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CHATTANOOGA---Road test No. 2 this week doesn't get any easier as he Chattanooga Mocs roll into Louisville, Ky., to meet the newest DI program, Bellarmine. The two sides have met just once during the Mocs vibrant run of the 1970s which featured a strong contingent of Louisville natives including Kevin Gray, Wayne Golden, William Gordon, Gary Stitch and Herbert "Book" McCray. The Knights move to DI mirrors the Mocs of the '70s as well. Bellarmine's DII resume includes a national title (2011), four Final Fours and 11 NCAA postseasons in the last 11 years.
 
The two schools were slated to play a home-and-home series this season which became the home opener when the schedule truncated. A pause of team activities for the Knights delayed their opening until this past weekend. Now the two schools meet in Bellarmine's first DI home opener in famed Freedom Hall.
 
Chattanooga got the week started right with an 80-70 win at Middle Tennessee last night. David Jean-Baptiste registered his 1,000th career point late in the win keying a 14-2 run that turned a 62-59 deficit into a 73-64 lead before pulling away for the 10-point triumph.
 
Jean-Baptiste paces the Mocs at 19.0 points per game. His backcourt mate Malachi Smith adds 14.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per contest, while Stefan Kenić leads the forwards at 14.0 points per game. Dylan Penn is the Knight's top scorer also at 14.0 points per contest.
 
The Mocs are undefeated this late in the season for the first time since 1989-90. The Scenic City squad is 4-0 matching up with the 1-1 Knights which won at Howard after starting the season off with a loss at Duke. The contest is on ESPN+ along with WFLI 97.7 FM/1070 AM in Chattanooga as well as on the TuneIn app.
 
Game 5: Chattanooga (4-0) at Bellarmine (1-1)
Dec. 9 | Louisville, Ky. | Freedom Hall (18,749)
 
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
TV: ESPN+. Jeff Greer (PxP) & Nick Holmes (Analysis)
 
RADIO: WFLI 97.7 FM/1070 AM. Jim Reynolds is in his 41st year as the "Voice of the Mocs". The audio broadcast is also available on the TuneIn app.   
 
SERIES INFO
Record: 1-0 | 2nd meeting | Home: 0-0 | Away: 1-0 | Neutral: 0-0
 
COACHES
Chattanooga: Lamont Paris (Wooster '96) | UTC: 46-56 (4th season) | Career: Same | vs. BU: 0-0
Bellarmine: Scott Davenport (Louisville '78) | BU: 265-110 (16th) | Career: Same | vs. UTC: 0-0
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
- David Jean-Baptiste became the 34th Moc to top 1,000 points in his career. He is two points shy of Greg Andrews' (1968-71) in 33rd with 1,003 and right behind Ashley Champion's (2003-04) 1,005 is 32nd. Andrews, a native of Covington, Ky., was Chattanooga's first African American student-athlete and a founding member of the school's Omega Psi Phi fraternity which Jean-Baptiste is an active. The last Moc to top 1,000 was Justin Tuoyo (2015-17). Tuoyo's last year was DJB's redshirt campaign (2016-17).
- Malachi Smith leads the SoCon in defensive rebounding (9.8 drpg) and is second in total (11.3 rpg). Smith has three double-doubles in his first four games. First Moc of the DI era (since 1977-78) to do that. Most in a season? 15 by Z. Mason '14 in 2013-14.
- Jean-Baptiste scored 20 in back-to-back games for the first time in his career (25 vs Northern Kentucky/20 at Middle Tennessee). He has 45 points over that span with 41 coming in the last three halves. The last time a Moc recorded three straight 20-point efforts? Nat Dixon Jan. 6-13, 2018: 20 vs. ETSU, 21 vs. Furman & 20 at The Citadel. Last time a Moc had three straight 20pt games in the first five of the season? Champion opened 2003-04 with 20 points at Kansas, 21 at Oral Roberts and 22 at Tennessee Wesleyan.
 
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