KNOXVILLE, Tenn. --- Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) led four Chattanooga Mocs (6-9) in double figures with 17 points, but it wasn't enough in a 76-63 loss at Tennessee (7-6). The loss snapped a three-game Mocs win streak to close out 2011.

Taylor added five rebounds and four assists to his 17-point effort. Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) chipped in 16 including a four-for-eight performance from three-point range.

Trae Golden led all scorers with 29 for the Vols. Skyler McBee had 16, 15 in the first half, while Jordan McRae added 12.

Chattanooga trailed by 14 early in the second half before a 9-0 run cut the lead to five, 46-41, with 17:48 to play. Wattad hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions followed by a Keegan Bell (Huntsville, Ala.) trey to cap the run.

After Golden's three-pointer at 12:48 put the Vols back up by 12, 61-49, the Mocs clawed their way back. Ronrico White (Knoxville, Tenn.), son of former Tennessee All-American Tony White, converted a steal into a layup. Drazen Zlovaric (Novi Sad, Serbia) scored on a nice hook in the paint on the next possession to make it 61-53.

After Bell hit one of two free throws, Chattanooga was within seven, 61-54, with 9:46 to play. The Mocs went six straight possessions without a point - nearly three-and-a-half minutes - to fall back to a 13-point deficit, 67-54, after Cameron Tatum's three-pointer for the Vols at the seven-minute mark.

Taylor hit an NBA three followed by a Wattad jumper to cut it to eight, 67-59, with 6:02 remaining. But that is as close as it would get as Tennessee held on for the 13-point win.

Bell had 15 points including a four-for-10 night beyond the arc. He, Wattad (4) and Taylor (3) each made three or more threes on the night combining for a 10-of-23 night (43.5%) from beyond the arc as the team ended up 11 of 26 (42.3%) overall. Zlovaric had 11 points along with a team-best seven rebounds.

While Chattanooga struggled shooting inside the arc making 34.5 percent (19-55) total from the field, it did limit its ninth opponent on the season to less than 40 percent shooting as well. Tennessee shot just 39.7 percent (27-68) with the Mocs defense forcing 39 attempts from beyond the arc, making 13 (33.3%).

The Vols won the battle on the glass 45-37. Jerrone Maymon had a game-high 10 boards to lead that effort for Tennessee.

The first half saw waves of scoring each way. Renaldo Woolridge put the Vols up 16-9 at the 9:23 mark as the Mocs struggled shooting the ball from the get-go before a strong burst. Five consecutive trips down the floor saw Chattanooga take flight.

Taylor started it with three free throws followed by a three-pointer to cut the lead to one, 16-15. Bell and Taylor hit threes before Zlovaric scored his second bucket to cap a 14-0 run and provide a 23-16 lead at 6:47.

McBee scored 12 of his 16 points in the final six-and-a-half minutes to key Tennessee's resurgence. The Vols took a 12-point advantage into intermission, 44-32, ending the half outscoring the Mocs 28-9.

Chattanooga returns to Southern Conference play with a three-game league home stand. It starts Thursday, Jan. 5, with Western Carolina, followed by Appalachian State on Saturday (7th) and Wofford a week from Thursday (12^th). All three games are scheduled for 7 p.m., tipoffs.

Listen to the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds on ESPN 105.1 FM in Chattanooga or on GoMocs.com via MocsVision with live video. 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.