The Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team had a good year. They went 20-13, 10-8 in the Southern Conference finishing a whisker away from their 24th SoCon Tournament Championship game appearance. GoMocs.com takes a look at this edition's ties with history.
 
Today's installment starts the conversation. It was a historical trek throughout starting from the beginning. Nine games to begin the season against just DI opponents was the second-longest stretch in school history. Chattanooga opened with 11 in a row in 2010-11. It was a daunting task that this team, new to each other with just six returnees, took in stride.
 
It was just the start, but it was impressive…

• 5 wins in November for just the third time in school history: 2015 & 2016
• 7 wins against DI non-conference opponents in the regular season on just the fourth occasion: 1987-88 (7-4), 2015-16 (9-2) and 2016-17 (7-4)
• 9 wins before New Year's was the fifth instance: 1983-84 (9), 2002-03 (9), 2015-16 (11) & 2016-17 (10)

 
"It gave us confidence in ourselves and believe we were a good team," all-conference forward Ramon Vila noted. "Even though there were a couple of losses that shouldn't have happened, we just knew what to do...how to play together. Like at Troy where we down 14 with 17 minutes to go and came back to win by six or eight. Or the game here against Tennessee State where we were down 10 in the first five minutes.
 
"Being able to cut leads and get back into games told us a lot about how good we could be. We had good results and that helped us. It was something we lacked last year."
 
That was built on an ability to win outside the Chattanooga city limits…

• 13th season (10-9) with better than .500 record going 7-8 in true road games and 3-1 at neutral sites.
• 5-4 mark in SoCon play marks for the 19th time topping .500 in league road matchups, just the sixth time in the 2000s with four of those (2014, 2015 & 2016) coming in the last seven campaigns. This comes in one of the best overall years in league history.
• 14-point second-half comeback win at Troy ties the largest on record, a 28-42 halftime deficit at Tennessee State on Dec. 1, 2003. Trailed by 12 at the break in Troy marking the 16th time coming back from double digits at half in the DI era. The last was to UNCG (10) in the epic 87-85 2OT win.

 
"I had a talk with Coach (Paris) before the ETSU game," David Jean-Baptiste shared. "I asked him how he dealt with crowds? He said, 'you know what Dave? You embrace it. This is what you play for...it's what you dream about growing up going into a building with a crowd revved up for or against you.'
 
"You just have to embrace that moment. A prime example is our home game with UNCG. Just embrace the crowd, embrace the moment.
 
"The more we embrace that feeling, it's go time."
 
So it was a great start and strong away from home, what did it all add up to?

• 20th time with 20 or more wins all-time.
• 25th year with 10 or more wins in conference play in 43rd season.
• 56th winning campaign in 99 opportunities, 32nd in DI era (starting in 1977-78).

 
"When I started playing last season, it was frustrating," Vila added. "It was an immature team that had other priorities instead of just winning games. This year was the total opposite.
 
"Everyone learned and accepted their role in the team. I've never been a part of a winning team where players didn't find and accept their roles. You play it out, 100 percent on the court, not for yourself, but to win.
 
"That was the key this year."
 
This just scratches the surface of the historical touch this squad put into the record books. We'll take a more personal look in the weeks to come.