STATS | NOTES | QUOTES | PHOTO GALLERY
 
CHATTANOOGA---The Chattanooga Mocs dropped its first Southern Conference home game of the season with an 80-64 loss to VMI Wednesday night. Q.J. Peterson stole the show with a season-high 40-point effort for the Keydets.
 
Greg Pryor led the Mocs with a season-high 23 points. Tre' McLean added 11 points and eight rebounds. Julian Eleby and Armani Branch also reached double figures for VMI with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
 
Peterson scored 28 of his 40 after the Mocs took a 32-30 lead into intermission. The Keydets went on a 12-1 run out of the break to take a nine-point lead, 42-33. Makale Foreman drilled a triple to cut it to six, but back-to-back threes from Peterson sandwiched one of the home team's 23 turnovers to get it 12, 48-36.
 
Tre' McLean scored five straight to slice the margin to seven, 48-41, but Peterson had the answer. After a Peterson turnover, the Keydets scored on four of six trips with Peterson's layup at 9:34 making it a 14-point affair, 58-44.
 
Every time the Mocs made a run threatening to get the deficit back to single digits, it seemed Peterson hit a 3pt in reply. He hit seven treys on nine attempts and was 15 of 19 overall.
 
RECORDS
Chattanooga – 15-5, 6-2 in the SoCon. VMI – 5-14, 2-6 in league play.
 
STAT OF THE GAME
Chattanooga shot 65.0 percent (13-20) in the first half, but just 25.0 percent (8-32) after the break. Click the stats link above for a complete look at today's statistics.
 
QUOTABLE
"The season is a grind. The great teams have the ability to get themselves ready for each game no matter what. I think we were just trying to get through. We weren't excited to play. The turnovers have been a problem and were a major problem tonight." – Coach Matt McCall. For more thoughts from coach and student-athletes, click the quotes link above.
 
NOTABLE
The Mocs were a season-best +17 on the boards with a 38-21 advantage. It's the fewest rebounds by an opponent since IUPUI had 21 in Las Vegas on Nov. 29, 2013. For further breakdown on stats and facts from today's game, click notes link above.
 
SOCON SCOREBOARD
at Furman 85, Western Carolina 37
at Wofford 93, UNCG 74
ETSU at Samford
 
NEXT UP
Saturday, Jan. 28 at ETSU. Tipoff is at 4 p.m., airing on the WatchESPN app (ESPN3) as well as locally on the airwaves on Real 96.1 FM in Chattanooga. Links to live stats, video and audio (Mocs Sports Network) are on GoMocs.com's men's basketball schedule page.
 
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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).