ELON, N.C. — The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team won the hard way Friday night, going to the rim over and over to beat Elon 77-70 at the Schar Center and even its record at 2-2.
Outside shooting was not the answer. Chattanooga hit only 3 of 16 tries from beyond the arc, finished with just eight assists and turned the ball over 15 times. Coach Dan Earl, now in his fifth season, said afterward that a win is a win, even an ugly one, while admitting that kind of stat line is not how his teams usually play.
What carried the Mocs was size and effort near the basket. They outscored the Phoenix 42-10 in the paint and pulled down 19 offensive rebounds. The 42 paint points matched a season high set at Penn State, and the Mocs are now 21-3 under Earl when they put up at least 40 inside.
Chattanooga never trailed. A 15-6 run over the first seven-plus minutes, set the tone, with post players Yonatan Levy and Josh Bowman each finishing through contact for three-point plays. Elon closed to 25-22 before halftime, but the Mocs went into the break up 41-32.
Elon opened the second half with four quick points, and then Chattanooga ripped off a 12-0 burst to go up 53-36. Lenny Anigbata pushed the lead to 58-40, the largest of the night. Elon then strung together a 15-3 run to get within 61-55 with 7:31 left, and the teams traded baskets until the Mocs sealed it at the foul line.
Matt Hampton led Chattanooga with 18 points and made 10 of his 12 free throws. Levy added 13 points, and Anigbata scored 11 with a team-high eight rebounds. The Mocs led for 37 minutes and 49 seconds without a tie or lead change, their first wire-to-wire win this season.
The loss was a rare one at home for Elon, which had won 17 of its previous 20 home non-conference games.
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