Led by seniors Trey Bonham and Frank Champion and an elite performance in the second half, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team remained in first place in the Southern Conference standings with Wednesday night’s 82-68 win against reigning league champion Samford in Birmingham, Alabama.
The win — the sixth straight overall for UTC as well as the sixth straight in road games — moves the Mocs to 18-8 overall and 10-3 in the SoCon, with another huge game coming when rival East Tennessee State University (15-11, 8-5) visits McKenzie Arena at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The Mocs are tied atop the standings with UNC Greensboro (17-9, 10-3) — a 78-75 winner at UTC on Jan. 9, with the rematch set for Feb. 27 in North Carolina — after Samford (18-8, 10-3) was forced to settle for a split of the regular-season series with the Mocs. UTC lost 73-69 to the Bulldogs on Jan. 23 at McKenzie, but the story was different this time around.
Bonham led the Mocs with 18 points in the rematch, adding four rebounds and three assists, while Champion flirted with a triple-double by compiling 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, plus three steals and three blocks. Honor Huff added 17 points and three assists while playing all but five seconds of the game.
Samford had a trio of scorers in double figures — Josh Holloway (18 points), Rylan Jones (14) and Riley Allenspach (11) — and outrebounded the Mocs 37-30, but UTC shot 54.7% from the field and 38.1% from 3-point range while the Bulldogs finished at 38.3% and 20.0%.