Catamount forward, Torrion Brummitt stifles a pass on defense, March 6, 2016. Photo by Chad Grant.
The Western Carolina University men’s basketball team was defeated by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Mocs 73-69, Sunday, March 6, in the Southern Conference semifinal game.
The crowd provided plenty of energy throughout the second half of the game at the SoCon Basketball Championships in Asheville, NC.
The Catamounts rallied late in the game, after trailing by as many as 13, to narrow the Mocs lead to 71-69 with five seconds left in the game. Catamount forward, Marc Gosselin was forced to foul and send Moc guard, Eric Robertson to the free throw line with four seconds remaining. Robertson made both free throws to put away the victory.
“We battled back in the second half, but at the end of the game we just didn’t get it done,” Catamount guard, Mike Brown, said.
The Mocs played tough defense and were able to force the Catamounts into 20 turnovers.
“We didn’t want to get caught up in a half-court game of smash mouth basketball. Those two guys Mike Brown and Brummitt are too good of players, “ Chattanooga Head Coach, Matt McCall, said.
Catamount forward, Torrion Brummitt scored a game-high 23 points, but also committed a game-high eight turnovers.
“We didn’t have our normal energy. It’s certainly not an excuse, but we still competed and we showed a lot of heart out there tonight,” Western Carolina Head Coach, Larry Hunter, said.
Catamount Forward, Justin Browning drives to the rim, March 6, 2016. Photo by Chad Grant.
The Mocs move on and will play the ETSU Buccaneers, Monday, March 7, for the SoCon Tournament Championship Game, in the U.S. Cellular Center. Tip off is at 9 p.m.
