CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The senior duo of Ricky Taylor
(Brownsville, Tenn.) and Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) combined for 46
points to lead the Chattanooga Mocs (10-16/4-9) 83-75 over Elon (13-11/8-5) in
Southern Conference North Division action Thursday night. Taylor (13) and
Wattad (14) had 27 of those points in a second-half comeback.
Lucas Troutman hit one of two free throws at 12:11 to
give the Phoenix a 57-51 lead. After a Jahmal Burroughs (New Orleans, La.)
layup at 11:22, Wattad buried a deep three-pointer to make it a one-point ball
game, 57-56, with 9:59 remaining. That was Wattad's 14th point of the second
frame, turning the game over to Taylor.
Taylor tied the score at 59-all on a three-pointer in
front of the Mocs bench at 9:13. Freshman Ronrico White (Knoxville, Tenn.) put
UTC up for good, 62-59, burying a trey from the opposite corner on the next
possession at 8:32. Taylor capped the 14-2 run with an old-fashioned
three-point play 23 seconds later pushing the lead to six, 65-59.
Elon, the SoCon North Division leader, cut the margin to
two twice. The first came on a Troutman slam off a nice feed from Sebastian
Koch at 5:08, 67-65. Two Burroughs free throws extended the lead back to four
before another Troutman basket made it 69-67 at 4:27.
Taylor scored the next five points on two free throws and
a dagger of a three-pointer at 2:19 off a nice pass from Wattad. Up seven,
74-67, the Mocs kept the pedal to the floor. Taylor made a steal on the ensuing
Phoenix possession and Drazen Zlovaric (Novi Sad, Serbia) followed Taylor's
missed layup hitting his own to make it a nine-point game, 76-67, with 1:53 to
go.
After starting three-for-eight from the free throw line, Chattanooga
hit nine of its last 10. That included five-for-six in the game's final 43.3
seconds. Wattad's 14 second-half points came in the first 10 minutes, while
Taylor's 13 came in the final 10.
Burroughs tied his career high of 11 points while setting
a new high with game-high nine rebounds. Zlovaric added 12 points and eight
rebounds, while Wattad grabbed eight boards of his own.
Elon had five players in double figures led by Koch's 20.
Jack Isenbarger had 14 points and eight assists, while Troutman tallied 13
points. Drew Spradlin and Ryley Beaumont added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Chattanooga shot 49.2 percent making 30 of 61 from the
field and 45.8 percent from three-point range hitting 11 of 24. UTC made 58.3
percent (7-12) from beyond the arc in the second half.
The Mocs stay home on Saturday hosting UNCG as the
second-game in a doubleheader with the women's team. The Lady Mocs take on
College of Charleston at 5 p.m. Blackout conditions are in effect as fans are
encouraged to wear black.
The SoCon Saturday ticket package includes ticket and
food for each Saturday league game throughout the season. It includes one
reserved ticket and a food voucher for a small coke, popcorn and pizza all for
$10. It must be purchased in advance of game day.
Tickets can be purchased by calling 266-MOCS (6627) or by
visiting the UTC Gate One Ticket Office or online at GoMocs.com using
"Saturday" promo code by Friday midnight. BI-LO is partnering with the
Chattanooga Mocs to offer the BI-LO BOGO promotion for SoCon games this
season. Just show your BI-LO Bonus Card at the ticket gate on game day
for a Mocs SoCon game to buy one ticket and get one free.
Listen to the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds on ESPN
105.1 FM in Chattanooga or on GoMocs.com via MocsVision where live video is
also available. 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.
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here.