Box Score NOTES | QUOTES | PHOTOS
CHATTANOOGA – Jake Stephens scored 37 points and hauled in 15 rebounds against his former school to help lift the Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team to an 85-78 victory over VMI in Southern Conference action on Saturday afternoon inside McKenzie Arena.
Following the win, Chattanooga improves to 10-7 overall and 2-2 in SoCon play. VMI falls to 5-12 overall and 0-4 inside league action.
Stephens 37 points marked the most for a Moc against a DI opponent since Ricky Taylor dropped 41 against UNCG on January 27, 2011. It was the most overall since Z. Mason posted 41 against Hiwassee on December 10, 2013.
Chattanooga controlled majority of the game and led for a whopping 38:31 while seeing their lead grow to as many as 23 in the second half. VMI shot the ball at an incredibly high efficiency over the final 20 minutes and used a late flurry to trim the final score to just eight.
"Coach [Andrew] Wilson is doing a great job over there and they're playing with supreme confidence. I thought we moved the ball pretty well, it was tough because they do some things defensively where they can mess with you," said head coach Dan Earl.
"After we were a bit tight early, I thought we moved the ball a lot better and then we made shots in the second half. A win is a win any way you can take them."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Chattanooga raced out to an early 8-6 lead (15:59) with Stephens accounting for all eight points during the start. The Mocs continued to pace the Keydets over the next four-plus minutes, claiming a 16-8 (11:58) lead after a successful Jamaal Walker and-one.
A slow shooting start from both teams allowed for a 19-12 difference in favor of UTC with 7:58 remaining in the first half. The Chattanooga defense continued to turn VMI over and create scoring opportunities on the other end, opening a 29-17 (5:15) lead ahead of half.
The Mocs continued to apply pressure on both ends of the floor and took a 39-29 lead into the break. Stephens finished the opening half with 20 points and nine rebounds while the team finished just 35.7% (10-of-28) from the floor and 26.7% (4-of-15) mark from deep.
Chattanooga opened the second half on a 14-2 run, highlighted by threes from Stephens, Johnson and Dalvin White, to take a 53-31 lead with 16:26 left in the contest. VMI cut the deficit to 16, 63-47 (11:08), and forced UTC into a timeout after connecting on three-of-four threes.
UTC continued to keep a double-digit lead on the help of the deep ball, holding a 71-54 advantage with 7:08 left in the game. VMI used a lethal deep attack over the game's final minutes to trim the ultimate final to 85-78 in favor of the Mocs.
RECORDS/SERIES – Chattanooga 10-7, 1-2 SoCon · VMI 5-12, 0-4 SoCon · Series: Chattanooga now leads the series 48-16.
NOTES TO KNOW
- Jake Stephens finished with 37 points and 15 rebounds… shot 11-of-18 from the floor… 5-of-6 from deep… most points by a Moc since Z. Mason scored 41 against Hiwassee (12/10/13)… most against a DI opponent since Ricky Taylor's 41 against UNCG (1/27/11)… secured his 900th career rebound with his sixth of the game… finished the first half with 20 points and nine rebounds.
- The Mocs turned the ball over just 10 times while forcing a season-high 17 turnovers from the Keydets… the +7 turnover margin ties a season best (15-8 against Milwaukee).
- Chattanooga shot a blistering 60.7% (17-of-28) from the field in the second half… went 10-of-15 from three (66.7%) over the final 20 minutes… finished the game shooting 49.1% (27-of-55) in total and 48.3% (14-of-29) from three.
QUOTES
Jake Stephens on playing against his former team.
"It was awesome. I love those guys and credit to them. It's a VMI team so you know they're not going to quit. They played hard to the very end. I'm proud to be from there. But, I'm proud to get the win because I'm a competitive person."
NEXT UP – vs. W. Carolina – Wednesday, Jan. 11 – 7 p.m. ET – McKenzie Arena – BUY TICKETS – ESPN+
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