Chattanooga rallies past UC Irvine

Stephen McDowell scored 18 of his career-high 26 points in the second half and Chattanooga rallied for an 85-80 victory over UC Irvine in the Anaheim Classic on Friday.

McDowell, a transfer from South Carolina, made 10 of 14 shots and five three-point baskets for the Mocs (2-2). Kevin Bridgewaters had 17 points and Nicchaeus Doaks had 12 points, six rebounds and four assists. The Mocs shot 60% from the floor and 50% from three-point range.

The Mocs advanced to Sunday’s fourth-place game.

Patrick Sanders scored 23 points for the Anteaters (2-3), who shot a season-high 56% from the field but have lost three of four. Trey Harris had a career-best 16 points.

Irvine led 71-59, but McDowell scored 12 points during an 18-2 spree that put Chattanooga ahead 77-73 with 4:27 left.

Harris made a three-pointer to narrow the Anteaters’ deficit to 81-80 with 1:38 left. But Khalil Hartwell’s layup kept the Mocs in front 83-80.

Harris missed a three-pointer that would have tied the score with 49 seconds left. Bridgewaters and Doaks each made a free throw in a 15-second span before Doaks’ steal with 11 seconds left capped the game.

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WOMEN

Camille LeNoir scored all 11 of her points after halftime, including the game-winning layup with 41.7 seconds left as USC rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to beat Virginia Tech, 65-64, in the opening round of the Junkanoo Jam at Freeport, Bahamas.

USC (2-1) never led until LeNoir’s jumper with 1:23 left, and her driving layup half a minute later put the Trojans ahead for good. They trailed 54-39 with 9:56 left before closing on a 26-10 run.

Nadia Parker had a career-high 21 points and 11 rebounds for USC, which also got 12 points from Simone Jelks.

Lindsay Biggs’ three-pointer with one second left bounced off the rim for Virginia Tech (3-1). Brittany Cook led the Hokies with 19 points.