NOTES | QUOTES | PHOTOS

CHATTANOOGA --- The Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team featured four players in double digits, led by a career-high 20 from Darius Banks, and used a stingy defensive effort to race past UNC Asheville 75-45 in its home opener on Sunday afternoon in McKenzie Arena.
 
Chattanooga improves to 2-0 on the season following the victory on the opening day of the Coke Zero Sugar Classic presented by 3H Group and Springhill Suites Downtown Chattanooga. UNC Asheville falls to 1-2 overall on the year.
 
"The game speaks for itself regarding the defensive side of the ball. If you are going to do that defensively, then we might have a chance to beat the Lakers," head coach Lamont Paris laughed about in his post-game presser.
 
"We didn't shoot great, but I can't say enough for what we did defensively. If we didn't allow those buckets at the end of the first half, we would've kept them in the teens. If you can do that in an NCAA game, you're doing something right."
 
Chattanooga raced out to a 12-2 lead out of the gates after a Silvio De Sousa driving slam through the paint opened the game's scoring. UNCA pulled within nine at 16-7 before UTC rolled on a pair of transition slams from De Sousa to extend the lead to 22-7 with 8:04 left in the half.
 
The Mocs would keep the defensive clamps on the free-running Bulldogs throughout the first half. UTC limited UNCA to a 28.6% (8-for-28) field goal percentage and a lowly 11.1% (1-for-9) tally from behind the arc to help build a 35-18 lead headed into the break.
 
It would remain all Chattanooga in the second half as the hosts out-scored the visitors 21-11 over the first nine minutes to extend out to a sizable 56-29 lead with 11:01 on the clock. David Jean-Baptiste and Darius Banks combined to score 15 of the 21 points over that stretch.
 
The defense continued its ferocious efforts down the stretch on its quest to a 75-45 victory. The Mocs held the Bulldogs to a 30.2% (16-for-53) field goal percentage for the game and finished with a 49-24 advantage on the glass. In addition, the points in the paint tally favored UTC, 46-20.
 
Banks led the team with a game-high 20 points, a career-high for his time at UTC, while Jean-Baptiste (14), De Sousa (11) and Grant Ledford (11) all reached double digits. KC Hankton added six points and a team-best nine boards.
 
RECORDS – Chattanooga (2-0) – UNC Asheville (1-2)
 
SERIES – Chattanooga now leads the all-time series 9-0.
 
NOTES TO KNOW
- Career-high (at UTC) 20 points for Darius Banks…15th career 20-point effort…8-11 from the field including 2-3 from 3pt range…made both free throw tries…added five rebounds and was a game-high +31…64th time he's reached double figures including his first three campaigns at James Madison.
- David Jean-Baptiste scored 14 today to push his career total to 1,319 which is No. 13 all-time at Chattanooga…he trails No. 12 Casey Jones '16 (1,321) by two and is also in close range of Lance Fulse's '88 1,325 in 11th. Kevin Gray '76 holds down the 10th spot with 1,385 points.
- 30-point margin of victory is largest against a DI opponent since 105-67 demolishing of Samford on Jan. 11, 2020…largest in a non-conference game since 37-point victory over Alabama State, 95-58, in the 2015 Emerald Coast Classic.
 
Check out all the notes at the link above.

QUOTABLE
"That's the key to this game at any level. The higher the level that you are at, the more in-depth scouting reports go. Having multiple guys that are capable of having a really good offensive day is a luxury for us. We have three different guys that can score 20, and then we have another three that are capable of scoring 20 on another day. I let guys do what they are able to do, and it shows. We had guys being aggressive, being comfortable and ultimately being productive." – head coach Lamont Paris on the depth of the team.

"We go at it every single day on defense. It's always good to go against someone else to see what you're capable off. Holding someone to 45 in college basketball is hard to do." – KC Hankton on the team's defensive efforts.
 
UP NEXT – Chattanooga vs. Tennessee Tech – Tues., Nov. 16 – 7PM ET – 2021-22 Schedule
 
SOCON SCOREBOARD
at Tennessee 94, ETSU 62
at East Carolina vs. Western Carolina – 4:00 p.m.

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