CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- Alphonso Pugh came off the bench to score 20 points and grab 12 rebounds to lead Chattanooga to a 72-56 victory over North Texas on Wednesday night in the first round of the Dr Pepper Classic.
The Mocs (6-2) will face Birmingham-Southern (6-4) in the championship game Thursday night. The Mean Green (6-4) will play Tennessee-Martin (3-7) in the consolation game.
Steve Cherry scored 12 points and A.J. Mastin 10 for Chattanooga, which led 36-29 at the half.
Leonard Hopkins scored 21 points for North Texas.
Mastin hit a 3-pointer to give Chattanooga a 7-5 lead with 12:58 left in the first half, and the Mocs never lost the lead.
The Mean Green pulled to within 36-31 early in the second half on a jumper by Michael Jones, but the Mocs used a 12-2 run to take a 45-33 lead with 13:56 to play.
North Texas shot just 31.3 percent from the field, including hitting just 6 of 29 shots from 3-point range. The Mean Green also had 19 turnovers.
The Mocs shot 44.1 percent from the field but also struggled from long range, making 3 of 18 attempts. They had 22 turnovers but a big advantage at the free-throw line, hitting 17 of 27 attempts to just 8 of 11 for North Texas.
