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NICEVILLE, Fla.---The Chattanooga Mocs jumped out early and cruised to a 74-56 win over Alabama State in the semifinals of the Emerald Coast Classic. Stefan Kenić led four Mocs in double figures with 15 in his first game action this season.
 
Kenić was cleared Tuesday night from the NCAA. His waiver appeal for immediate eligibility was granted after transferring from Cleveland State. His impact was immediate as well.
 
His first shot was a 3pt from the right side which helped jump-start a 17-3 spurt to break open a 5-5 tie in the very early going.  Maurice Commander capped the run for the 22-8 margin with 11:51 to go in the opening frame.
 
"This guy, he looked like he was preparing, waiting for this moment," Coach Lamont Paris reflected on Kenić's first appearance. "It's a tribute to him. But to come out and be that efficient, I was really impressed. It's not easy, especially that first game back.
 
"Maybe you put expectations on yourself, you think there's expectations from the coaches, the fans. He did so well."
 
Two Tobi Ewuosho free throws got the lead back inside 10, 22-13, at 9:45, but the Mocs rolled the rest of the half. They out-scored the Hornets 26-9 to take a 26-point advantage into intermission, 48-22.
 
The lead reached 30, 56-26, early in the second half. The Hornets fought back, but it was too steep a hill to climb. The closest it came was the 18-point final, 74-56, on D.J. Heath's jumper with five seconds to go.
 
"I thought the guys set the tone early and did what we wanted to do defensively," Paris added. "We really set the tone. It never amazes me that when your defense is doing really well, your offense finds a way to keep up. Today was one of those days, especially in the first half."
 
Junior Rod Johnson echoed those thoughts, "We were knocking down shots and that gets everyone going. We took control and coach [Paris] told us from the get-go how hard their schedule has been and that they're a tough team. He told us we can't take them lightly and we need to do what we do. We went out and did that."
 
Kenić was joined in double digits by Ramon Vila with 13, Jean-Baptiste with 11 and Matt Ryan's 10. Ewuosho had 10 points and eight rebounds to pace ASU.
 
The Mocs move on to the championship game of their bracket Saturday at 1:30 p.m., Eastern time, against Jacksonville State. The Gamecocks topped Chicago State 71-62 in the early game.
 
The 5-game tour of the southeast concludes with the Southern Conference opener at Western Carolina on Dec. 3. After approximately 2,000 miles of travel over a two-week period, the Mocs come home on Dec. 8 to take on Tennessee Wesleyan. Tickets are available on GoMocs.com or by calling (423) 266-MOCS (6627).
 
RECORDS
Chattanooga 4-3 | Alabama State 0-6
 
QUOTABLE
"That's a key thing for us. We also got to the free throw line which was helpful for us, too. It was a well-played game and solid effort overall. You get out to a big lead, and I always say it, the toughest thing to do is play with a big lead like that. I'm happy for the team. We ran into a couple tough customers the last few games. We talked about the general theme of what we're doing and heading on the right direction. I think this game really showed that." – Paris on winning the rebounding battle & more.
 
"I'm very excited that I can finally play. I was going to class and Coach called me and asked what I was doing. He told me to come to the arena, and I knew it was either going to be great news or bad news. He told me I had one thing to do and that was pick up the phone where I heard, 'you're eligible to play.' It was an amazing feeling and one of the best days of my life." – Kenić on receiving word he would be on the court early this week.
 
Check out all we heard at the link above.
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW

• The last three meetings with Alabama State have all ended the same way in in-season tournament play. The Mocs win and face Jacksonville State in the championship game. They claimed the 2015 Emerald Coast Classic, 62-52, but lost the 2017 Cayman Islands Classic, 77-75 in OT, in Chattanooga.
• Back-to-back games holding opponents to less than 60 points. ASU (56) and No. 17 Tennessee (58) combined for 114. The last time the Mocs relinquished 114 combined points or less to DI Opponents in consecutive games was 105. That came in wins over Jacksonville State (57) on Dec. 21 2016 and at Western Carolina (48) on Dec. 31. These are the next two opponents on this year's schedule.
• Chattanooga plays for its 37th in-season tournament title Saturday. The last? 2015 Emerald Coast Classic.

Check out all the notables at the link above.
 
3 STATS TO KNOW

• Season-high +11 on the boards, 40-29. The Mocs had as many defensive rebounds (29) as the Hornets had total.
• For the second straight game, Chattanooga held the opposition to below 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3pt range. First was last Monday against the Vols (37.3%/27.8%) and again today (38.5%/21.1%). That's a combined 37.9 percent (39/103) overall and 24.3 percent (9/37) from beyond the arc the last two contests.
• Efficient effort up front. Bigs Stefan Kenic (15/6-7), Ramon Vila (13/6-9) and Rod Johnson (8/3-5) combined for 36 points on just 21 shots. The trio made 15 of 21, 71.4 percent.

Take a deeper dive into the numbers at the link above.
 
MBB UPCOMING GAMES
Nov. 30: vs. Jacksonville State (Niceville, Fla.) | 1:30 pm | Records: 2-3
Dec. 3: at Western Carolina | 7 p.m. | Current Rec.: 5-2 | Next Opp: Chattanooga (Dec. 3)
Dec. 8: Tennessee Wesleyan | 1 p.m. | Current Rec: 3-5 | Next Opp: Pensacola Christian (Dec. 3)
 
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