PREVIEW: Men’s Basketball Heads to Upstate South Carolina for Two Games this Weekend

Thomas Smallwood and the Chattanooga Mocs take a 3-game winning streak on the road to Furman and Wofford in top of the table Southern Conference matchups.

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CHATTANOOGA---The Chattanooga Mocs are back on the road after three in a row in the Roundhouse. The squad heads east for the Upstate Swing taking on Furman on Thursday and Wofford on Saturday.

Chattanooga's sweep of its 3-game home stand moved it into fourth-place in the Southern Conference standings at 5-2. Wofford leads at 7-0, one game ahead of UNCG (6-1), ETSU (5-2) is a half-game in between the Spartans and Mocs in third. Furman is fifth at 4-3 trailed by Samford (2-5), Mercer (2-5), Western Carolina (2-6), VMI (1-6) and The Citadel (1-5).

Last weekend's sweep of Mercer and The Citadel led to SoCon Player of the Week honors for Kevin Easley. Easley is on a 7-game double-figure scoring streak (16.6 ppg). He has three 20-point efforts in his last five outings. Four of his six on the season came in SoCon play.

Sophomore Ramon Vila is keeping pace. Vila tallied 13.7 points and 5.7 rebounds over that seven-game span. Much of that occurred in SoCon play where sophomore guard David Jean-Baptiste has excelled. Jean-Baptiste posts 10.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals per SoCon game. His shooting numbers spiked in league play as well: 47.2 percent from the field, 44.8 percent from three and 85.7 percent at the free throw line.

There's been a depth of contributions that's led to surge in league play.

"We're not relying upon one guy," Coach Lamont Paris shared. "I like it that way. We have a lot of guys that can make it happen. It's nice to have more guys having the capability of making some plays. Whether they do or don't, that plays itself out, but they are capable. We have some guys who can shoot, some guys who can make decisions off ball screens. That's one of our strengths."

The competition is fierce this weekend. Furman has spent some time in the Top 25 this season and Wofford is receiving votes. Both are huge challenges, but the Mocs youthful group is right in the thick of the SoCon race early.

"We've played well," Paris said about the recent home stand. "Can we keep playing well is the question? It's on to the next game on the schedule. Its two really good teams on the road. Defensively and in transition, it's a challenge.

"Certainly on the road, especially against two good teams, you have to shoot well and defend at a high level. We're focused on the next game. You lock into what you need to do to win that night."

Both contests air on ESPN+ online and 96.1 FM in Chattanooga. Audio is also available on the TuneIn app as well as GoMocs.com.

Chattanooga returns to the friendly confines of the Roundhouse on Jan. 31 with Western Carolina coming to town. ETSU follows on Saturday, Feb. 2. Home tickets are available at the link above or by calling (423) 266-MOCS (6627).

Game No. 21: Chattanooga (10-10/5-2) at Furman (15-4/4-3)
Site: Greenville, S.C. | Timmons Arena (5,000)
Time (EST): 7 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+ | Dan Scott (PxP) & Bryant Lambert (Analysis)

Game No. 22: Chattanooga (10-10/5-2) at Wofford (15-4/7-0)
Site: Spartanburg, S.C. | Richardson Indoor Stadium (3,300)
Time (EST): 7 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+ | Pete Yanity (PxP) & Dean Keener (Analysis)

Listen: There are three places where you can find "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds' call. In Chattanooga, listen on 96.1 FM on the dial. Away from the Scenic City, catch it either on GoMocs.com or the TuneIn app. Links to video, audio and live stats are provided on the men's basketball schedule page.
Tickets: Tickets for home events can be purchased on GoMocs.com or by calling (423) 266-MOCS (6627).
Clear Bag Policy: Click the link above for our "Clear Bag Policy" for ALL home events.

PROBABLE STARTERS
F – 1 – Jonathan Scott: 6.4 ppg | 3.7 rpg
F – 34 – Kevin Easley: 15.1 ppg | 6.5 rpg
C – 15 – Ramon Vila: 11.8 ppg | 4.9 rpg
G – 3 – David Jean-Baptiste: 9.0 ppg | 2.2 rpg
G – 2 – Jerry Johnson, Jr.: 9.9 ppg | 3.5 rpg

SERIES VS. FURMAN
Chattanooga leads 54-32 | SoCon Regular Season: 48-29 | Home: 30-8 | Away: 18-23 | Neutral: 6-1
Last 10 meetings:

Date	Site	Result	Score
2/1/2014	H	W	67-52
1/3/2015	H	W	72-60
2/5/2015	A	W	74-71 (OT)
3/6/2015	N	L	67-69
1/9/2016	A	L	55-70
2/6/2016	H	W	62-54
1/7/2017	H	W	80-64
2/9/2017	A	L	56-60
1/10/2018	H	L	55-73
2/15/2018	A	L	56-75

SERIES VS. WOFFORD
Chattanooga leads 23-16 | SoCon Regular Season: 20-15 | Home: 13-5 | Away: 9-10 | Neutral: 1-1
Last 10 meetings:

Date	Site	Result	Score
1/18/2014	A	W	71-57
1/5/2015	H	L	64-68
2/12/2015	A	W	46-56
1/11/2016	A	W	77-68
2/4/2016	H	W	79-63
1/5/2017	H	W	77-66
2/11/2017	A	W	73-65
3/4/2017	N	L	67-79
1/20/2018	A	L	67-71
2/17/2018	H	L	64-74

NOTABLE

70 or more points in 13 straight averaging 76.9 ppg. Tallied 66.7 ppg over first seven. Wofford (63.8) and Furman (67.4) rank first and fourth in the SoCon in Scoring Defense.
After a slow start, the Mocs have been a consistent threat from long range. They shot 27.8 percent making 6.0 3pt per game over the first five. In the last 15, it's a 40.4 percent ROI converting 10.2 per contest. Hot streaks: Thomas Smallwood (9 of last 12, 75.0%), Kevin Easley (33-62, 53.2%) and Jonathan Scott (18-36, 50.0%).
Donovann Toatley topped double-digit points in seven of the last eight. He's averaged 13.9 points per contest over that span shooting 53.7 percent (44-82) overall including 39.1 percent (9-23) from beyond the arc.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Jan. 26 at Wofford, 7 p.m.
Jan. 31 vs. Western Carolina, 8 p.m. (DH-Women vs. Western Carolina)
Feb. 2 vs. ETSU, 4:30 p.m. (DH-Women vs. UNCG)

SOCON WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Jan. 24 (Thursday)
Chattanooga at Furman, 7 p.m.
The Citadel at UNCG, 7 p.m.
Samford at Wofford, 7 p.m.
VMI at Mercer, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 26 (Saturday)
Chattanooga at Wofford, 7 p.m.
VMI at The Citadel, 1 p.m.
Samford at Furman, 4:30 p.m.
Mercer at UNCG, 5 p.m.
*ETSU at Western Carolina, 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

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