STATS | NOTES | QUOTES | PHOTOS | ABOUT CHATTANOOGA BASKETBALL
 
CHATTANOOGA---Makinde London led a trio of Chattanooga Mocs in double figures with 22 points in a 75-63 home loss to Western Carolina. It was the Southern Conference home debut for the Mocs.
 
Rodney Chatman added 16 points and six assists, while Nat Dixon chipped in 11. London tied for game-high honors with eight rebounds. Mike Amius led all scorers with 27 points and eight boards as Deriece Parks contributed 10.
 
The Cats had control of the game leading by 20, 61-41, with 8:43 remaining. Back-to-back three-pointers from London and Makale Foreman provided the squad with a little juice.
 
Amius answered Foreman's triple with a basket of his own. London was up to the task nailing another three from just right of the top of the key. Consecutive layups from the Nashville big man cut the margin to nine, 64-53. David Jean-Baptiste capped the 14-2 run with a free throw at 3:55.
 
But the Cats did not fold. Amius scored on a layup to thwart the tide. Chatman's three with 1:05 to go got the Mocs with seven, 67-60, but they'd get no closer.
 
Western scored 44 of their 75 points in the paint. The 17 offensive rebounds led to a 21-5 advantage in second chance points for the visitors, a key number in the 12-point win.
 
"My initial thoughts without having re-watching the game yet," Paris began in his post-game media session, "I know we didn't do a good job on the boards. Not even an adequate job. They rebounded half of their misses. You can't allow that to happen and then think you have a good chance to win. That was a big factor.
 
"We turned the ball over and they capitalized on them. Forget everything else, how you shoot the ball or systematically sticking to your report. If you don't fight on the boards and do a good job of controlling your possession, it's an uphill fight. And that's what it was tonight."
 
London got the game started on a high note throwing down a big slam in traffic as the Mocs opened with a 9-2 spurt. Western's 19-1 run over the more than five minutes of clock time flipped the scoreboard to a 21-10 advantage on Marc Gosselin's jumper.
 
Dixon ended it with a three-ball at 12:48 ending a 5:20 drought without a field goal. The lead never got closer than seven the rest of the way.
 
ON THE RECORD
Chattanooga is 6-9, 0-2 in the SoCon – Western Carolina is 6-8, 2-0.
 
THE SERIES
Meeting: 90th
Overall: 65-25
In Chattanooga: 38-4
SoCon Regular Season: 53-22
Last 10: 7-3
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
View complete notes package from tonight at the notes link above. Three to know…

• Nat Dixon (11) reached double figures for the 13th time this season. Leads the team.
• 19 offensive rebounds by Western Carolina is a season high for an opponent. Tops 16 by Tennessee Tech on Dec. 17.
• 5th 20pt effort for Makinde London this season with 22.

 
QUOTABLE
Access thoughts on tonight's game at the quotes link above.
 
"Turnovers have been a problem for us all season. We have to clean that up moving forward. Second chance points and offensive rebounds killed us tonight and we have to be better at that too. We need to compete, box out and rebound as a team." – Rodney Chatman post-game.
 
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Check out the full box score at the link above. Here are three notable numbers…

• 60 percent of the Mocs shot attempts (50) came from 3pt range (30).
• 21 second-chance points for Western Carolina is a season high by an opponent. Previous best was 18 by Tennessee Tech.
• Dixon's team-high three 3s made is the fifth time this season with three or more, also a team best.

 
SOCON SCOREBOARD
at Furman 107, The Citadel 67
ETSU 90, at Samford 72
at Wofford 92, VMI 53
 
COMING UP
Game two of three at him is Saturday against ETSU. The men play at 5 p.m., after the ladies take on Western Carolina at 2. It's a Gold Rush game with fans encouraged to wear their gold along with a t-shirt giveaway prior to both contests.
 
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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