MACON, Ga. – The Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball snapped its three-game skid with a dominating 80-51 Southern Conference victory over Mercer inside Hawkins Arena in Macon, Ga., Saturday afternoon.

Following the win, Chattanooga improves to 9-6 overall and evens its SoCon record to 1-1. Mercer falls to 7-8 overall and 0-2 inside league play.

The 29-point margin of victory marks the fourth-largest SoCon road victory in program history and is the largest since a 93-66 (27) victory at Western Carolina back on January 16, 1993. UTC outscored Mercer 45-29 in the second half and held the Bears to a 1-of-15 (6.7%) mark from deep during the contest.

"Coming off a really tough game at The Citadel, I thought we played the right way. We had a spirited practice that was tough and aggressive, and we also spent some time talking as a team," said head coach Dan Earl following the game.

"We're all in this together. The guys know that. We have a good group of guys and we're excited to try and get better each day."

Jamal Johnson notched his third-straight 20-point effort after finishing with 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting (3-of-7 3PT) while tying a career-high in rebounds with eight. He was the lone double-digit scorer as seven different Mocs, including Johnson, scored at least seven points in the victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After a slow shooting start, Chattanooga mounted a 7-0 run courtesy of an AJ Caldwell three and a Mercer turnover which led to fast break layup from Dalvin White allowed for an early 11-6 (14:08) lead. The Mocs continued to attack from behind the arc and built a 20-12 (9:45) lead over the next five minutes.

The advantage grew to 13, 25-12 (8:47), following a pair of Demetrius Davis free throws before a seven-plus minute drought without a field goal allowed Mercer to climb within six, 28-22 (2:07). Five-straight Johnson points helped the lead get to double digits, 33-22 (43.8), before UTC took a 35-22 edge into the break.

UTC opened the second half on an 11-4 run to give the visitors a 46-26 (16:14) lead, forcing Mercer into a timeout. The Mocs knocked down six of their next eight field-goal attempts over the next five-plus minutes to help build a 25-point lead, 55-30 (11:43).

Chattanooga kept its foot on the gas the rest of the way and saw its lead grow to as much as 32, 68-36, with 4:58 remaining in the contest. UTC closed out the 80-51 victory down the stretch to snap its three-game skid.

RECORDS/SERIES – Chattanooga 9-6, 1-1 SoCon · Mercer 7-8, 0-3 SoCon · Series: Chattanooga now leads the series 45-41.

NOTES TO KNOW
- The 29-point margin of victory is the fourth-largest in a SoCon road game in program history… largest since 27 (93-66) in a win at Western Carolina on January 16, 1993… largest is a 36-point win at Furman (81-45) on January 9, 1997.

- The Mocs held Mercer to a lowly 6.7% (1-of-15) mark from three in the win… lowest percentage allowed in a SoCon road game since 0.0% (0-of-5) against Western Carolina on February 15, 1997… lowest overall since 0.0% (0-of-14) against Samford on March 5, 2016 in the SoCon Tournament.

- Chattanooga finished the game shooting 41.2% (14-of-34) from deep and 48.1% (26-of-54) from the floor in the win… 10th-straight game with 10 or more threes… longest active streak in NCAA Division I.

QUOTES

Dan Earl on moving forward.

"What you try to do, I said this to the team, hopefully we're smiling and laughing on the bus ride home, but you can't get too up or too down. You can't be sulking around after last game and then be on top of the world after this game. You have to have some steadiness to you and get better all the time. I'm proud of the guy's response and it's a good end to the year."

NEXT UP – at UNCG – Wednesday, Jan. 4 – 7:00 p.m. ET – Greensboro, N.C. – ESPN+
 
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