STATS | NOTES | QUOTES | PHOTOS | ABOUT CHATTANOOGA BASKETBALL
 
CHATTANOOGA---The Chattanooga Mocs saw a 14-point lead dwindle to one point, but stayed the course in an 80-75 win over Samford Saturday afternoon in McKenzie Arena. Ramon Vila and Kevin Easley combined for 38 points and 17 rebounds in the victory.
 
Vila registered his first collegiate double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Easley scored 20, his fifth time this season with 20 or more. Donovann Toatley added 10 off the bench. Josh Sharkey paced the Bulldogs with a game-high 22 points.
 
The Mocs led by as many as 14 in the second half, but it was not a bizarre turn to see a Southern Conference game get tight late. Robert Allen, who also had a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards, cut the home team's margin to one with a jumper in the paint. It came off a flurry of offensive rebounds making it a 72-71 game with just over two minutes remaining.
 
"Basketball happened." Coach Lamont Paris shared post-game. "We did some things to ourselves during that stretch like turning the ball over everywhere. Uncharacteristically, we have to manage that better. We also missed two front ends of one-and-ones and missed a couple other free throws during that stretch. Those are unbelievable learning experiences for these guys. You can't script it any better (in that regard)."
 
Much like the win nine days ago at Western Carolina, the Gig City lads made the winning plays down the stretch. It started on the ensuing possession with a huge three from David Jean-Baptiste. Sharkey made two free throws to get back to a two-point affair, 75-73, at 1:33.
 
The defenses traded stops. As the clock ticked inside a minute, Easley feigned a drive and his step-back three was true to extend the margin back to five. There was no fade in the Bulldogs, however, as Sharkey immediately went coast-to-coast for the layup and a 78-75 Mocs advantage.
 
Samford got a huge stop, but Chattanooga was up to the challenge. It returned the favor in the final 10 seconds with strong defensive play. Jerry Johnson, Jr., iced the game with two free throws for the 80-75 final tally.
 
"After the ETSU game, Coach told us we have three really big opportunities coming up. We took that to heart and have been working hard over the past week to get ready for today and this upcoming week."
 
Today was the start of a 3-game home stand. The Mocs welcome Mercer (Jan. 17) and The Citadel (Jan. 19) next weekend as SoCon play continues. Both games are also doubleheaders with the women's program meeting Wofford and Furman. Tickets are available on GoMocs.com or by calling (423) 266-MOCS (6627).
 
RECORDS
Chattanooga 8-10/3-2 | Samford 11-7/1-4
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
Check out the full complement of notes at the link above.

• 98th meeting with Samford. That's the most against any opponent in school history. That's ahead of Western Carolina (92), ETSU (86), Furman (84) and The Citadel (81). 60 wins over the Bulldogs are third all-time in school history after Western Carolina (65) and The Citadel (63) and just ahead of Furman (54) and ETSU (47).
• SoCon home teams went 3-6 this weekend with wins by the Mocs today, Mercer (84-80 vs. Western Carolina Thursday) and UNCG (89-79 vs. Furman today).
• First win this season (1-9) when opponent scores 73 or more points…nine losses in those instances were by an average of 14.1 points per game.

 
3 STATS TO KNOW
Check out the full stats at the link above.

• Chattanooga shot 52.5 percent from the field today making 31 of 59 attempts…it's the fifth time in the last six making 50 percent or better…shooting exactly 50 percent (170-340) over that span.
• +21 from the 3pt line making 12 compared to five for the visitors…50 percent effort there (12-24) topping 33.3 percent by the Bulldogs (5-15)…8th occasion with 11 or more 3s in a game.
• Donovann Toatley and Thomas Smallwood came off the bench affecting both ends of the floor…Toatley was a game-high +17 (score differential in his 27:45), while Smallwood was +10…they spear-headed a 22-0 advantage in bench scoring.

 
QUOTABLE
Check out all of what we heard at the quotes link above.
"The biggest thing was stick-to-itiveness I think. We really stayed the course in what we wanted to do defensively. We didn't waver when they went bang-bang on a couple scores where we made a mistake. We didn't abort that mission and go to something else, we stayed true in what we wanted to do in this game. We kept it pretty simple and played within what we wanted to do. No one had to play hero ball. That doesn't mean we didn't make a couple big shots here and there, but I thought it was commitment in what we wanted to do and we just stayed the course." – Coach Lamont Paris on key to winning this game.
 
"We have to realize when to step on the gas, pump the brakes, when we're in a crowd or open space. These are the type of games you like to win because so much learning took place." – Paris on double-digit lead dwindling to a one-possession game late.
 
SOCON SCOREBOARD
Western Carolina 94, at The Citadel 82
Wofford 90, at VMI 76
ETSU 72, at Mercer 68 (OT)
at UNCG 89, Furman 79
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Jan. 17 vs. Mercer, 8 p.m. (DH-Women vs. Wofford at 5:30 p.m.)
Jan. 19 vs. The Citadel, 4:30 p.m. (DH-Women vs. Furman at 2 p.m.)
Jan. 24 at Furman, 7 p.m.
 
GOMOCS.COM IN A WORD FEATURE SERIES
David Jean-Baptiste – Engaged
Thomas Smallwood – Dad
Rod Johnson – Mayor
Kevin Easley – Goofy
Justin Brown – Waffle
Jerry Johnson, Jr. – Buckets
Jonathan Scott – Energy
Keigan Kerby – Hair
Duane Moss – Dwight
Ramon Vila – Everyman