GAME NOTES | MEDIA CENTER | MERCER
 
CHATTANOOGA---The first-place Chattanooga Mocs head south to Macon, Ga., for Saturday's Southern Conference matchup with the Mercer Bears. The Mocs and UNCG are tied atop the league standings at 4-1.
 
Mercer is 8-10 overall, 2-3 in SoCon play coming off a strong 68-65 road win at Samford. Its 5-3 in Hawkins Arena with wins over Brewton-Parker, Georgia Southern, Radford, Oglethorpe and VMI. The Bears are one of the top rebounding teams in the SoCon, especially on the offensive boards with a league-high 37.0 percent offensive rebound rate. They're 14-6 (.700) in SoCon home games.
 
The Mocs are on a three-game win streak coming off the recent home stand with victories over Wofford (77-66), Furman (80-64) and The Citadel (83-73). Four reached double figures in Wednesday's win over The Citadel led by Johnathan Burroughs-Cook's season-high 20. It was the ninth 20-point effort by a Moc this season joining Tre' McLean (4 times), Greg Pryor (2) and Justin Tuoyo (2).
 
The 2 p.m., tipoff is on the American Sports Network nationally and the CW Chattanooga locally. Fans can also catch the game on the WatchESPN app although blackout regulations apply. CW Chattanooga is channel 53.1 over the air or on local carriers: EPB (6/306 HD), Comcast (6/435 HD), DirecTV (53/394/395 HD), Dish (53/7334 HD), AT&T (6) and Charter (6/708 HD).
 
Game View
Chattanooga (13-4/4-1) at Mercer (8-10/2-3) – 2 p.m. – ASN/WatchESPN (ESPN3)
 
5 Notes to Know

• Final of a 6-game-in-15-days start to the Southern Conference schedule (4-1 thru first 5).
• 15-5 (.750) in last 20 SoCon road matchups.
• 19 wins in the last 24 SoCon games is the best at UTC since the same mark spanning the 1996 and 1997 seasons (20-5).
• Senior Justin Tuoyo has as many or more blocks (62) than 209 DI TEAMS.
• Greg Pryor's numbers in four career meetings vs. Mercer: 14.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 5.3 apg, 45.5% 3pt (10-22) and 90.0% FT (18-20).

Matt McCall on…
Matchup vs. Mercer:
"It's one of the best environments in our league. I'm sure the place will be sold out, and it'll be a great environment to play in. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Coach [Bob] Hoffman and what he has built in the nine years he's been at Mercer. He gets his teams to play really, really hard and the present a lot of challenges."
 
On different prep from The Citadel to Mercer…is it like going from the "fun and gun" to triple option in football?:
"No question. If you showed everything Mercer does offensively, the play edit would take three hours. You really have to rely on your defensive concepts and not get caught up and consumed with actions but more or less with our principles on the defensive end of the floor."
 
The Series

• 66th meeting with Mercer (11th of DI Era.
• Mercer leads the series 34-31 (10-23 in Macon).
• 3-1 in regular season SoCon matchups.
• Won last three meetings.
• 5-5 in the last 10 matchups.
• McCall is 2-0 vs. the Bears…1-0 in Macon.
• Last year's games: Home | Away

Stat to Follow
The Bears' wing trio of Ria'n Holland (51), Jordan Strawberry (27) and Demetre Rivers have combined for 103 3pt made this season. That's 10 more than the Mocs defense has allowed their 17 opponents so far.
 
WATCH the game locally on the CW Chattanooga via the American Sports Network. The game is broadcast in more than 70 markets and online via the WatchESPN App (ESPN3) though blackout restrictions apply. Click here for the ASN broadcast locations.
 
LISTEN on Real 96.1 FM in Chattanooga or through the iHeart (search Real 96.1) and TuneIn (search Chattanooga Mocs) radio apps.
 
LINKS to tickets, live stats, video (ESPN3) and audio (Mocs Sports Network) are on GoMocs.com's men's basketball schedule page.
 
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 30 titles with 11 regular season, 11 tournament and eight division.
- 16 NCAA Tournament Appearances (11 DI): 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, 2016
- 11 SoCon Tournament Crowns: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2005, 2009, 2016
- 11 SoCon Regular Season Championships: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2016
- 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).
- 3 SoCon Defensive Players of the Year: Z. Mason (2014), Justin Tuoyo (2015, 2016).
- 4 SoCon Coaches of the Year: Murray Arnold (1982, '83), Mack McCarthy (1986, '92, '93), Will Wade (2014) and Matt McCall (2016).
- 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).