CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The Chattanooga Mocs (9-10/3-3) saw its three-game win streak snapped in an 81-70 Southern Conference North Division loss at Samford (4-12/1-4) Saturday. Chattanooga's second half charge fell short in the waning minutes.

Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) led the Mocs with 17 points. Dontay Hampton (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Z. Mason (Nashville, Tenn.) scored 11 apiece off the bench.

Drew Windler led all scorers with 25 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs. Raijon Kelly added 19 points including eight in the final two minutes.

Down 47-34 early in the second half, the Mocs made a run. It was a 15-1 spurt fueled by Hampton. He hit three straight threes to get UTC within one, 48-47, the last coming at 13:10. Two Wattad free throws on the next possession gave the Mocs their first lead, 49-48, with 12:32 left.

Samford took the lead for good, 54-51, on a three-pointer by Windler at 9:38. Chattanooga got within one four times after that but could not get over the hump. The Bulldogs made 13 of 14 free throws in the final two-plus minutes to hold on for the win. Kelly was eight for eight during that stretch after entering the game as a 45.5 percent shooter at the line.

UTC won the rebounding battle 37-32 behind Mason's eight. Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) added seven to go with nine points and five assists. Samford's Jeffrey Merritt had a game-high 12 rebounds along with nine assists.

The Mocs shot just 33.9 percent (20-59) from the field including a meager 25.8 percent (8-31) in the second half. Samford's 47.1 percent shooting is the best performance against the UTC defense since Kentucky's 48.5 percent on December 17th.

The two teams combined to shoot 41 of 46 from the free throw line, 89.1 percent. Chattanooga shot 86.4 percent (19-22), while Samford missed just two free tosses shooting 91.7 percent (22-24).

It was tight early with the Mocs leading 12-10 on a Jahmal Burroughs (New Orleans, La.) layup at the 15:04 mark. Samford went on a 16-0 run holding UTC without a point for nearly six minutes going up 26-12 on a Brandon Hayman layup at 9:30.

Taylor ended the drought at 9:07 with a three-pointer from the right corner. Chattanooga did not get closer than seven the rest of the first frame.

The Mocs remain on the road next weekend travelling to triad in North Carolina. UTC takes on UNCG on Thursday, Jan. 19, followed by Elon on Saturday the 21st.

Listen to the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds on ESPN 105.1 FM in Chattanooga or on GoMocs.com via MocsVision. Follow @GoMocs on twitter for stats and notes in game and go to GoMocs.com for links to live stats as well as post-game information.