalen Breath scored just four points while collecting four fouls. He did, however, haul in nine boards. Chattanooga, meanwhile, had to play long periods without Frank Champion and Garrison Keeslar, who both battled foul trouble. Keeslar attempted just one shot but grabbed three boards. Champion, for his part, scored seven points and boarded four misses. Mulholland and Diouf combined for 13 points and 11 boards in their reserve duty.

Polite reached the 1,000-point mark for his career on the night, then paced the Spartans in scoring. After having already been honored before the game for his career assists total, Polite canned 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-6 from the stripe while grabbing four boards and dishing five dimes. Davis booked 14 for the Spartans, while guard Kenyon Giles added 10. UNCG shot 38.9 percent (21-for-54) from the deck on the night, weighed down by a 26.3 percent performance (5-for-19) from deep. The Spartans shot 66.7 percent (16-for-24) from the line.

Wieland guided Chattanooga with 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 5-of-6 from the line. Wieland added three boards, with two of those being among the most key in the contest. Trey Bonham contributed 16 on 5-of-11 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the stripe, while Huff tallied 15 and hit a trio of threes. The Mocs scored a point and a quarter per possession and scored on 55 percent of their trips, shooting 48 percent (24-for-50) on the night. Chattanooga hit 8-of-22 (36.4 percent) from deep and 76 percent (19-of-25) from the line.

Quick tempo numbers:

Chattanooga:  1.25 PPP (60 trips), 55% scores, 13.3% turns, 48% shooting (24-50), 36.4% three-point shooting (8-22), 76% free throw shooting (19-25)

UNCG:  1.033 PPP (61 trips), 49.2% scores, 9.8% turns, 38.9% shooting (21-54), 26.3% three-point shooting (5-19), 66.7% free throw shooting (16-24)

Both teams resume play Saturday. Chattanooga travels on to Lexington, Va. to take on VMI. Game time inside Cameron Hall is set for 1:00 (Eastern), with streaming coverage planned for ESPN+. UNCG welcomes Samford to Fleming Gym on campus for a 4:00 tilt. That game is slated to air on ESPNEWS.

CHATTANOOGA 75, UNCG 63

CHATTANOOGA (22-8, 14-3 SOCON)

Champion 2-8 3-5 7, Keeslar 0-1 0-0 0, Bonham 5-11 5-5 16, Huff 4-10 4-6 15, Wieland 6-7 5-6 18, Richards 0-0 0-0 0, Kostel 2-3 0-0 6, Cusano 0-0 0-0 0, Mulholland 2-6 2-3 7, Melson 0-0 0-0 0, Diouf 3-4 0-0 6, Robison 0-0 0-0 0, Lopez 0-0 0-0 0, Holland 0-0 0-0 0, Vitters 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-50 19-25 75.

UNCG (19-11, 12-5)

Davis 5-9 3-3 14, Atwell 2-9 3-4 7, Breath 2-4 0-4 4, Giles 2-7 4-5 10, Polite 6-9 5-6 17, Jones 0-3 0-0 0, Saizonou 2-8 1-2 6, Henry 0-0 0-0 0, Ahemed 1-3 0-0 3, Kauzonas 1-2 0-0 2, Efinda 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 16-24 63.

Halftime:  Chattanooga 34-31. 3-Point goals:  Chattanooga 8-22 (Bonham 1-4, Huff 3-9, Wieland 1-1, Kostel 2-3, Mulholland 1-5), UNCG 5-19 (Davis 1-2, Atwell 0-6, Giles 2-6, Jones 0-2, Saizonou 1-2, Ahemed 1-1). Fouled out:  Davis (UNCG).  Rebounds:  Chattanooga 37 (Bonham 8), UNCG 28 (Breath 9). Total fouls:  UNCG 22, Chattanooga 19. Technicals:  NA.

Points off turnovers:  UNCG 12, Chattanooga 4.  Points in the paint:  UNCG 28, Chattanooga 26. Second-chance points:  Chattanooga 13, UNCG 5.  Fast-break points:  UNCG 7, Chattanooga 3.  Bench points:  Chattanooga 19, UNCG 11.