TENNESSEE CHATTANOOGA TOURNAMENT : Rigdon Leads UC Irvine Past Alabama State, 102-98

Dylan Rigdon scored nine of his 26 points in the final 2:21 and sealed UC Irvine’s 102-98 victory over Alabama State in the first round of the Tennessee Chattanooga tournament.

The victory puts Irvine (5-6) in the championship game tonight against host Tennessee Chattanooga (5-5), which beat San Francisco, 92-79, Friday night. Alabama State (7-4) will play San Francisco (5-4) in the consolation.

Rigdon’s three-point basket gave the Anteaters a 96-95 lead with 2:21 left, and he hit two free throws to tie the score, 98-98, with 1:08 to play.

His layup with 59 seconds remaining put UC Irvine ahead, 100-98, and he hit two more free throws to seal the victory with 16 seconds left.

Alabama State of the Southwestern Athletic Conference was led by Steve Rogers’ 42 points, which tied a Tennessee Chattanooga Arena record held by Marshall’s Skip Henderson and Tennessee State’s Darryl Brooks. Rogers’ three-point basket with 6:30 left gave Alabama State’s Hornets an 89-80 lead.

But UC Irvine went on a 16-6 run ending on Rigdon’s three-point basket with 2:21 left.

Ricky Butler scored 23 points for the Anteaters, followed by Jeff Herdman with 19 and Craig Marshall with 13.

For Tennessee Chattanooga, Keith Nelson scored a career-high 29 points.

Tennessee Chattanooga of the Southern Conference held a 47-42 halftime lead before Tim Owens, who finished with 26 points, hit a layup with 7:50 to play that closed the gap to 70-69.

But Nelson and Derrick Kirce combined for 11 points in a 16-2 run that ended on Nelson’s tip-in with 2:33 left to go ahead, 86-71.