Chattanooga Basketball
Postgame Notes
Chattanooga 85 - East Tennessee State 76
McKenzie Arena - Chattanooga, Tenn.
Nov. 17, 2009
Team
- Chattanooga improves to 2-0 on the season with an 85-76 win over East Tennessee State at home Tuesday night. ETSU falls to 1-1.
- Chattanooga is now 43-32 against ETSU. The Mocs are 21-3 against the Bucs in the McKenzie Arena.
- UTC is now 329-80 in the McKenzie Arena. The Mocs are 612-357 as a DI program.
- Head Coach John Shulman is now 92-72 in his sixth year, 62-19 in the McKenzie Arena. He is 5-2 against ETSU, 4-0 in the McKenzie Arena.
- Chattanooga is 2-0 to start the season for the first time since 2001 when it opened with wins over Tennessee Wesleyan and Liberty. The last time the Mocs started 3-0 was 1997 [Wofford, Coll. Of St. Francis (Ill.), Presbyterian].
- ETSU scored 52 first half points as the two teams combined for 99 in the first 20 minutes. The last time 50+ points were scored in a half against the Mocs was the NCAA West Regional second half by UConn on March 19, 2009. The last time 50+ were scored in the first half was February 28, 2009 at Western Carolina (51). The Mocs allowed the Bucs just 24 points in the second half.
- The last time the Mocs overcame a halftime deficit to win was February 21, 2009 at home against Samford. The Bulldogs led 37-29 at the break before Chattanooga out-scored them 38-25 in the second frame.
- Not only did the two teams combine for 99 first half points, together they shot 50.8 percent (34-67) in the first half. That total cooled to 35.2 percent (19-54) in the second.
- Despite grabbing 16 offensive boards, ETSU could manage just eight second chance points.
- Overall, the Bucs out-rebounded Chattanooga 42-35 after a 10-board advantage, 23-13, in the first half.
- The Mocs scored 26 points off 19 East Tennessee State turnovers, while ETSU scored just 10 on 14 Mocs miscues.
- After shooting 51.1 percent (23-45) combined in blowout wins over Tennessee Wesleyan (Exb.) and Virginia Intermont, the Mocs hit 81.5 percent from the free throw line tonight making 22 of 27 attempts.
- Injuries played a factor for both teams as the Mocs played without the services of four scholarship players (Troy Cage, Chris Early, Dante Harvey, Ty Patterson) and the Bucs played without the services of top returnee Mike Smith.
Individual
Sophomore Keegan Bell
- Posted the first 20-point game of his collegiate career with 23 points to go with seven assists in 39 minutes of play.
- Made seven of 12 shots (58.3%) including six of 10 (60%) from beyond the arc.
- Also claimed four rebounds and was a steadying influence down the stretch for a young team in winning a close ballgame.
Freshman Josh Odem
- True freshman from Johnson City, Tenn., native.
- Scored 14 points on five of 10 shooting including two of five from three-point range.
- Also made four steals and played 36 minutes which was second-highest in the game to Bell.
Junior Ridge McKeither
- Was third leading scorer on the night with 17 points on six of 11 from the field, one of three three-pointers and a perfect four for four from the line.
- Scored 13 of his points in the first half.
- Had a team-high nine boards.
Junior Jeremy Saffore
- Scored eight points with a perfect six-for-six performance from the free throw line. Last time a Mocs player hit 100 percent of their free throws with five or more attempts was senior Ty Patterson (5-5) at Wofford, February 5, 2009.
Junior Jeff Smith
- Gave the Mocs eight points and one rebound in 15 minutes off the bench.
- Smith regularly plays the two, but he played the four due to the player depletion and held his own sparking the team in a reserve role.
Sophomore Jasper Williams
- Played a pivotal reserve role with five points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals in 22 minutes.
