STATS | NOTES | QUOTES | ABOUT CHATTANOOGA BASKETBALL
 
NASHVILLE---The Chattanooga Mocs would not be denied. Not denied the best start in school history. Not denied the statement being the first team in the country to reach 9-0. Someone forgot to tell Tennessee State as the Mocs earned a 66-63 win in Gentry Center Tuesday afternoon.
 
The Tigers led 54-41 on Yusuf Mohamed's three with 9:45 to play. The 13-point margin was the largest of the day, but in insurmountable according to Malachi Smith who was dominant with 29 points and 13 rebounds.
 
"We all looked at each other said we've been in this position before with Tennessee Tech, Asheville, Bellarmine," he opened. "We didn't even look at the clock and kept doing what we were doing and then the next media we're only down four. Once we got within four, we had all the momentum, and we're going to keep doing what we're supposed to do.
 
"It's great experience for us because any time we get in these moments, we can look back and say we've been here before. There's no need to press, no need to worry, and just have each other's backs."
 
Nine quick points started with two Stefan Kenić free throws followed by a three from Jamaal Walker and then a Smith jumper and two KC Hankton free tosses slicing it to 54-50 with 7:13 left. Josh Linder put the hosts up eight, 58-50 with 6:19 on the clock, but the Mocs took the momentum right back.
 
Chattanooga scored on four of the next five possessions while making stop after stop defensively. Walker's three, a huge moment from right in front of the bench was followed by Smith with a trey of his own to give his squad its first lead since early in the game, 60-58.
 
It went back and forth from there with TSU back ahead 61-60 as Shakem Johnson made one of two free throws at 1:23. Smith went to work. He drove hard to the basket drawing Linder's fifth foul. Two free throws made it 62-61 for the good guys. Mark Freeman, who was a force for the Tigers, missed the front end of a 1+1 which led to another Smith basket. He added two more free throws in the final 10 seconds before the Mocs survived a Freeman three that was just off the mark to secure the win.
 
Kenić had 16 points and six rebounds. Walker scored all nine of his points after the break. Freeman had 20 points, five rebounds and six assists. Linder totaled 13 points, while Johnson added 11 with six boards.
 
The big three was no shock to the Mocs. He had the decisive points Saturday at UAB and is playing like anything but a freshman in clutch situations.
 
"We try to do a lot to instill confidence to whoever is on the floor," Coach Lamont Paris shared. "If you're on the floor, you're out there for a reason. Know who you are, know what your game is and what your strengths are. If an opportunity presents itself, we need make a play. Secretly as it was coming to him and I saw his face, I was hoping he would shoot it.
 
"It was a good look, we needed something and it was in rhythm."
 
The Mocs head into Southern Conference play after the holiday break. It starts with Furman in the Roundhouse on Wednesday, Dec. 30, at 1 p.m. Links for video, audio and live stats for each contest is located on the men's basketball schedule page.
 
RECORDS
Chattanooga 9-0 | Tennessee State 1-4
 
QUOTABLE
"Sometimes it's like you get to a certain spot and then you have a game two days later and then you lose that, and you don't get to bask in the glory. It's good for these guys to have that time, and their buddies from other schools calling them, they'll be talking to their folks. It's great for them, and I know they're excited." – Coach Lamont Paris on a week to soak in 9-0 start
 
"It was just doing whatever it takes to win. That doesn't always mean scoring, it's just being confident in myself and seeing that I could get to the rim whenever I wanted to. I knew that we were in the bonus early and I'm a good free throw shooter so I knew that would put us in a good position to come back." – Malachi Smith on taking the game over late
 
"Someone said that we aren't playing for the next eight days, and I was surprised because we play so frequently. Someone said that and said we have to end on a good note heading into the break and we knew we had to pick it up. Malachi and the coaches do a great job at that. The team picks each other up and tries to create our own energy." – Jamaal Walker on the turning point in the game
 
Check out all we heard at the link above.
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW

• First team in the country to 9-0. The nine straight wins to start the season are a new school record as well breaking the mark first set in 1973-74.
• 7-game road winning streak ties school record set Jan. 20, 1992-Nov. 27, 1992. The Mocs have won nine of the last 10 dating back to last season.
• Malachi Smith is this week's Southern Conference Player of the Week presented by GEICO. He averaged 15.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game leading wins over UNC Asheville and at previously unbeaten UAB.

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

• +21 at the free throw making 26-33 compared to 5-11 for TSU. Made their last 10 in 25-9 run to the finish.
• Smith's 20&10 double-double is the first since Ramon Vila (22/12) in last year's SoCon Tourney win over UNC Greensboro on March 7. The last one on the road was just a couple of weeks earlier when Matt Ryan had 20&14 at Furman in a narrow loss on Feb. 15.
• Stefan Kenić's consecutive FT made streak ended at 19. He made his first four today then missed with 7:18 left in the first half. He went 11-13 for the day breaking his career high for (8) makes previously done three times including last Saturday's win at UAB.

 
Take a deeper dive into the numbers at the link above.
 
SOCON SCOREBOARD
Mercer 81, at Kennesaw State 71
at The Citadel 94, Presbyterian 82
UNCG 86, at N.C. A&T 65
ETSU at Alabama, 7:30 p.m.
 
NEXT 3 OPPONENTS
Dec. 30: Furman, 1 p.m. | Current Record: 6-3 | Next Opp: at Chattanooga (Dec. 30)
Jan. 2: at VMI, 1 p.m. | Current Record: 5-4 | Next Opp: at Samford (Dec. 30)
Jan. 6: Samford, 7 p.m. | Current Record: 5-3 | Next Opp: VMI (Dec. 30)
 
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