Box Score - Notes/Quotes

CHATTANOOGA (January 21, 2026) – After both teams exchanged lead-altering free throws during the final 10 seconds of play, the Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team ultimately suffered a heartbreaking 67-66 home loss to rival ETSU during Southern Conference action on Wednesday in front of an electric 4,611 fans inside McKenzie Arena.
 
Following the loss, Chattanooga (9-11, 3-4 SoCon) saw its three-game win streak snapped and suffers just its second loss to the Bucs over the past seven meetings. ETSU (14-6, 6-1 SoCon) remains atop the league standings after its first victory inside the Roundhouse since 2023.
 
Jordan Frison capped off seven unanswered points over the final minute-plus of play with a pair of free throws, giving Chattanooga a 66-65 lead with just under 10 seconds to go. ETSU's Blake Barkley responded on the other end by drawing contact and nailing a pair of freebies with less than four seconds to give the Bucs its 67-66 victory.
 
Full game details, notes, quotes and more are below.

Quick Records
Chattanooga: 9-11, 3-4 SoCon
ETSU: 14-6, 6-1 SoCon

Series History
Meeting: 104th | UTC leads 56-48 (H: 29-14; A: 20-25; N: 7-9)
*UTC now leads 42-27 in SoCon regular season meetings
 
Dan Earl, Head Coach
Overall (11th): 150-188
at Chattanooga (4th): 77-49, 37-24 SoCon
vs. ETSU: 5-15 (H: 2-7; A: 3-7; N: 0-1)

Game Breakdown
In true rivalry fashion, Chattanooga and ETSU spent the early minutes locked in a defensive battle as the visiting Bucs held a slight 14-11 lead more than halfway through the opening frame. ETSU opened a six-point lead, 20-14 (6:03), after holding the Mocs scoreless for nearly a four-minute span.
 
Brennan Watkins knocked down an open three to trim the UTC deficit to three, 25-22 (2:34), before ETSU's Maki Johnson immediately answered with a triple of his own to extend the advantage to eight, 28-22 (1:42). Chattanooga took a 30-29 halftime lead after closing the half on an 8-1 run as Jordan Frison capped the spurt off with a running three at the buzzer.
 
Frison continued his scoring efforts in the early stages of the second half with five quick points to put UTC ahead 42-40 at the 15:45 mark. ETSU responded with eight unanswered points over the next three-plus minutes to regain a six-point lead, 48-42, with just over 12 minutes to play.
 
McKenzie Arena came to life after Tate Darner drilled a go-ahead corner three that capped off six-straight points and a slight 54-53 lead with 6:40 on the board. The two teams went back-and-forth down the stretch before ETSU built a two-possession lead, 65-59, with only 1:17 remaining.
 
Chattanooga used the home crowd energy and clawed its way back during the final minute of play as Frison drew a foul, knocked down both attempts, and gave the hosts a 66-65 lead with just nine seconds left. Ultimately, it was ETSU's turn to draw contact and convert at the free-throw line during crunch time as Blake Barkley hit a pair of freebies with less than four seconds left to hand the Mocs a heartbreaking 67-66 defeat.

Inside the Box Score
· F Josh Bowman was held scoreless in 25 minutes of play (0-of-2 FG) but stuffed the stat sheet with an impactful five rebounds, four blocks, two assists and two steals… the four blocks ties the program's single-game freshman record previously set twice… last was Sam Alexis on December 10, 2023 against Johnson (TN).
 
· G Brennan Watkins surpassed 750 career points after finishing with a team-high 19 points on 6-of-8 FG shooting… went 5-of-7 from 3FG… added two assists to hit the 200 mark for his career… also posted four boards.
 
· Chattanooga finished with a season-high 14 turnovers… ETSU took advantage with an 18-12 edge in points stemming from miscues… the Mocs recorded just 13 assists… first negative A/TO ratio in a game this season.

3 Notes to Know
· Announced attendance of 4,611 tonight inside McKenzie Arena… largest home crowd since 8,910 during education day against Covenant on November 23, 2021… largest home crowd against a SoCon opponent since 4,778 against VMI on January 27, 2018.
 
· Chattanooga suffered a -7 (38-31) disadvantage in the rebounding category during the loss… outrebounded 13-6 on the offensive glass… outscored 18-3 by ETSU in second-chance points… all 11 losses this season (now 3-11) have occurred when being outrebounded.
 
· Chattanooga was outscored 46-24 in paint points during the loss to ETSU… the 46 paint points matches the most allowed this season (46, @UNLV)… UTC did earn a 16-12 edge in fast-break points… third-straight game scoring more off the break than its opponent.

Postgame Quotes
Dan Earl's opening thoughts after tough 67-66 loss to ETSU.
"I thought it was a hard-fought game by both teams. Credit to ETSU, they made enough plays when they had to, but I thought we battled. You can't have an 18-3 deficit on second chance points. We changed the lineup a little bit, had two bigs in there sometimes, and that helped us a little bit. But I thought ETSU made one more play. There were a couple of plays defensively late game in particular and just crushed us on the boards with second chance points."

Up Next | Schedule
Chattanooga gets set for another nationally televised SoCon showdown with a Saturday night primetime matchup on the road at Samford in Birmingham, Ala. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. (ET) / 7 p.m. (CT) on ESPNU.

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