STATS | NOTES | QUOTES | ABOUT CHATTANOOGA BASKETBALL
 
BIRMINGHAM---Cold shooting and turnover troubles led to a 73-56 loss for the Chattanooga Mocs opening Southern Conference play at Samford. It came in a key stretch in the second half.
 
Nat Dixon's three-pointer at 12:16 made it a 10-point Bulldog lead, 57-47. The Mocs went 0-8 from the field with six turnovers over the next 8:46 of clock time. The 12-1 run put the game out of reach.
 
Rodney Chatman's 15 points led the Chattanooga contingent in double digits. Joshua Phillips scored 12 in his first start with 10 apiece from Makinde London and Nat Dixon. Justin Coleman keyed Samford's win with 28 points, six assists and three steals.
 
It was a see-saw game early with six lead changes in the opening 14-plus minutes. Coleman's jumper at 5:41 of the first half ignited a 17-5 spurt to close the half with a 41-30 lead.
 
Chatman opened the second frame with three triples along with a Phillips jumper to cut the margin to 47-41 with 16:27 to play. Coleman scored six straight points to end the threat as the deficit never got back into single digits.
 
The Mocs shot just 35.0 percent from the field making 21 of 60 attempts. Thirty-six of the 56 points scored came from the 3pt arc. Samford made a season-best 61.7 percent (29-47).
 
"We shot 36 threes which I thought was too many," Coach Lamont Paris stated. "We allowed too many layups on defense. I'm concerned that we gave them 73 points. We didn't do a good job defensively.
 
"We have a thin margin of error for this team, and we were significantly below that today. We didn't give ourselves a chance tonight. We need to be better than that."
 
ON THE RECORD
Chattanooga is 6-8, 0-1 in the SoCon – Samford is 5-9, 1-0.
 
THE SERIES
Overall: 57-38
In Birmingham: 17-26
SoCon Regular Season: 13-6
Last 10: 7-3
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
View complete notes package from tonight at the notes link above. Three to know…

• Makale Foreman tied his career high with a team-best seven assists.
• Loss snapped a four-game winning streak in the opening game of the SoCon schedule…all five games have come on the road.
• Makinde London narrowly missed a double-double for the month of December averaging 13.0 points and 9.7 rebounds per game (7 contests)…it would have been the first double-double month since Z. Mason in March 2014.

 
QUOTABLE
Access thoughts on tonight's game at the quotes link above.
 
"We have to play better. We're looking for guys to get better and become more seasoned…make better decisions. A lot of these guys haven't logged minutes, and I have to be patient with that. It changes the scope on a lot of things. We need to rise and exceed in everything, starting in practice." – Paris on moving forward.
 
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Check out the full box score at the link above. Here are three notable numbers.

• 37.5 percent (9-24) shooting on 2pt attempts.
• Samford's 61.7 percent shooting is a season high for an opponent.
• 16 turnovers tonight after 19 combined in the last two games.

 
SOCON SCOREBOARD
at UNCG 71, Wofford 67
Furman 87, at VMI 57
Western Carolina 81, at The Citadel 79
 
COMING UP
It's back to McKenzie Arena for the Mocs in the New Year. They tackle Western Carolina on Thursday, January 4, followed by a visit from ETSU on the 6th. Furman ends the three-game homestand on Wednesday, January 10.
 
For the complete schedule, go here on GoMocs.com.
 
TICKETS ON SALE
Tickets are on sale – single-game and mini-plans – at all the usual places. To buy tickets, you can:
 

• Visit the Gate 1 Ticket Office at McKenzie Arena during business hours.
• Call the McKenzie Arena Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS (6627) during business hours.
• Go online via GoMocs.com: Single-Game | Mini-Plan
• Group tickets are available by calling (423) 425-5470.

 
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