LEXINGTON, Va. (January 3, 2026) – Despite a strong second-half scoring effort, the Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team failed to overcome a sizable first-half deficit during an eventual 79-71 loss at VMI during Southern Conference action on Saturday afternoon inside Cameron Hall.
 
Following the defeat, Chattanooga drops to 6-9 overall and 0-2 inside SoCon play. VMI improves to 6-9 overall and evens its early league record to 1-1 while earning its first victory in eight tries against its former head coach Dan Earl.

Quick Records
Chattanooga: 6-9, 0-2 SoCon
VMI: 6-9, 1-1 SoCon

Series History
Meeting: 71st | UTC now leads 54-17 (H: 26-5; A: 23-10; N: 5-2)
*UTC now leads 48-15 in SoCon regular season meetings
 
Dan Earl, Head Coach
Overall (11th): 147-186
at Chattanooga (4th): 74-47, 34-22 SoCon
vs. VMI: 7-1 (H: 3-0; A: 3-1; N: 1-0)

Game Breakdown
Both teams struggled to score in the early stages of the contest as a Brennan Watkins three from the top of the key made it just 15-12 in favor of the Keydets with 8:42 on the board. VMI scored a flurry of points to close the first half as the hosts grabbed a sizable 39-23 lead at the break.
 
The 16-point deficit at the break tied the largest for the team this season (41-25, @FGCU) while the 23 points over the first 20 minutes were the fewest for the program against a SoCon opponent since 23 against Samford on 2/3/2024. VMI forced seven Chattanooga turnovers in the half while holding the Mocs to a lowly 33.3% (8-of-24) shooting mark including a 22.2% (2-of-9) tally from deep.
 
Chattanooga came out of the locker room with high energy as a quick scoring spurt cut the deficit to 13, 43-30, with 16:06 remaining in the contest. VMI quickly responded with an 8-2 run over the next three minutes to extend its edge to 51-32 at the 13:09 mark.
 
UTC returned the scoring run favor with an emphatic 18-2 sprint that saw the deficit trim all the way down to three, 53-50, with 8:35 remaining in the contest. After both teams went back-and-forth over the next several minutes, Bily Smith converted a contested layup off a steal to once again cut things to three, 66-63, with just 3:07 left on the board.
 
VMI knocked down a pair of shot-clock beating threes down the stretch to help build a cushion before Smith stepped up with a huge triple to make it 74-70 with 33 seconds. The Keydets eventually closed the game out from the free-throw line to walk out with a 79-71 victory.
 
Inside the Box Score
- VMI went wire-to-wire during the win… led for 39:21/40:00 and led by as many as 19 (51-32; 2^nd 13:13)… third wire-to-wire defeat of the season for UTC.
 
- G Tate Darner scored 16 points (4-11 FG) during a season-high 31 minutes off the bench… added five rebounds, three assists and two steals… G Billy Smith led the Mocs with 17 points… most points since 18 during November 22's win over UNA.

3 Notes to Know
- Chattanooga suffered its first loss in the Dan Earl era to his former team VMI… UTC entered the day a perfect 7-0 under Earl against the Keydets… 3-0 at home, 3-0 in Lexington and 1-0 on Asheville's neutral floor during tournament play.
 
- Chattanooga trailed 39-23 at halftime… 23 points in the first half marked the fewest in an opening half since 22 in last season's opener at USC on 11/4/2024… fewest in the first half against a SoCon opponent since 23 against Samford on 2/3/2024.
 
- Chattanooga lost the rebounding battle yet again by a 39-31 (-8) count… fifth-straight game with a rebounding disadvantage… eight of the nine losses this season have come when losing the rebound count.
 
Up Next | Schedule
Chattanooga returns home for the first time since December 9 to host a nationally televised contest against SoCon foe Furman inside McKenzie Arena. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. (ET) on CBS Sports Network. Tickets can be purchased at the schedule link above.

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