The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team got 53 points off the bench in an 84-52 win over in-town rival Tennessee Temple tonight. Chattanooga evened its record at 6-6 on the year while the Crusaders fell to 6-9.
The Mocs were led by junior DeAntre Jefferson's career-high 13 points and eight rebounds as five players recorded double figures. Chattanooga had 11 players score in the game and nine players saw at least 10 minutes of action.
The game started off slow with each team struggling from the floor. The Mocs hit just two of their first six attempts while TTU managed just two baskets in their first nine tries.
The Crusaders tied the game at six on a Johnnie McLawhord layup with 14:36 left. The Mocs then went on a 12-2 run to take an 18-8 lead. Chattanooga used that burst to pull ahead and lead for the rest of the game. The Mocs shot 56.7% in the first half, hitting 17-30 shots from the field. If it wasn't for 11 first-half turnovers, Chattanooga would have had an even bigger lead than their 46-28 margin at the break.
Tennessee Temple started the second half on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 46-34, but that was as close as they would get to a comeback. Sophomore Ricky Taylor sandwiched a jumper and a 3-pointer around a layup inside from Jefferson to go back up 53-34 with 14:53 left on the clock. The Mocs cruised to the win from that point on.
Junior Jeremy Saffore and senior Ty Patterson were the only starters to reach double figures, scoring 11 and 12 points, respectfully. All of Saffore's points came in the first 20 minutes of the game as he went 4-5 from the field and 3-5 from the FT line.
Junior Jeff Smith came off the bench to score 10 points in the game. He was perfect from the field in four tries, including 2-2 from 3-pt. range. Sophomore Ricky Taylor also added 10 points off the bench to help pace the Mocs.
Chattanooga shot a season-high 54.5% from the field, hitting 30-55 for the game. The Mocs did commit 21 turnovers, their highest in six games. However, UTC held the Crusaders to just 29.5% shooting for the game, including 17.9% (5-28) from 3-pt. range.
The Mocs are back in action in the McKenzie Arena on Dec. 29-30 when they host the Dr Pepper Classic. The two-day event begins with Eastern Kentucky taking on Morgan State at 6:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) followed by the Mocs against Long Island at 8:00 p.m. on Dec. 29. The consolation and championship games will be played on Dec. 30 also at 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. Catch all of the Mocs' action on ESPN Radio 105.1 FM with the Voice of the Mocs, Jim Reynolds, providing play-by-play. Live stats and live audio is also available on GoMocs.com.
