Last-second floater sinks VCU in 56-54 loss to Chattanooga

Chattanooga’s Malachi Smith hit a short jumper with 0.4 seconds remaining to lift the Mocs past VCU in a tough, back-and-forth contest, 56-54.

VCU’s Vince Williams led all scorers with a career-high 21 points and six rebounds. He connected on 7-of-10 attempts, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range.

Freshman guard Jayden Nunn tallied 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting, and added a pair of assists for the Black and Gold (2-2).

Smith paced Chattanooga (4-0) with 20 points and five rebounds.

Williams scored seven of VCU’s final 10 points and tied the game twice in the last 65 seconds, once on a pair of free throws with 1:05 remaining (52-52) and again with a lefty floater in the lane with 25 seconds on the clock (54-54).

VCU travels to Paradise, Bahamas to face Syracuse in the Battle 4 Atlantis at 5 p.m. on Wednesday Nov. 24. The game will air on ESPN2.