No. 7 Chattanooga 85, No. 2 Samford 82
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – No. 7 seed Chattanooga looked to be running away with it in the second half before No. 2 seed Samford stormed back for the lead late, but the Mocs would fight back for the 85-82 win in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville on Saturday.
 
The Mocs advance to face the winner of No. 3 UNCG and No. 6 Wofford in Sunday's semifinal round at 6:30 p.m.
 
Chattanooga opened the scoring and Samford connected on the next two buckets. The Mocs responded with a 6-0 run, highlighted by a Dalvin White 3-pointer in transition to pull back ahead. The lead would be short-lived as the Bulldogs swung the momentum with a quick 5-0 run just before the first media timeout. Samford continued the run, hitting its next three attempts from long range to surge out in front by seven. The teams traded buckets, then Samford’s Logan Dye drained back-to-back treys to maintain the seven-point advantage before Chattanooga battled back to take its first lead since the 16:22 minute mark thanks to a 3-pointer from Jake Stephens. Samford managed to level the score twice, but Chattanooga continued to lead with Stephens sending the Mocs into the half with a five-point lead by draining a contested 3 in the waning seconds of the first half. Chattanooga’s Jamal Johnson and White each notched double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Dye led the Bulldogs offensively, connecting with a trio of shots from deep for nine points. Both teams relied heavily on the 3-ball as 15 of the 24 combined made field goals were from deep.
 
Chattanooga stormed out of the gate after halftime, scoring the first 10 points of the half, capped off by a strong layup through contact by Stephens to force a Samford timeout. The Mocs stretched their lead to as much as 18 until the Bulldogs began to claw back into the game, cutting the deficit to eight midway through the half. Samford continued to push back and chip away at the lead as a 3 from Dye and a pair of Bubba Parham free throws made it a four-point game, the closest margin since late in the first half. Jermaine Marshall brought a roar from Samford faithful with a steal and slam, then stepped into a 3 to give his team the lead. With the arena rocking, Chattanooga’s Johnson responded with a 3 of his own to pull the Mocs back in front and Stephens followed with a pair of clutch free throws to make it a three-point Chattanooga lead. Samford got it back down to one with seven seconds to play before a pair of Chattanooga free throws would send it back to three, which is where it would stay as the Mocs walked away with the win.
 
Marshall led the second-half charge for the Bulldogs by pouring in 19 points over the final half.
 
Four of Chattanooga’s starting five made it to double figures, highlighted by 25 points from Johnson. Stephens notched his 12th 20+ point performance of the season with 21 points, five rebounds and four assists. White and AJ Caldwell chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively. The Mocs were electric from downtown, knocking down 15 of their 28 attempts from 3-point range, accounting for 53 percent of their total points from deep.
 
Marshall led all scorers with 27 points off the bench to go along with eight rebounds. Dye posted the fifth-best scoring effort of his career as he poured in 22 points, with five of his six made baskets coming from behind the arc. Parham was the final Bulldog in double figures at 11 points in the contest.

RECORDS: No. 2 Samford 21-11 | No. 7 Chattanooga 17-16

STATS TO KNOW
- Chattanooga’s 15 made 3-pointers were the most in Southern Conference tournament play since 2020 and tied for its third-highest mark this season.
- Samford had the better turnover margin 8-16, but Chattanooga was much more efficient offensively, hitting 51 percent of its field goals and 54 percent of its 3-point attempts.
- Samford utilized its bench for just under half of its scoring, accounting for 40 of its 82 total points.
- Marshall set a new career-high with 27 points, beating his previous record of 25 points on Feb. 22 against Chattanooga.

******

No. 6 Wofford 67, No. 3 UNCG 66
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – No. 3 seed UNCG took the lead with just 3.6 seconds remaining, but No. 6 seed Wofford would win it at the buzzer, with B.J. Mack’s layup high off the glass dropping to beat the Spartans 67-66 in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville.
 
The Terriers advance to face No. 7 Chattanooga in Sunday's semifinal round at 6:30 p.m.
 
After Mack hit a layup with 9.5 seconds on the clock to put Wofford back on top 65-64, the Spartans called a timeout and found Dante Treacy for a driving layup to regain the lead with 3.6 on the clock. The Terriers would have the final possession, inbounding the ball to Mack as he drove through a sea of defenders to drop in the game-winner at the buzzer, setting up a meeting with the Mocs in the semifinals for the second straight year.
 
UNCG won the opening tip and quickly scored the game’s first basket. The teams traded baskets for the first few minutes but Wofford managed to string together a few baskets to pull ahead by five before UNCG’s Keondre Kennedy scored his team’s next eight points to swing the lead in the Spartan’s direction. UNCG remained on top for much of the half to head into the break with a five-point lead. Kennedy was electric for the Spartans, going a near-perfect 6-for-7 from the field for 17 points.
 
Wofford’s Mack hit a turnaround jumper in the paint to start the half. UNCG took its largest lead of the game at seven and held that advantage before a 12-3 Wofford run flipped the game in favor of the Terriers. Wofford’s Jackson Paveletze and UNCG’s Kennedy traded buckets as both teams jockeyed for the lead. Paveletzke gave the Terriers a five-point advantage with a finger roll that banked in high off the glass. Kennedy cut it to one with just 1:37 in regulation and then gave the Spartans the lead with another pair of makes from the charity stripe with 25 seconds left, setting up the drama of the final seconds.
 
Mack led the Terriers with 16 points and eight rebounds to go with his game-clinching bucket. Paveletzke and Messiah Jones each tallied 14 points, with Jones pouring in 10 of his 14 in the second half. Kyler Filewich also came close to a double-double with nine points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. Both squads pulled down 32 total rebounds, but the Terriers were able to take advantage of their 12 offensive boards and convert them into 15 second-chance points.
 
Kennedy spearheaded a trio of Spartans in double figures, posting a career-best 26 points after putting up 17 in the first half. Kennedy also led his team by pulling down six rebounds. Treacy and Mikeal Brown-Jones contributed with 13 and 11 points, respectively. The Spartans recorded their second-fewest turnovers of the season at just eight for the game.

RECORDS: No. 3 UNCG 20-12 | No. 6 Wofford 17-15
 
STATS TO KNOW
- Wofford scored 44 of its 67 points in the paint, including 26 in the second half alone.
- UNCG shot at a better clip, going 49 percent compared to Wofford’s 45 percent from the field. The Terriers made up for the difference in volume, taking 11 more shots than the Spartans.
- Mack hit double figures for the 29^th time this season and has hit that mark in all but three games this season.
- There was a total of 13 lead changes and seven ties throughout the contest.


2023 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville, Asheville, N.C.
 
Friday, March 3 (ESPN+)
Game 1 – (8) Mercer 66, (9) The Citadel 41
Game 2 – (7) Chattanooga 92, (10) VMI 72
 
Saturday, March 4 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 3 – (1) Furman 73, (8) Mercer 58
Game 4 – (4) Western Carolina 69,  (5) ETSU 57
Game 5 – (7) Chattanooga 85, (2) Samford 82
Game 6 – (6) Wofford 67, (3) UNCG 66
 
Sunday, March 5 (ESPNU/ESPNEWS)
Game 7 – (1) Furman vs. (4) Western Carolina, 4 p.m.
Game 8 – (7) Chattanooga vs. (6) Wofford, 6:30 p.m.
 
Monday, March 6 (ESPN)
Championship game, 7 p.m.