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CHATTANOOGA---The Chattanooga Mocs overcame a cold shooting night to win 59-57 over Tennessee State Saturday afternoon in McKenzie Arena. The squad made just 35 percent (21-60) in the triumph.
 
It was so much the percentage as the timeliness. Matt Ryan and David Jean-Baptiste each hit late threes combining for just three the entire night.
 
Ryan's came from the top right breaking a tied game with 1:27 to go. TSU answered at the other end to get back to within one, but the Mocs worked the clock on the ensuing possession. The ball was worked into the post late in the shot clock. Ramon Vila backed his man to the paint as Jean-Baptiste drifted into a shooting lane. Vila kicked it out and Jean-Baptiste drained it for a four-point advantage, 58-54 with 32.1 remaining.
 
"Those were big shots by both of those guys," Coach Lamont Paris said in his post-game press conference. "I felt like we were due for one of those to go in. We had a lot of quality shots that didn't go in at multiple times during the game.
 
"Those guys had good confidence and continued to shoot and we created well. The one was a great pass, it was unselfish basketball in a big moment like that. We've struggled shooting the ball the last two games, but those two tonight were huge shots for us."
 
The Tigers wasted no time. Carlos Marshall, Jr., blew through the defense hitting a pull-up jumper in the paint to get the lead back to just two, 58-56, with 25.6 left. The Mocs played a great game of keep away until Maurice Commander was fouled with 8.5 on the clock. He made the second of the two free tosses for a 59-56 advantage.
 
Commander then played excellent defense forcing the Tigers to eat up a lot of clock. The ball worked its way to Marshall again but A.J. Caldwell made a heads-up play. One second was on the clock when Caldwell fouled the junior up three on the scoreboard. He made the first and his intentional miss on the second came out high and into the waiting hands of Jean-Baptiste.
 
Ryan and Jean-Baptiste had 11 points apiece. Rod Johnson added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Marshall had a game-high 16 points for the visitors supported by Jy'lan Washington's 10.
 
The Mocs are back in action Tuesday night with a quick trip to Troy for a 7 p.m., tipoff. The game airs on ESPN+ and WFLI 97.7 FM and 1070 AM. The squad returns to the Roundhouse next Friday welcoming South Alabama.
 
RECORDS
Chattanooga 1-1 | Tennessee State 1-1
 
QUOTABLE
"I think those two threes will get all the credit because of the timing of them, but I thought that was a big part of what we did in the second half. We got the ball down there and made some good, strong aggressive plays around the basket. That sustained us. We weren't shooting the ball well around the perimeter so that sustained us and kept us in the game. That was good to see." – Paris on inside game keying the win.
 
"Just staying solid…sticking together. The defensive end, it all came down to defense. We had to grind it out on defense and make sure that we got stops. We had to keep them off the boards and that was a big adjustment after halftime." – Johnson on what the difference was in the win.
 
Check out all we heard at the link above.
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW

• The Mocs won despite shooting just 35 percent from the field. That's the lowest shooting percentage in a win since a 67-65 triumph at VMI on Feb. 29, 2016 making just 32.3 percent (21-65). Claimed outright ownership of 11th SoCon Regular Season title that night.
• The Tigers scored 106 points in their season-opening win over Alabama A&M…held 49 points lighter today
• Chattanooga leads the series 20-14, 13-5 in Gig City. First meeting came in 1971-72 season with the two squads meeting 24 times over the next 11 years. Just 10 matchups since Dec. 1983 with the last coming in Dec. 2003.

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

• +6 rebounding margin grabbing 43 to 37 for TSU. 14 offensive rebounds led to a 13-4 advantage in second chance points.
• Ramon Vila was a +12 on the night. No one else on the squad reached double figure with Ryan at +8. The Tigers had three players at 10 or better led by Michael Littlejohn at +16 in just 13:55 played.
• +3 in turnover margin (13/16) with a 15-10 lead in points off turnovers.

Take a deeper dive into the numbers at the link above.
 
TICKETS ON SALE
Tickets can be purchased on GoMocs.com or by calling (423) 266-MOCS (6627) or 425-5740. Fans can also stop by the Gate 1 ticket office at McKenzie Arena.
 
MBB UPCOMING GAMES
Nov. 12: at Troy, 7 p.m. | Current Record: 0-1 | Next Opp: Chattanooga (Nov. 12)
Nov. 15: South Alabama, 7 p.m. | Current Record: 1-0 | Next Opp: Southern Miss (Nov. 9)
Nov. 20: at Florida State, 6:30 p.m. | Current Record: 0-1 | Next Opp: at Florida (Nov. 10)
 
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