BOONE, N.C. — A snowstorm altered the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball Mocs’ travel plans on their trip to Appalachian State and Western Carolina.
ASU’s Mountaineers altered the Mocs’ hopes about riding a winning streak into the Southern Conference tournament.
Appalachian State defeated UTC 80-74 in the Holmes Convocation Center on Thursday in the next-to-last regular-season game for both teams.
“We didn’t play very good,” UTC coach John Shulman said on the postgame radio show. “We were horrible, and it’s still a one-point game with 4:27 to play. If we would have played and done a few things right early on, we win this game on the road.
“And (ASU) is supposed to be the best team in the North Division.”
The SoCon’s leading scorer, ASU guard Donald Sims, scored 22 points and Kellen Brand added 18 points for the Mountaineers (19-11, 12-5). Jeremi Booth and Josh Hunter had 12 and 11.
UTC sophomore Ricky Taylor tied his career high with 22 points for the second straight game. Ridge McKeither added 12 points off the bench and Ty Patterson scored 10 points for UTC (14-16, 6-11), which never led.
Taylor scored the Mocs’ first eight points and had 13 at halftime.
“I got off to a great start,” Taylor said on the radio. “That was a dagger in the heart after beating Davidson. It came down to simple plays.”
UTC went more than four minutes without a point in the first half, and the Mountaineers led by 11 points on two occasions in the first half. But Taylor hit a 3-pointer just before halftime to pull the Mocs within 35-29 at the break. In an oddity for college basketball, neither team attempted a free throw in the first half.
ASU scored at least two points on eight of nine straight possessions to take a 58-45 with 11:46 to play.
The Mocs chipped away at the lead and pulled within 65-64 on a steal and layup by Patterson with 4:28 to play. But Josh Hunter converted a three-point play and Sims buried a 3-pointer for a 71-66 ASU lead with 3:31 to go. He hit another on ASU’s next possession.