CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Mindauas Katelynas scored 18 points and hit five free throws in the final minute to lead Chattanooga to a 57-51 win over Appalachian State on Friday night in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Tournament.
No. 1 North seed Chattanooga (19-10) will play No. 2 North seed UNC-Greensboro on Saturday night for the league's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.
Casey Long scored 14 points for the Mocs on 4-of-7 shooting from the 3-point line, and Chris Brown had 10.
D.J. Thompson led No. 3 North seed Appalachian State (18-12) with 16 points, and Noah Brown had 12.
Katelynas made both ends of a one-and-one to give Chattanooga a 54-51 lead with 22.1 seconds left. After Nathan Cranford then missed a 3-pointer on the other end, Katelynas grabbed the rebound and hit two more free throws for a 56-51 advantage with 8.2 seconds remaining.
The Mocs opened the second half on an 8-0 run for a 33-32 lead with 15:46 left, and neither team had bigger than a three-point lead from that point until the final minute.
Chattanooga led most of the first half, but Appalachian State closed with a 17-4 run to take a 32-25 halftime lead. The Mocs were up 21-14 when Long picked up his second foul with 7:05 left in the half, and Appalachian State took control in his absence.
