STATS | NOTES | QUOTES | PHOTOS | ABOUT CHATTANOOGA BASKETBALL
 
CHATTANOOGA---Kevin Easley's 22 points and 12 rebounds led the Chattanooga Mocs in a 73-71 Southern Conference triumph over The Citadel Saturday afternoon in McKenzie Arena. For the second straight Saturday, Easley hit a big three-pointer in a key moment.
 
Down two as the clock ticked to the final minute, Jonathan Scott passed to Easley on the left wing. He paused with a defender right in front. The defense worried about the drive, but Easley drilled the three for a 70-69 advantage.
 
The Citadel worked the clock in the ensuing possession. Kaiden Rice's three from the top of the key was off the mark. Jerry Johnson, Jr., grabbed the long rebound. He was eventually fouled in the front court. A trend developed.
 
Johnson made the first and missed the second. The defense got the stop then Donovann Toatley went to the line with 10.1 to play. He made the first and missed the second. Up three, the Mocs fouled. Lew Stallworth made both to get it back to one, 72-71, with 6.6 to go.
 
Jonathan Scott was immediately fouled with 5.8 left. He made the first and missed the second. Stallworth got the ball and pressed the issue. His drive to the goal was well-defended and the tough runner rolled out. Scott grabbed the board as time expired.
 
The Mocs held the nation's No. 1 scoring team to more than 22 points beneath its 93.4 average.
 
"On (Matt) Frierson and (Zane) Najdawi, I thought we did a good job of not letting them get the ball in their typical situations and shoot with comfort," Coach Lamont Paris stated. "I thought that was the biggest part. There were some other guys that got some open looks. They missed some. They had some open looks I am sure they would like to have had back. 
 
"They were from some other guys who are typically not counted on to perform that same way. I thought that is where it started."
 
The Mocs led by as many as 13, 45-32, early in the second half. The Citadel went on an 11-0 run capped by a Stallworth layup. The good guys maintained the lead until a 7-0 spurt put the visitors ahead by four, 62-58, with 6:49 remaining.
 
Toatley and Easley combined for a 7-0 run of their own to get the lead back to three, 65-62. Toatley started it with a three followed by Easley in the mid-range. Toatley ended it with two of three free throws. It went to the wire from that point.
 
Chattanooga moves into fourth-place in the SoCon standings at 5-2. Furman (4-2) is at league-leader Wofford (6-0) tonight UNCG (6-1) and ETSU (6-2) are just ahead in second and third. Samford (2-5), Mercer (2-5), Western Carolina (2-6), VMI (1-6) and The Citadel (1-6) follow.
 
The Mocs are back on the road next weekend. It starts on Thursday at Furman and ends Saturday at Wofford. Both games air on ESPN+. The squad returns to the Roundhouse in two weeks hosting Western Carolina (Jan. 31) and ETSU (Feb. 2). Tickets are available on GoMocs.com or by calling (423) 266-MOCS (6627).
 
RECORDS
Chattanooga 10-10/5-2 | The Citadel 9-9/1-6
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
Check out the full complement of notes at the link above.

• The Mocs matched their win total from last season with the win today.
• Today is the 64th win in the series with The Citadel…second only to Western Carolina (66) on the wins list…64-18 overall, 60-15 in regular season SoCon play.
• 13th consecutive contest tallying 70 or more points…76.8 scoring average over that stretch is nearly 10 better than the 66.7 over the season's first seven.

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

• 71 points is the second fewest on the season for the Bulldogs behind 69 at Texas in November…the Mocs are 9-1 when holding opponents to less than 73 points in a game.
• That makes back-to-back double-doubles for Easley this weekend…Thursday's against Mercer (11 pts/10 reb) was the first of his career…averaging 17.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per outing during the 3-0 home stand.
• 40 rebounds for Chattanooga is the most against a NCAA DI opponent…previous high was 39 at South Alabama…+3 on the boards allowing The Citadel 37.

 
QUOTABLE
Check out all of what we heard at the quotes link above.
"The crowd has been really good. Hopefully, it is a double-edged sword. Hopefully, because we played well in that stretch, the crowd gets even better. I know that the guys felt it. It is a tremendous home crowd advantage if we can continue to show up in high numbers, be active and really enjoy the game. We have tried to do our part to make the games just as close as we possibly can, and pull it out at the end. We have that down to a science." – Coach Lamont Paris on the lively crowd.
 
"I told him and Don at the end of the game, you guys are my clutch freshmen. They're still freshman off the court, but they don't look like it when they're focused on the game." – Ramon Vila on the timely plays by Kevin Easley.
 
SOCON SCOREBOARD
UNCG 75, at ETSU 68
at VMI 91, Western Carolina 83
Mercer 93, at Samford 87
Furman at Wofford (late)
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Jan. 24 at Furman, 7 p.m.
Jan. 26 at Wofford, 7 p.m.
Jan. 31 vs. Western Carolina, 8 p.m. (DH with women facing WCU at 5:30)
 
SOCON TOURNAMENT TICKETS
The Ingles Southern Conference Tournament Presented by General Shale is March 8-11 in Asheville, N.C. Tickets are available here on GoMocs.com as well as the Gate 1 Ticket Office at McKenzie Arena. Chattanooga Tournament Headquarters is at the Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park.
 
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  
 
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