Honor Huff was one part excitement and one part relief Thursday night after helping the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team win 88-84 at Virginia Military Institute.
It was a homecoming of sorts for Huff and fellow Mocs guard Trey Bonham, as both began their college careers at VMI under coach Dan Earl, who left the Keydets in spring 2022 to take over at UTC. Huff transferred to UTC that year and sat out the 2022-23 season due to Southern Conference rules, while Bonham made a pit stop at Florida before heading to UTC prior to this season.
With 1:56 remaining, though, the Mocs trailed 80-77 in a game where they had been struggling to create any space for shots. But then Huff, who had just missed a runner, knocked down a 3-pointer, and Jan Zidek nailed another 3 from the corner. Huff followed with yet another 3, and the Mocs were able to hold on and improve to 16-8 overall and 8-3 in the SoCon.
"Yeah, definitely a moment where you just want to get in and get out," Huff, who had 22 points and six rebounds, said on the postgame radio broadcast. "Obviously I'm grateful for the opportunity I was able to get, but I'm definitely ready to get back on the road to North Carolina."
The Mocs face UNC Greensboro (17-7, 8-3) at 4 p.m. Saturday, with the winner moving into sole possession of second place in the SoCon standings with three weeks to play in the regular season. The Spartans lost at home Thursday, falling 78-69 to Samford (21-3, 10-1).
Zidek had 16 points off the bench for the Mocs, while Sam Alexis added 14 with 12 rebounds, and Bonham flirted with a triple-double (15 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds).
The Mocs struggled defensively at times, with VMI (4-20, 1-10) knocking down 11 3-pointers, only the second time this season the Keydets have made 10 or more against an NCAA Division I opponent.
The visitors won on the strength of their 11-4 closing run.
"That was a hard one," Earl said on the postgame radio broadcast. "A ton of credit to VMI; they played outstanding, they kept coming. It's a tough place to play, but there were so many things we needed to do better. We were not throwing the ball to the open man, and defensively, I thought we were poor.
"But when it got tight, we made enough plays at the end, so there's something good there."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.