STATS | NOTES | QUOTES | PHOTOS | ABOUT CHATTANOOGA BASKETBALL
 
CHATTANOOGA---The Chattanooga Mocs withstood one second-half charge by the UNCG Spartans, but couldn't stave off the second in a 78-63 loss Saturday night in McKenzie Arena. Donovann Toatley led the home team with 16 points, while Francis Alonso paced the Spartans with 28.
 
Toatley's three with 10:39 to go capped a 9-1 to give the Mocs a 46-45 advantage. That was after UNCG flipped an early seven-point Mocs second half lead into its own seven-point margin, 44-37, with 13:35 to go.
 
The Spartans answered Chattanooga's spurt quickly. They scored the contest's next 10 points in just a 1:28 span for a 54-46 lead after Kyrin Galloway's layup at 8:29. The Mocs cut it to six again, 56-50, on another Toatley basket, but it was as close as it would get.
 
"Sometimes it feels like we can conquer the first run a team brings, then once they hit us again in the second half, as unit, we hit the panic button," Toatley shared postgame. "I think that just comes to our maturity and our experience. We have to learn how to tighten up, be resilient and push through each run."
 
Kevin Easley made it a seven-point affair with 5:37 remaining, 60-53, before the Spartans took control. The Mocs went without a field goal for nearly four minutes before David Jean-Baptiste's three at 1:54. That stopped an 11-2 run for UNCG which ended the home squad's chances.
 
Easley had 15 points and six rebounds on the night. Jean-Baptiste added 13 points and three assists. Isaiah Miller tallied 21 points and five steals for the Spartans, while Galloway chipped in 13 points.
 
Chattanooga remains in fifth-place in the league at 6-7, while the Spartans stay in second with an 11-1 mark. Wofford (13-0) is in first ahead of UNCG, ETSU (9-4) and Furman (9-4) which are tied for third. Samford (5-8) is sixth followed by Mercer (3-9), The Citadel (3-9), Western Carolina (3-10) and VMI (1-11).
 
The Mocs hit the road for the next three games before returning to Gig City for the final two. They close the regular season with visits by Furman (Feb. 28) and Wofford (March 2). Tickets are available on GoMocs.com or by calling (423) 266-MOCS (6627).
 
RECORDS
Chattanooga 11-15/6-7 | UNCG 22-3/11-1
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
Check out the full complement of notes at the link above.

• UNCG swept the season series…last sweep was by Chattanooga in the 2014-15 campaign with an 81-72 home win and 61-58 road triumph…the latter came on a buzzer-beating three by Ronrico White…last time the Spartans claimed both matchups was 2012-13.
• Chattanooga is now 11-4 when leading at the half after a three-point cushion, 31-28, heading into intermission…0-11 when trailing or tied at the half.
• David Jean-Baptiste is averaging 14.5 points per game vs. the Spartans in 2018-19.

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

• The Spartans held a 28-point advantage in points off turnovers (32-4)…Mocs tied their season high with 22 turnovers.
• The Mocs were +3 in rebound margin tonight, but allowed 14 second-chance points off 14 offensive boards.
• UNCG shot 65.5 percent in the second half (19-29) after the Mocs limited it to 33.3 (12-36) before the break.

QUOTABLE
Check out all of what we heard at the quotes link above.
"It is obviously too many, but I have to watch the tape. The number that concerns me more is that we had 22 turnovers. 32 points off turnovers would be a really significant statistic if it was 16 live-ball turnovers that led to a layup. They were not going to get that. What is significant is how many times a turnover caused a high-quality shot and they scored." – Coach Lamont Paris on 32 points off turnovers for UNCG.
 
"I believe in the first five minutes (of the second half) we started off with a couple of turnovers, couple of missed shots and they got out. They are a very good team and they are always going to capitalize off any team's mistakes. When you give them live ball turnovers and let them run out it transition…they have Alonso knocking down shots. Isaiah Miller is finishing at the rim and all of their bigs are running the floor. It is just hard to give them those chances." – Donovann Toatley on turnover issues.
 
SOCON SCOREBOARD
Samford 84, at VMI 77 (OT)
The Citadel 67, at Mercer 61
at Furman 91, ETSU 61
at Wofford 83, Western Carolina 56
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Feb. 16 at Samford, 5 p.m.
Feb. 21 at The Citadel, 7 p.m.
Feb. 23 at Mercer, 4 p.m.
 
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  
 
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. Buy officially licensed gear in our online store. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page or on Twitter. Find out how to join the UTC Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here.