POSTSEASON GUIDE | GAME NOTES | ABOUT CHATTANOOGA BASKETBALL
 
CHATTANOOGA---It's round three for the Chattanooga Mocs and ETSU Bucs and if Asheville lives up to the prior two matchups...fans are in for one whale of finish. Chattanooga swept the season series with 67-65 (Johnson City) and 53-51 (Chattanooga) final tallies. Both included late 3pt with plenty of drama, but you can find all that on page 4 of the notes package linked above.
 

.@ajcaldwell4 everyone pic.twitter.com/XCZnV9NzEY

— Chattanooga Mocs MBB (@GoMocsMBB) February 6, 2021

 
This is now. No two current members boast the SoCon Tournament history of the Mocs and Bucs. The Scenic City has seen 11 tourney crowns parade through its streets, while Johnson City knows seven. Six of those 18 included matchups with each other seeing an even 3-3 slate.
 
It's the third time in four years Coach Lamont Paris sees ETSU on the other bench, all in the quarters. The first was a lop-sided 77-59 loss in 2018. The latter was a slim 68-64 defeat also in the 4/5 matchup (2019).
 
The contest features three All-SoCon performers along with the league's top freshman. Malachi Smith (1st team) and David Jean-Baptiste (2nd) are the first starting backcourt to capture the voter's imaginations from Chattanooga since It's the first time since Chad Copeland (1st team) and Gary Robb (2nd) in 1994. Ledarrius Brewer claimed first team honors for the Bucs, while Damari Monsanto was named Freshman of the Year.
 
Complete series information is on pages 8 & 9 of the Mocs Postseason Guide linked above. Watch on ESPN+ or listen on WFLI 97.7 FM/1070 AM in Chattanooga as well as the TuneIn app. The semifinal round broadcasts on ESPNU with Monday's title tilt on ESPN.
 
Game 26: #4 Chattanooga (18-7/9-7) vs. #5 ETSU (12-11/8-7)
Mar. 6 | 2:30 p.m. | Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville
 
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
TV: ESPN+. Pete Yanity (PxP) & Dean Keener (analyst)
 
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.   
 
vs. ETSU
94th meeting | Record: 49-44 | Home: 26-12 | Away: 16-25 | Neutral: 7-7 | SoCon Tournament: 8-8
At ETSU Meeting: STORY | STATS | NOTES | QUOTES
Home Meeting: STORY | STATS | NOTES | QUOTES | PHOTOS
- ETSU is most frequent SoCon Tournament opponent. 17th time in 44 seasons in the league that facing the Bucs with 8-8 record.
- 3rd time in four years that one of Lamont Paris' teams meets ETSU in the quarterfinals.
- Record vs ETSU in quarters all-time: 3-3
- The SoCon Champion has been determined 6 times between the Mocs & Bucs with the good guys winning in 1983 (Charleston, W.Va.), 1993 (Asheville) and 2016 (Asheville) and the Bucs in 1992 (Asheville), 2003 (N. Charleston, S.C.) & 2004 (N. Charleston).
- 2-0 vs ETSU in regular season in two eerily similar games. Led for 38:16 at ETSU before Ty Brewer hit a 3pt to take a 1-point lead. A.J. Caldwell hit a 3 with 1.0 seconds left for the 67-65 triumph. Led for 37:10 of the second contest and was up 9, 45-36, with 12:30 to go after who else, Caldwell's 2nd of back-to-back 3s. Didn't make another shot hitting 8-10 at the FT line. ETSU hit a three to take a 1pt lead off an offensive rebound of missed FT but the bench called timeout before the three was released. A final three rimmed by Damari Monsanto, the same player who hit the almost winning triple.
- Nothing like a little drama in a rivalry. In the 80 minutes played against ETSU in 2021, Chattanooga led for 75:26 (94.29%)/ETSU 0:34 (0.07%). That's come in a two two-point victories. Even in such close games, there were 3 lead changes & 1 tie. 2:40 of the 4:00 minutes of tie game was 0-0.
 
COACHES
Chattanooga: Lamont Paris (Wooster '96) | UTC: 60-63 (4th season) | Career: Same | vs. ETSU: 2-8
ETSU: Jason Shay (Iowa '95) | ETSU: 12-11 (1st) | Career: Same | vs. UTC: 0-2
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
- Chattanooga needs two wins to reach 20 for the 21st time in school history. It would be the first time with back-to-back 20-win campaigns since 2015 (22) and 2016 (29). 33rd time in the last 51 seasons (since 1970) with 18 or more wins.
- 14 single-digit final margins in league play are the most since 14 in 2011-12 (4-10). The Mocs were 8-6 in such games this season, 3-0 with score within one possession (3pts).
- 19 SoCon championship finals appearances all-time (11 titles in bold): 1923, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009 & 2016. The 19 appearances are tied for the most with Davidson with the Wildcats 12 titles one higher but in 30 more seasons in the league.
 
3 STATS TO KNOW
- 14-1 this season & 29-5 over last two when holding opponents below 70 points.
- Stefan Kenić is on his third consecutive FT streak of the season exceeding 15 in row making his last 17. He leads the SoCon making 88.6 percent. There have been eight different streaks of 10 or more by five Mocs this season with a high of 20 by David Jean-Baptiste.
- David Jean-Baptiste is 14th Moc to record 1,250 points moving into 13th all-time in scoring (1,271) at Mercer. He's third all-time at UTC with 197 threes made. The top two are Stephen McDowell '09 (243) and Keddric Mays '07 (207). "Record Watch" on pages 5 & 6 of the notes package.
 
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