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Trey Bonham scored a game-high 23 points and Honor Huff made the game-sealing 3-pointer to push Chattanooga past Loyola Chicago 80-73 on Tuesday night in Indianapolis, clinching a spot in the NIT championship game.

Huff’s 12 points came on four 3-pointers, none bigger than the tough stepback shot he made with 35 seconds to go to make it 77-73 Mocs.

Bash Wieland scored 12 points and Makai Richards added 10 on 5-for-5 shooting as Chattanooga (28-9) advanced to face UC Irvine in Thursday’s title game.

Jayden Dawson tallied 19 points and six assists to pace Loyola Chicago (25-12). Miles Rubin had 14 points on 7-for-7 shooting and six rebounds, Jalen DeLoach scored 13 points on perfect shooting from the floor (4-for-4) and foul line (5-for-5) and Des Watson added 10 and six boards.

Chattanooga led by as many as 10 in the second half but the Ramblers clawed within one possession as Francis Nwaokorie and Watson hit 3-pointers. Rubin made his seventh bucket to cut it to 72-70, but he committed goaltending on Richards’ layup on the next trip down the floor.

Watson made another 3 to make it 74-73 with 2:37 left. The Ramblers proceeded to miss their final four attempts from the field, a tough end to a 50 percent shooting night.

Bonham ended the game with a fastbreak dunk. The Mocs shot 52.5 percent while controlling the boards 29-22.

A highly competitive first half ended in a 38-34 Loyola Chicago lead. The Ramblers broke out to a 36-27 advantage thanks to seven straight points, but the Mocs responded with seven straight of their own.

The tide turned in the first five minutes of the second half with a 13-4 Chattanooga surge powered by Weiland’s three buckets.

Not long after Loyola had crept within three, Bonham drilled a long 3 and Collin Mulholland’s layup gave Chattanooga the first 10-point lead of the game at 67-57 with 7:33 to go.

–Field Level Media