2021-22 Chattanooga Mocs Men's Basketball
Game 13 – Middle Tennessee
Dec. 22 – McKenzie Arena – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Postgame Notes
 
GENERAL
- The Chattanooga Mocs closed strong to topple Middle Tennessee 77-65 Wednesday night in the Roundhouse…Mocs are now 10-3, while the Blue Raiders are 9-4.
- Middle led 51-47 with 10:10 to play before the Mocs D held their visitors scoreless for 4:30 resulting in a 12-0 run taking a 59-51 lead on a Malachi Smith 3pt.
- Out-scored the Blue Raiders 30-14 over the final 10:10.
- Entered the game ranked No. 15 in the collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
- 8th straight game with a 20pt scorer...Malachi Smith (6x), Silvio DeSousa (2x) & David Jean-Baptiste (1x)...last time with eight straight games of at least one 20pt scorer? Jan. 10-Feb. 16, 2004 (10 games): Ashley Champion (6x), Jason Rogan (5x), Chris Brown (1x) & Alphonso Pugh (1x)…Brown (31 vs Western Carolina, Jan. 24) and Ashley Champion (30 at Charleston, Jan. 19) had one 30-point night each.
- Middle Tennessee's bench featured a couple of former Mocs assistant coaches in Wes Long and Turner Battle…both were brought to the Scenic City by Will Wade in 2013 with Long assisting the current LSU head coach both seasons of his tenure and Battle just the first in 2014.
- The Blue Raiders led for 27:57 of the contest, the Mocs 7:54…that was the final 7:54 of the game…there was just one lead change but nine ties.
- +11 in rebound margin with 35 to Middle's 24… 4th time with a double-digit margin behind UNC Asheville (+25), Covenant (+26) & at Lipscomb (+20).
- 20-23 at the free throw line…season high for makes.
- Shot 56.0 percent (14-25) in the second half and 62.5 percent (5-8)…92.9 percent (13-14) from FT line.
- 1,369-1,110 in season No. 103…45th campaign as a DI program with an 823-541 ledger.
- 19-3 against non-conference opposition over the last two campaigns.
- 22-3 in last 25 non-conference games.
- 58-37 all-time on Game 13 of the campaign…last year's game 13 was the 92-87 loss at The Citadel on Jan. 9.
- 13 all-time games played on this date (Dec. 22)…6-7 in those contests winning the last four…last game on this date before tonight? Last year's thrilling 66-63 comeback win at Tennessee State.
- 9-13 against Conference USA schools (members on game day): UAB (3-7), Charlotte (2-0), Cincinnati (0-1), Marshall (2-1), Memphis (0-2), Middle Tennessee (2-1) & Southern Miss (0-1)…five straight wins vs CUSA and seven of last nine.
 
SERIES
All-Time Meetings: 67 | Record: 35-32 | Home: 23-9 | Away: 10-23 | Neutral: 2-0

• Sweep the home-and-home series along with last year's 80-70 win in Murfreesboro.
• 67 all-time meetings ranks as fourth most non-conference matchups behind Samford (79), Tennessee Wesleyan (69) and Mercer (68)…Samford and Mercer are now SoCon members and TWU was the last home matchup prior to tonight for the Mocs.

 
COACH
Lamont Paris (College of Wooster '96)
Record: 70-67

• Home: 40-22 | Away: 26-39 | Neutral: 4-6
• vs. Middle Tennessee: 2-0 | Home: 1-0 | Away: 1-0

 
INDIVIDUAL
- 21 points, 13 rebounds and two steals for Malachi Smith…20+ in six of the last seven games averaging 25.9 points per contest over that span…first double-double of the campaign, 10th career….5-9 shooting making 1-3 from 3pt range and 10-12 at the FT line…tied career high for FT made.
- Smith is shooting 54.9 percent overall (95-173), 42.9 percent from three (21-49) and 85.7 percent at the charity stripe (54-63)…if he finishes his season at 50/40/80, it would be the first such stat line in school history.
- Game-high 24 points for David Jean-Baptiste…third 20-point effort of the years and 12th career…7-10 shooting including six of eight from three…fourth game this season making five or more…38th time in his career making three or more.
- Jean-Baptiste moved into fifth-place on the Mocs all-time scoring list passing the legendary trio of Gerald Wilkins (1983-85), Brandon Born (1991-95) and Walter "Moose" McGary (1972-74)…his 1,468 points are 180 shy of fourth-place David Bryan's (1966-69) 1,648.
- Those six treys puts DJB in range of all-time 3pt leader Stephen McDowell (2008-09)…the South Carolina transfer hit 243 in his two years with the Mocs…Jean-Baptiste's has 241 needing just three for the outright lead.
- A.J. Caldwell added 11 points to the ledger…14th career double-digit games.