Rudolph Leads SSU In Loss To Chattanooga

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.- Chattanooga rallied from a 10 point deficit to defeat Savannah State 65-63 in front of 2,283 fans at McKenzie Arena.

The Mocs trailed by 10 with 16:28 left in the game but used a 23-12 run to take a 52-51 lead with 5;30 remaining when Chris Early hit a 3-pointer.

A 3-pointer by SSU's Deric Rudolph knotted the game at 60 with 47 seconds left but a pair of free throws by Keegan Bell with 26 seconds on the clock gave the Mocs the lead for good.

The Tigers trailed 64-60 with 10 seconds left but Preston Blackmon nailed a 3-pointer to cut SSU's deficit to 64-63.

Bell made one of two free throws with four seconds left and a 3-point attempt by Blackmon missed and UTC (2-3) hung on for the win.

The contest, which was a part of the Hoosier Invitational, was a tale of two halves. SSU shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half but 38.5 percent in the second period while the Mocs made 9 of 30 shots from the floor in the opening period but improved to 55 percent after halftime.

The Tigers opened the game with a 3-pointer by Rudolph as they jumped to a 10-2 advantage.

SSU used a 12-1 run to get their biggest lead of the game at 22-7 with 10:09 left in the first half.

The Mocs were able to get as close as 27-21 with 5:41 on the clock but back to back 3-pointers by Joshua Montgomery put Savannah State back up 35-22 with 36 seconds remaining.

Bell hit a 3-pointer with one second left to cut UTC's deficit to 35-25 at the half.

Rudolph came off the bench to make 5 of 6 3-point attempts and finished with 15 points for SSU (1-4) while Montgomery, another reserve added 12 as he made 3 of 4 3-point shots. Rashad Hassan chipped in 11 points for the Tigers while Jyles Smith had eight rebounds.

Savannah State out-rebounded the Mocs 39 to 26.

Bell led three Chattanooga players in double figures with a game-high 20 points.

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