Chattanooga hands Herd second straight loss, 96-85

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Jon Elmore nearly reached a triple-double with 27 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds but it wasn’t enough to outduel UT-Chattanooga’s Tre’ McClean, who dropped 35 points to hand Marshall its third consecutive road loss 96-85.

McClean, the preseason Southern Conference player of the year, shot 11-for-17 from the field and 3-of-4 from outside to lead Chattanooga back from a 13-point first-half deficit. Chattanooga shot lights out for the night, connecting on 58 percent from the floor and made 27-for-39 from the foul line.

“That’s a lot of shots and it’s difficult to win if they’re going to shoot that many,” said Herd coach Dan D’Antoni. “We were right in the ballgame. They’re a good team. We started getting thin but it came down to three or four key plays that we didn’t make.”

Marshall (5-3) had to reach deep on its bench with several players in foul trouble, including Ajdin Penava, who fouled out with 4:42 remaining. Ryan Taylor, Elmore and Stevie Browning all finished with four fouls each as D’Antoni turned to his young bench and ask for minutes from the likes of Kyrie Allison and Phil Bledsoe.

“(Penava) played well and is getting better but we’re a little thin now but we’ll strengthen up when we get in conference play. I’ve seen a lot worse since I’ve been here. We’ve got to just keeping pushing and building what we do.”

Marshall built a 38-25 lead in the first half on a 16-8 run in a little over six minutes halfway through the first half. Chattanooga chipped into the lead by the end of the half, trailing 41-33 at the break.

The Mocs scored the first six points of the second half and took their first lead since the 12:17 mark of the first half on a pair of made free-throws by Justin Tuoyo.

Marshall quickly regained the lead on a Stevie Browning three-point to put the Herd back in front 48-46. The Herd extended its advantage out to seven points, 57-50 on a three-pointer by Austin Loop with 13:21 to play. However, the Mocs got hot and Marshall got into foul trouble. After Loop’s 3-pointer, McClean hit a pair of three’s and Maknde Londe chipped in a layup to pull the Mocs within a point, 59-58.

The Herd tied the game at 70 with 6:09 to play on an Elmore layup but Chattanooga eventually pulled away down the stretch as Marshall missed on opportunities to close the gap.

The Herd finished with four players in double-figures. Taylor and 15 points and eight rebounds. Browning had 11 points and Austin Loop finished with 10 points. Marshall shot 48 percent from the field and 41 percent from beyond the arc.

“Last year we were 2-6 and now we’re 5-3 and a real tough schedule. We’re finding out where we are and what we need to do to be effective in the conference,” said D’Antoni.

Marshal returns home Saturday to take on Toledo.





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