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CHATTANOOGA---The Chattanooga Mocs couldn't hold off the visiting Furman Paladins Wednesday night in McKenzie Arena. They dropped a 73-66 decision to the early Southern Conference leader behind a career-high 27 points for Mike Bothwell.
 
Stefan Kenić paced the Mocs attack with 15 points making all five shot attempts including three beyond the arc. Rod Johnson added his second career double-double with 12 points and 10 boards, while Matt Ryan and David Jean-Baptiste chipped in 13 and 10, respectively.
 
The Paladins also had four in double digits. Bothwell was supported by Jordan Lyons with 16, while Clay Mounce and Alex Hunter each scored 11.
 
Chattanooga had a three-point advantage after Ryan's jumper in the paint made it a 50-47 contest. The sizzling start went cold as the Mocs went scoreless over the next 8:57 of clock time. Furman took the lead for good with a 14-0 run capped by Bothwell's layup at 5:59 for the 61-50 lead.

Jean-Baptiste righted the ship with a triple at 5:41. The Mocs clawed their way back to a four-point deficit four times, the latest at 68-64 with 2:13 to go on two Kenić free throws. They got a stop and a good look from three for Ryan with 1:25 remaining, but after it rimmed out Furman held on for the win.
 
"Anytime, like I've said this once before, if the Lakers came in here, and I look at the clock, and it's three minutes on the clock and it's a four-point game, we're supposed to win that game on that day," Coach Lamont Paris said in the post-game press conference. "Maybe we lose by 40 on another day then. So that's what irritates me the most, that my expectations are that we do enough to win no matter who we are playing, but certainly there were some good things we were able to do.
 
"But we need to perform better and not turn the ball over. That was the biggest thing. That was 15 times that we didn't get a shot."
 
Tonight was the first in a 3-game homestand. It continues Saturday with a visit from Samford (Jan. 11) followed by Wofford (Jan. 15) next Wednesday. Saturday is Scout Day and Marion County Day. Scouts in uniform and Marion County residents get $10 lower bowl tickets at the gate with the scouts also earning a Power C patch for their uni.
 
Tickets are available on GoMocs.com as well as calling the McKenzie Arena box office during working hours at (423) 266-MOCS (6627).
 
RECORDS
Chattanooga 10-6/1-2 | Furman 14-3/4-0
 
QUOTABLE
"I thought the real difference ultimately was that we had 15 turnovers, so that's part of the reason you're not scoring the way that you should. At least one or two were pick-6; they ran through one for a dunk on the other end, maybe two of those. So when you turn it over 15 times and you give up eight second-chance points, that's going to make it an uphill battle." – Coach Lamont Paris
 
"When we went eight minutes without scoring, and you see the scoreboard not change, it shows. They were going on runs, hitting tough shots. We weren't hitting shots, not scoring, not playing great defense, turning the ball over. It hurt us, especially in the second half." – junior forward Rod Johnson
 
Check out all we heard at the link above.
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW

• 89th meeting between the two schools with the Mocs holding a 54-35 advantage. The 89 matchups are the third-most in school history behind Samford (99) and Western Carolina (94).
• 13 offensive rebounds allowed over the last four games is a school record for the fewest over such a span. Previous best was 17 from Feb. 9-16, 2013. Defensive rebound percentage over this stretch is .895 (111 of 124)
• There were 14 lead changes and five ties. All came in the first 26:26 of the contest.

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

• 15 turnovers are the most since the same number in the win over Alabama State in the Emerald Coast Classic. Minus-8 turnover margin is a season high leading to a nine-point deficit (17-8) in points off turnovers.
• The 8:57 scoreless drought included an 0-10 spurt shooting and five turnovers. The Mocs shot 68.4 percent (26-38) in the surrounding 31:03.
• Furman shot 51.7 percent overall, 66.7 percent (22-33) INSIDE the 3pt arc. The Paladins are 13-1 when shooting at least 40 percent on the season.

Take a deeper dive into the numbers at the link above.
 
SOCON SCOREBOARD
ETSU 64, at UNCG 57
Western Carolina 97, at VMI 85
Wofford 67, at Samford 62
 
MBB UPCOMING GAMES
Jan. 11: Samford | Current Rec.: 8-9/2-1 | Next Opp: at Chattanooga (Jan. 11)
Jan. 15: Wofford | Current Rec.: 10-6/2-1 | Next Opp: The Citadel (Jan. 11)
Jan. 18: at UNC Greensboro | Current Rec.: 12-5/2-2 | Next Opp: at Furman (Jan. 11)
 
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