STATS | NOTES | QUOTES
 
CULLOWHEE, N.C.---The Chattanooga Mocs dropped their first game in more than a month, 67-61 at Western Carolina. The loss snaps a nine-game winning streak as well as four in a row on the road.
 
Eric Robertson led a trio of double-figure scorers with 13 points. Dee Oldham had 11 points off the bench, while Tre' McLean tallied 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.
 
Devin Peterson and Torrion Brummitt had a game-high 16 points for the Catamounts. Brummitt posted a double-double with 10 rebounds. Justin Browning added nine points, eight boards and a SoCon season-high eight steals.
 
It was all Western from the outset. It built a 19-point lead in the first frame against a sloppy Mocs offense. The visitors had 18 of their season-high 26 turnovers in the first half heading into intermission down 16, 35-19.
 
The Mocs did not wilt. Chuck Ester's free throw at 17:20 capped a 7-0 run out of the break to get the lead to single digits. It swayed back-and-forth from single to double digits until Johnathan Burroughs-Cook's runner at 2:18.
 
"Whenever we would get down to 10 or under 10, they would somehow get a score and push it back up," Robertson shared. "They were just aggressive the whole game."
 
A Browning miss on the front end of a one-and-one was followed by McLean's triple with 1:55 to make it a six-point game with 1:55 to play. Two Oldham free throws made it a five-point affair just 19 seconds later.
 
Greg Pryor stepped to the line with 44 seconds remaining to cut it to four, 62-58. But it was not to be. Rhett Harrelson made five of six free tosses down the stretch, while the Mocs could not make enough plays.
 
"You have to give them credit," coach Matt McCall added. "They played inspired. They fought adversity. We didn't have the focus.
 
"I talked about having a level of focus before the game. To win on the road you have to be able to do three things.  You have to take care of the basketball, you have to rebound the basketball and you have to guard the three. Two of those three, we did a really, really bad job of tonight."
 
UTC is now 22-4, 11-2 in the SoCon. That's one-and-a-half games ahead of second-place East Tennessee State at 9-3. Furman is percentage points behind the Bucs in third at 10-4.
 
Chattanooga stays on the road completing its seven-game-in-15-day gauntlet at ETSU on Saturday. It's the third-time in the last week the Mocs square off against the second-place team in the standings.
 
The game tips off at 4 p.m., on Fox Sports Southeast and the Fox Sports Go app. It also airs on ESPN3 online outside the FSSE footprint and the Mocs Sports Network through 96.1 the Legend FM in Chattanooga.
 
Check the men's basketball schedule page on GoMocs.com for links to video, audio and live stats. Follow @GoMocsMBB for live tweets.
 
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs.  The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page or on Twitter.  Find out how to join the UTC Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here.
 
ABOUT CHATTANOOGA BASKETBALL
- The Mocs are by far the most successful program in the Southern Conference since joining the league in 1977-78. The team has won 28 titles with 10 regular season, 10 tournament and eight division.
- 15 NCAA Tournament Appearances: 1961 (DII), 1973 (DII), 1975 (DII), 1976 (DII Runner-up), 1977 (DII National Champs), 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 (Sweet 16), 2005, 2009
- 10 SoCon Tournament Crowns: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2005, 2009
- 10 SoCon Regular Season Championships: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
- 8 Division Titles: 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011
- The 1997 team went to the NCAA Sweet 16 with wins over Georgia and Illinois.
- 5 SoCon Players of the Year: Willie White (1981-82), Keith Nelson (1991-92), Tim Brooks (1992-93), Chad Copeland (1993-94) and Johnny Taylor (1996-97).
- 2 SoCon Defensive Player of the Year: Z. Mason (2014), Justin Tuoyo (2015).
- 3 SoCon Coaches of the Year: Murray Arnold (1982, '83), Mack McCarthy (1986, '92, '93) and Will Wade (2014).
- 9 NBA Draft Picks: Walter "Moose" McGary (1973 & '74), William Gordon (1977), Wayne Golden (1977), Russ Schoene (1982), Nick Morken (1982), Willie White (1984), Gerald Wilkins (1985, 13 seasons) and Johnny Taylor (1997 1st Round).