Chattanooga declares 1st NIT crown after OT thriller

INDIANAPOLIS– Collin Mulholland scored 19 points and made five 3-pointers, Fort Keeslar sank a consent jumper from the totally free throw line with 11 seconds left in overtime and Chattanooga became the first string from the Southern Conference to win the NIT championship after beating UC Irvine 85-84 on Thursday night.Chattanooga (29-9)

tied a program record for success in a season after winning 17 of its last 18 to record the program’s first postseason title.UC Irvine 7-foot-1 center Bent Leuchten went to the complimentary toss line with 31 seconds left in overtime for a chance at a three-point lead, however he missed both complimentary tosses. After Keeslar’s make, an entry pass to Leuchten was overthrown and Chattanooga protected the loose ball before missing out on 2 totally free tosses to give the Anteaters another chance.Editor’s Picks Devin Tillis tossed a full-court pass with 2.4 seconds left that Leuchten got with one hand and passed it to Jurian Dixon under the basket for a

layup effort that rolled off as time expired.UC Irvine (32-7)was also playing in the program’s first NIT championship game.Bonham had 19 points to choose 10 rebounds for Chattanooga. Keeslar protected his very first double-double

of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Honor Huff also had 14 points.Tillis scored 13 of his 19

points in the first half for UC Irvine. Leuchten ended up with 15 points and 11 rebounds.Bonham sank a half-court shot right before the halftime buzzer to give Chattanooga a 38-37 lead at the break.Both teams had a controversial call break them in the last 20 seconds of regulation. Huff kicked out a leg to draw a nasty

and made 3 complimentary throws with 16.3 seconds left to offer Chattanooga its very first lead, 76-74, given that it was 38-37.

Then Myles Che got a defender in the air on a 3-pointer and jumped into him before making 2 of three complimentary tosses to tie it at 76-76.