Final Stats |   

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The Western Carolina men's basketball team was able to erase an 11-point first half deficit Sunday night against top seeded Chattanooga in the semifinals of the 2016 Southern Conference Championship presented by General Shale but a 13-point second half hole was too much as the Mocs hung on for an 73-69 victory.

Seniors Torrion Brummitt, Mike Brown and Justin Browning led the way for the Catamounts as they combined for 56 of WCU's 69 points. Brummitt poured in 23 points while grabbing nine rebounds as he missed just three shots the entire game. Brown closed out his Catamount career with 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. Browning recorded his fourth career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds while also blocking a shot and picking up a steal.

WCU's fourth senior, Rhett Harrelson, scored five points in the loss while dishing out an assist and picking up a steal.

WCU won the rebound battle and outscored the Mocs 46-28 in the paint which looked to be a key prior to the game but Chattanooga connected on eight 3-pointers compared to WCU's three which proved to be the difference in the game.

"I thought it was key to the game that the start of both halves that they jumped on us a little," said head coach Larry Hunter. "Start of the first half, start of the second half they did the same thing and made us play catch-up, and I thought that was key. Them getting to the foul line with their dribble drive, I thought hurt us. I couldn't be more proud of my guys. We didn't have our normal energy, but that's certainly not an excuse. We still competed and showed a lot of heart out there again tonight, but we just weren't good enough to get it done."

The loss closes out WCU's season with a 16-17 record while the Mocs advance to the championship game with a 28-5 record.

WCU struggled in the opening 10 minutes of each half which allowed Chattanooga to build double-digit leads. After WCU fell behind 14-3 in the opening half the Catamounts battled back and eventually tied the game on a putback layup by sophomore Haboubacar Mutombo with 2:38 remaining in the half. After Chattanooga scored a pair, Brown connected on his lone 3-pointer of the game which gave WCU its first lead of the game, 32-31 with 1:51 left to play. After a defensive stop WCU extended its lead to three on a jumper by Brown but the lead would not hold as Chattanooga hit a 3-pointer with one second left in the half to send the Catamounts into halftime tied 36-36.

The second half opened much like the first with the Mocs building up a 13-point lead with 13 minutes left in the game. WCU responded with a 13-4 run, which included a 3-pointer by Brummitt, to cut the deficit to four with under eight minutes left in the game. The Mocs would push the lead back to 10 with 2:40 remaining before another Catamount surge put the game back in reach.

WCU trimmed the lead to three with just over a minute to play due to an 8-1 run but a late turnover led to Chattanooga getting to the free throw line where they sank one of two to push the lead to four. WCU attempted a pair of 3-pointers before Browning putback an offensive rebound to cut the lead to two with just five ticks left on the clock. UTC connected on its final two free throws which sealed the game as a desperation 3-pointer missed the mark for Western Carolina.

The Catamounts will bid farewell to four seniors off the 2015-16 squad all of which had a major impact on the WCU record books. Brown, Browning, Brummitt and Harrleson are all scheduled to graduate this spring.