2021-22 Chattanooga Mocs Men's Basketball
Southern Conference Championships – Quarterfinal Round
Game 32 – The Citadel
March 5 – Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville, N.C.
Postgame Notes
 
GENERAL
- The Chattanooga Mocs held off a gritty The Citadel squad with a 71-66 win in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Championships Saturday afternoon…Mocs are now 25-7, while the Bulldogs move to 13-18.
- 58-33 all-time in the SoCon Tournament…25-18 in the quarterfinals…29-13 all-time after advancing to the semifinals with 11 tourney titles…a 12th crown this season ties the league record with Davidson.
- Top-seeded Mocs advance to Sunday's semifinals with a 4 p.m., start against Wofford.
- Swept all three games this season from the Bulldogs…won 85-67 in Chattanooga (1/8) and 75-62 in Charleston (1/29).
- 90th all-time meeting…just the second tourney matchup in 45 years in the league…one of five programs played 90+ times: Samford (107), Western Carolina (99), ETSU (96) and Furman (93)…more on the series below.
- 6th time with 25 or more wins in a season...last was school-record 29 by the 2016 SoCon Champions...topped 25 in 1976-77 (27-5), 1981-82 (27-4), 1982-83 (26-4), 1992-93 (26-7) & 2015-16 (29-6).
- +11 rebound margin (39-28)…9-6 advantage in second chance points as the two teams managed just 14 offensive rebounds with eight by the Mocs.
- Shot 45.5 percent (25-55) for the game…21-33 (63.6 percent) INSIDE the arc while struggling beyond it making four of 22 (18.2%).
- The was just one tie and lead change after 0-0…lead change was a Malachi Smith 3pt (17:58) making it 3-2 for the Mocs and 5-5 at 17:03…KC Hankton put Chattanooga up for good at 16:43…led for 37:38 of the 40 minutes.
- Chattanooga broke the game open with a 17-4 run in the first half capped by a Smith free throw with 6:38 to go until the break…provided the game's largest lead of 16 (29-13)…it was a 15-point advantage, 52-37, after Avery Diggs' layup with 12:56 left in the game…Citadel went on a 13-2 run over the next 7:11 to get within four, 54-50…Mocs immediately extended it back to 11 with baskets by Hankton, David Jean-Baptiste (3) and Smith…Jean-Baptiste's triple was the only one UTC hit in the second frame going 1-11 (9.1%).
- 15-2 when scoring 75 or more points…10-5 when scoring less…20/-1 when opponents score less than 70.
- No. 70 in the latest NCAA NET Rankings…Bulldogs were No. 229 at tipoff.
- No. 65 on ESPN's College Basketball Power Index (BPI)…The Citadel was No. 237.
- No. 77 on KenPom with the Bulldogs coming in at 241.
- 1,384-1,114 in season No. 103…45th campaign as a DI program with an 838-545 ledger.
- 11-9 all-time in Game 31…last 32nd matchup was the 78-68 dispatching of UNCG in the 2020 SoCon Quarterfinals (Mar. 7).
- 11-5 all-time on March 5…last was the 59-54 quarterfinal win over Samford in the 2016 Tournament.
 
SERIES
All-Time Meetings: 90 | Record: 71-19 | Home: 38-6 | Away: 31-13 | Neutral: 2-0

• 2-0 in SoCon Tournament play…only other meeting was a 69-66 win in Asheville on Feb. 28, 1986.
• 4th straight win in the series and nine of the last 10.
• One of six programs beaten 50 or more times overall: Western Carolina (69), Samford (67), Furman (56), Tennessee Wesleyan (51) & ETSU (51).

COACH
Lamont Paris (College of Wooster '96)
Record: 85-71

• Home: 47-23 | Away: 33-42 | Neutral: 5-6
• SoCon Tournament: 3-4 | Quarters: 2-2
• vs. The Citadel: 9-2 | Home: 5-0 | Away: 3-2 | Neutral: 1-0

 
INDIVIDUAL
- 20-point effort for David Jean-Baptiste…shot 6-12 overall, 2-6 from three add a sterling 6-6 day at the free throw line…second time scoring 20+ in the tournament draining 21 in the 2019 quarterfinal win over UNC Greensboro.
- Jean-Baptiste is fourth all-time in scoring at UTC with 1,719 points…third-place is the incomparable Willie White '84 who is the DI era scoring leader with 1,969 points.
- DJB continues to build on his 3pt record at Chattanooga with 284…16 shy of becoming 8th SoCon student-athlete with 300 made in a career.
- Smith's 19 points came on 6-15 from the field (1-4 3pt) and 6-8 at the charity stripe…29th double-digit night this season and 59th career…team-high +9.
- Smith moved into 32nd-place all-time in scoring at Chattanooga with 1,066…passed Keith Nelson '91 (1,047)…nine points shy of top 30 trialing 31st Johnny Taylor '97 (1,070) and Stephen McDowell '09 (1,075).
- 47 points shy of Derrick Kirce '91 for most DI era points in first two years of his career (1,113)…Wayne Golden '77 holds the all-time record with 1,142 in 54 games over the 1974 and '75 campaigns.
- 651 points this season for Smith is fourth in Mocs history…there are seven 600-point campaigns all-time with Smith joining William Gordon (700, 1976-77), Gerald Wilkins (672, 1984-85), Wayne Golden (657, 1976-77), Golden (635, 1974-75), Stephen McDowell (633, 2008-09) and Chad Copeland (604, 1993-94).
- KC Hankton tied his season high with 13 points…added seven rebounds, one assist and a steal in 26:44…was 6-9 overall and 1-3 from 3pt range.