MACON, Ga. --- The Chattanooga Mocs (2-7) struggled in the second half in dropping a 67-56 decision at Mercer (7-3) Saturday night. UTC led 30-29 at halftime but did not record a field goal until the 12:08 mark of the second half helping key the loss.

Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) had a game-high 20 points to pace the Mocs effort. Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) added 11 points and five rebounds.

Langston Hall led the Bears with 15 points. Jakob Gollon chipped in 14 points, while tying for team-high honors with five rebounds.

Mercer went on a 16-0 run over the Mocs' scoreless streak to start the second half. Kevin Canevari's three-pointer right at 13 minutes to play gave the Bears a 45-30 lead. UTC came out of the break shooting 0-10 from the floor (0-2 from 3pt range) and 0-2 at the free throw line while making four turnovers.

The skid stopped at 12:08 on a basket by Drazen Zlovaric (Novi Sad, Serbia). Zlovaric's score came on a pass from Keegan Bell (Huntsville, Ala.) after Bell kept the possession alive with an offensive rebound.

Bud Thomas put the Bears up by 17, 59-42, on a layup with 5:11 left in the game. Despite the deficit, the Mocs battled on.

UTC scored on four straight possessions to cut the lead to nine, 61-52, on Dontay Hampton's (Chattanooga, Tenn.) trey at 2:21. Just 30 seconds later, Bell made it a seven-point game, 61-54, on two free throws, but that's as close as it would get.

Bell reached a milestone to brighten a disappointing evening. He recorded his 400th career assist with his fourth of eight on the night. He now has 404, which is third-best in school history behind Tim Brooks (1992-93) and Wes Moore (1996-99) who each tallied 414. His 400th came on an entry pass in the post to Chris Early (Huntington, W.Va.) at 10:29 of the first half.

The free throw line was a major culprit. After shooting 5-6 in the first half, UTC shot a dismal 35.7 percent in the second half, 5-14, as Mercer managed a 16 of 20 performance (80.0%). That an 11-point difference which includes three misses on the front end of one-and-bonus opportunities.

The Mocs came out hot making six of their first nine shots and five of six from three-point range before cooling off building a 13-point lead, 17-4, on a Wattad trey at 14:19.. The remainder of the half, UTC hit just four of 14 shot attempts missing all seven threes.

Mercer started as cold as the Mocs were hot. It was three for 13 as UTC built its lead before making 10 of 16 down the stretch to make it a one-point game, 30-29 at intermission.

Chattanooga returns home Tuesday to host Spalding University from Louisville, Ky. Spalding is coached by former Mocs star player and assistant coach Kevin Gray. Gray played four seasons, 1973-76, helping lead the 1976 UTC squad to the national final.

Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. Follow @GoMocs on twitter for stats and notes in game and go to GoMocs.com for links to live video, audio and stats as well as post-game information.