Chattanooga 79, Elon 78

Published Mar. 8, 2009 6:28 a.m. ET

foxsports

Kevin Goffney scored 18 points and Chattanooga held off Elon 79-78 in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference tournament on Saturday night. A shot by Elon's Devan Carter bounced off the rim at the buzzer. Stephen McDowell and Nicchaeus Doaks scored 17 points apiece for the Mocs, who made 12 of 24 3-pointers. Chattanooga used a 12-4 run to build a 39-29 lead with 2:49 to go before halftime, but the Phoenix (11-20) went on an 11-1 run to tie the game at 40 at the break. With the Mocs ahead 65-50 with 10:28 to play, Elon had a 23-8 run to tie the game again at 70. After Elon took a 78-77 lead on a Long 3-pointer with 1:52 left, Goffney hit two free throws with 1:16 remaining. Ola Atoyebi, who missed two free throws with 53 seconds left, led the Phoenix with 20 points. Chris Long had 18 and was 6 of 8 from 3-point range. Chattanooga will play Samford, a 76-67 winner over The Citadel, in Sunday's semifinals.