Box Score
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Junior guard Stephen McDowell (Indianapolis, Ind.) and senior forward Marcus Watts (Clinton, S.C.) each scored a game-high 18 points and junior forward Nicchaeus Doaks (Trenton, Tenn.) recorded a double-double with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds as Chattanooga (12-5, 7-0) defeated Western Carolina (5-11, 1-5) 85-55 Saturday afternoon in a Southern Conference men's basketball game at The McKenzie Arena.
In the opening minutes of the game Western Carolina raced out to a 10-3 advantage before an 11-4 run pulled the Mocs even at 14-14 with 13:28 remaining in the first half. The Catamounts regained the lead, 19-16, at the 12:11 mark but it would be short lived as Chattanooga's offense came to life.
Over the next 10:32, the Mocs would outscore Western Carolina 21-3 and hold them scoreless for a span of 4:48 to take a commanding 37-22 lead with 1:39 to play in the half. After a mini 5-2 run by WCU, Chattanooga closed out the half with a 39-27 advantage.
In the second half, it was more of the same as the Mocs opened up with a 10-0 run fueled by back-to-back baskets by Watts (Clinton, S.C.) and capped off with a dunk by junior forward Khalil Hartwell (Philadelphia, Pa.) to push their lead to 49-27 with 15:31 remaining in the game. After being held scoreless for the first 4:50 of the second half, Western Carolina rallied to within 55-44 with 9:28 to go behind a 17-6 run.
That would be as close as the Catamounts would get as Chattanooga responded with a 25-6 run of their own over the next 7:00 to put the game well out of reach before closing out the 30-point victory to move to a perfect 7-0 in the Southern Conference.
Sophomore guard Brandon Giles led the way for Western Carolina with 15 points while sophomore guard Brigham Waginger and senior forward Arnold Gore finished with nine and eight points, respectively.
In addition to their 18 points, McDowell and Watts added five three-pointers and eight rebounds, respectively. For Watts, the 18 points represents a career-high, breaking his previous mark of 16 set against Ohio Valley on November 11, 2006. Also setting new career marks were Doaks with his 13 rebounds, surpassing his previous mark of 12 vs. Prairie View on November 25, 2006, and junior forward Kevin Goffney (Ethel, La.), who pulled down 14 rebounds to break his career-high of nine. Hartwell rounded out the double-figure scorers with 12 points and added five rebounds.
As a team, the Mocs won the rebounding battle, 59-31, and held the Catamounts to 28.2 percent shooting from the field for the game. The 59 rebounds are a season high for the Mocs.
Chattanooga returns to action on Thursday, January 17 when they travel to Appalachian State for a 7 p.m. contest.
