(Photo Credit: Dale Rutemeyer/GoMocs.com) Casey Jones had his second “20-10” night of the year with 20 points and 11 rebounds in tonight's win over the Paladins

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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.---Casey Jones led four Chattanooga Mocs in double figures in a 72-60 win over visiting Furman Saturday night. It's the third straight win for the Mocs and sixth in the last seven games.

Jones had 20 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, a block and two steals tonight. Justin Tuoyo added 14 points, five rebounds, four blocks and three steals, while Ronrico White and Greg Pryor each tallied 12. Stephen Croone paced the Paladins with 18.

The Mocs came out of the gates strong in the second half extending a four-point halftime lead to 10 in the first two-plus minutes. Furman whittled away at that margin cutting it to six, 44-38, on two Croone free throws at 14:10.

“We got five or six stops to start the second half,” coach Will Wade noted. “It certainly helps when you get off to good starts and they're playing catchup the rest of the half.”

Jones delivered a momentum-changing play on the ensuing possession. Eric Robertson lofted a pass at the rim over the Paladins 2-3 zone, and Jones converted with a thunderous slam to spark an 11-3 spurt with White's layup at 8:38 staking the home team to a 55-41 lead.

“Pryor made a really good call there,” Wade said. “He knew I wanted to run the lob, and he called it off the free throw (Croone). I was trying to call it, and he let me know he had it. That's great leadership from a sophomore point guard, and our guys executed well.”

It swelled to as many as 15 twice, once on a Tuoyo slam after a Robertson steal and again on White's three-pointer at 1:48, 68-53. The Paladins could not mount a serious charge, but neither could the Mocs pull further away settling for the 12-point triumph.

“We did a much better job in the second half,” Wade added. “It's a positive to see we guarded better in the second half. We did a nice job of defensive rebounding (one offensive board in the second 20).”

Kendrec Ferrara was strong off the bench for the Paladins with 13 points and six rebounds. His work on the boards did not stop the Mocs from being plus-six (31-25) there. Chattanooga took advantage of 16 Furman miscues with a 25-12 advantage in points off turnovers.

Jones took over the second half. He had 12 of his 20 points, five rebounds, three assists, his block and a steal in the second 20.

The first half started well for the Mocs. They scored 10 points in the first two minutes for a 10-1 leads on a Pryor three-pointer. Furman battled back and took its lone lead of the game, 21-20, on a Croone three-point play at 8:05. White gave his squad the lead for good eight seconds later with a layup.

Daniel Fowler had the visitors' top play. His buzzer-beater from the right corner in front of the Mocs bench cut the lead from seven to four as the two teams headed into the break. Despite the close moments, UTC led for 38:44, or all but 46 seconds of the contest.

Chattanooga is now 10-6, 2-0 in the Southern Conference. UTC is tied with Mercer in first place with Wofford right behind at 1-0. The Terriers take on the Mocs Monday night in the Roundhouse. The game is at 8 p.m., on the American Sports Network. It is the fourth of five in a row at home with the final matchup in the stretch coming Thursday against Western Carolina.

Gameday links to video (SoCon Digital Network), audio (Mocs Sports Network) and live stats are available on GoMocs.com. Follow @GoMocsMBB on Twitter for live updates.

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