CULLOWHEE, N.C.---The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga dropped its final regular season game 78-70 at Western Carolina Saturday afternoon. The loss drops the Mocs to 14-17, 6-12 in the Southern Conference North Division, while the Catamounts improve to 21-10, 11-7 in the North.
Ricky Taylor led the Mocs with 13 points and six rebounds on an off-shooting day. Keegan Bell added 12 points, two assists and two steals.
Jake Robinson came off the bench to score 18 points, all in the second half, and grab seven boards on senior day for the Catamounts. Fellow WCU senior Brigham Waginger chipped in 15 points and seven steals.
Western Carolina opened the game with a 15-0 run capped by a Keaton Cole three-pointer at 15:47. Ricky Taylor stopped the slide with two free throws after getting fouled on a fast break by Waginger.
The Catamounts led by as many as 17, 28-11, before the Mocs fought back. Dante Harvey's layup at 2:50 made it 30-24 and ended a 13-2 Mocs run. Cole answered with another three, his third of the opening half as WCU took a 35-26 lead into the break.
After Western jumped out to a 39-28 lead to start the second half, Ridge McKeither scored seven straight points before Ty Patterson's three brought the Mocs within four, 42-38 at 14:45. It marked a 10-3 run for UTC.
Waginger scored three points on a free throw and then a layup of a steal in the backcourt to put Western back up 45-38. The Mocs continued to battle closing to within three, three times, midway through the second frame with a Bell three-pointer and layup closing the gap.
Jake Robinson hit a big three at 10:45 to put the Catamounts back up eight, 55-47. The Mocs would get no closer than five the rest of the way,
McKeither had 11 points for the Mocs with all 11 coming in the second half. Troy Cage added a career-high eight point in 14 minutes, a season best for the junior college transfer who missed the first 20 games due to a stress fracture that required surgery in December and a feverish rehab by Cage.
Cole had 16 points for the Catamounts with 15 coming in the first half. Western won the rebounding battle 38-29 paced by Kendall Russell's game-high nine.
The Southern Conference Tournament starts on Friday, March, 5. The Mocs are waiting on final seeding to know when they will play. UTC can finish anywhere from the third to fifth seed depending on Elon and UNCG final games coming tonight and Monday, respectively.
Catch all of the Mocs' action on ESPN Radio 105.1 FM with the Voice of the Mocs, Jim Reynolds, providing play-by-play in his 30th season behind the microphone. Live stats, live video (selected games) and audio are also available on GoMocs.com.
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ChattanoogaMocs, or on Twitter, www.twitter.com/GoMocs.
