2023-24 Chattanooga Mocs Men's Basketball
Game 30 – Mercer
February 28 – McKenzie Arena – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Postgame Notes
 
GENERAL GAME INFO
Attendance: 3,054
Game Duration: 1:58
Officials: Ryan Christian, Erroll Lewis, Dan Powers
 
TEAM
- Chattanooga improved to 20-10 overall and 12-5 in SoCon play following an 84-75 win over Mercer… Mercer fell to 14-16 and 7-10 in the league… UTC clinched either a No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the upcoming SoCon Tournament with a Furman loss at WCU.
 
- All-time record 1,425-1,142… 877-573 in Division I era (since 1977-78)… 477-293 all-time in the SoCon.
 
- 488-148 all-time inside McKenzie Arena… 14-4 last 18 home games dating back to last season… 12-3 in McKenzie Arena this season… the 12 home wins this season matches the most since the 2021-22 season… 23^rd Mocs team to win 12 or more in the Roundhouse… most since 13 in 2015-16.
 
- The 20^th win of the season marked head coach Dan Earl's first 20-win season of his career… last time winning No. 20?... February 7, 2022 at Mercer in a 74-72 OT win aided by an A.J. Caldwell buzzer-beater… 22^nd 20-win season all-time.
 
- Dan Earl joins his brother Brian Earl (Cornell) in the 20-win club this season… the Earl's are the second NCAA DI HC brother duo to each win 20+ this season (Scott Drew, Baylor & Bryce Drew, Grand Canyon)… five total sets of brothers in DI (Hurley/Miller/Jones).
 
- The Mocs controlled much of the game after leading for 30:47… Mercer led for 7:50 all in the first half… UTC's largest lead was 12 (2^nd 8:27)… biggest run for the Mocs was an early 13-0 spurt (1^st 7:40).
 
- UTC trailed in second-chance points 23-6 after suffering a -6 (17-11) margin on the offensive glass… won the overall rebounding battle by a +2 (37-35) tally.
 
- The Mocs bench outscored the Bears reserves by a wide 35-21 difference… 35 bench points were the most since 55 against VMI on January 11… captured a 21-7 edge in fast-break points… +14 in the fast-break category is the greatest since +15 against Furman on January 6.
 
- Chattanooga finished the game shooting a blistering 80.0% (20-of-25) from inside the arc during the win… went just 7-of-29 (24.9%) from deep… fourth lowest 3PT% total this season… knocked down a season-high 23 free-throws… tied a season-high 30 FT attempts.
 
- Chattanooga held a 41-33 lead at halftime after two brief lead changes and a tie… UTC used a 13-0 run at the 7:40 mark to help build the lead… ended the half 14-of-24 (54.8%) from the field… 9-of-10 (90.0%) from inside the arc… UTC entered 16-2 following a halftime lead.

SERIES NOTES
All-Time: 88^th Meeting | Record: 47-41 | Home: 26-13 | Away: 18-27 | Neutral: 3-1

- Today's game marked the 88^th all-time meeting but just the 20^th between the two schools in regular season SoCon play… UTC is 13-7 all-time in those meetings.
 
COACH
Dan Earl (Penn State '97), 2^nd Season
Record: 38-27 (2^nd at UTC) | 111-166 (9^th Overall)
Home: 73-55 | Away: 30-100 | Neutral: 8-11
SoCon: 19-16 (2^nd at UTC) | 53-104 (9^th Overall) | H: 33-45, A: 20-59
vs. Mercer: 8-10 | Home: 5-3 | Away: 3-6 | Neutral: 0-1 
 
INDIVIDUAL
- Honor Huff recorded his fifth-straight 20+ scoring effort with 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting… went 3-of-10 from deep… became the fourth Moc to ever surpass 100 3PT FGs in a single season… entered with 98 (T3rd in NCAA DI)… his 531 points this season passes Jake Stephens for 23^rd most in program history… five-straight with 20+ is longest since Malachi's six-straight from January 5-22, 2022.
 
- Sam Alexis recorded a career-high 17 rebounds (seven offensive) and picked up his eighth double-double this season with 13 points… he ties UTC's single season and career record of 15+ rebound games (DI era only since 1977-78) with four… Clifford Morgan (1984-85) and Nicchaeus Doaks (2006-09) are the only other two Mocs with four… finished with two blocks to reach 81 in his career and 62 on the season… 62 is 7^th most in program history.
 
- Jan Zidek scored a game-high 24 points in 25 minutes off the bench… went 8-of-11 from the floor (2-of-5 3PT)… knocked down all six FT attempts… surpasses 1,200 career points.