CHATTANOOGA (January 7, 2026) – Shorthanded due to injuries yet again, the Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team suffered a lengthy first-half scoring drought before ultimately falling 78-67 to Furman during Southern Conference action inside McKenzie Arena on Wednesday night in front of a nationally televised audience on CBS Sports Network.
 
Following the defeat, Chattanooga drops to 6-10 overall and begins Southern Conference play 0-3 for just the fifth time in 49 seasons and for the first time since the 2017-18 season. Furman posted its first double-digit win inside the Roundhouse since 2019 and improved to 11-5 overall and 2-1 inside the league.
 
Chattanooga entered the contest missing key forwards Collin Mulholland (lower body) and Sebastian Hartmann (lower body) while welcoming the return of forward Latif Diouf (lower body), who returned to action for the first time since December 17. The Mocs are also looking to overcome season-ending injuries to forwards Sean Cusano and Liam Vitters.

Quick Records
Chattanooga: 6-10, 0-3 SoCon
Furman: 11-5, 2-1 SoCon

Series History
Meeting: 103rd | UTC now leads 60-43 (H: 33-13; A: 20-27; N: 7-3)
*UTC now leads 53-35 in SoCon regular season meetings
 
Dan Earl, Head Coach
Overall (11th): 147-187
at Chattanooga (4th): 74-48, 34-23 SoCon
vs. Furman: 6-17 (H: 4-7; A: 1-8; N: 1-2)

Game Breakdown
Tate Darner came out firing with a pair of early threes before Billy Smith added a triple to give Chattanooga an early 13-6 lead at the 14:38 mark of the opening half. After Furman rallied to tie things 15-15, Teddy Washington Jr. and Smith each converted contested bunnies to put UTC ahead 19-15 (11:10) and force Furman into a timeout.
 
Furman's Tom House caught fire from behind the arc over the next few minutes as back-to-back deep balls put the guests ahead 33-30 with 3:40 left in the half. The Mocs offense failed to score over the final 5:36 of the first half and surrendered a 15-0 scoring run to the Paladins, ultimately entering the break trailing by nine, 39-30.
 
The Paladins built a lead as large as 15, 48-33 (16:48), before Chattanooga answered with a strong offensive push that cut its deficit down to just seven, 56-49, with 9:12 left in the game. Jordan Frison knocked down consecutive threes to awake the Roundhouse crowd and once again cut the separation to seven, 63-56, with 6:30 on the board.
 
Furman answered every Chattanooga threat down the stretch and maintained a safe distance with a lead that never dwindled to less than nine. The Paladins eventually walked out of McKenzie Arena with a 78-67 road victory to post its first double-digit victory inside the venue since 2019.
 
Inside the Box Score
· G Jordan Frison led all scorers with a game-high 25 points on 10-20 FG (5-8 3FG) shooting… added four rebounds and two assists… second 25+ scoring effort of the year… 20+ points in five of the last seven games… the five 3FGM ties a career high (5, vs. Newman, 1/9/25).
 
· G Teddy Washington finished with 15 points on a 5-9 FG effort… went 1-2 from 3FG… 4-5 FT… chipped in with two rebounds and two steals… 75^th career game at NCAA DI level… the one 3FGM marked the 100^th of his career.

3 Notes to Know
· Chattanooga begins Southern Conference play 0-3 for just the fifth time in 49 seasons as a league member… first time since 2017-18… other years include 2008-09, 2006-07 and 1989-90.
 
· Chattanooga surrendered a 15-0 Furman scoring run to conclude the first half as the team trailed 39-30 at the break… UTC was held scoreless for 5:36 of game time during the stretch… the run ultimately ended at 17-0 with the Paladins scoring the first two of the second half… the 17-0 run marked the longest for an opponent this season.
 
· Chattanooga finished with single digit free-throw attempts for the second time in the past three games… ended just 6-of-8 (75.0%) during tonight's loss… Paladins went 15-of-20 (75.0%)… seven-straight games for the Mocs with a disadvantage in attempts from the line… -36 in FT points over the past three games.
 
Postgame Quotes
Dan Earl on dealing with roster uncertainties and injuries.
"There's some things conceptually we can try to mix up and do better, but we collectively have to follow the game plan even better, competing for all 40 minutes. So I do think it's fixable. Will we be as good as we can be if none of the guys come back? It'd probably be hard to do that, but I think it's fixable. And I think we can get better moving forward."
 
Jordan Frison on being a vocal leader for the team.
"I'm just trying to give them somebody else to hear from. You know, coach is on us a lot about playing harder and things like that. So, my message is to keep competing, keep playing hard. If we play hard, I think a lot of this stuff will take care of itself, rotations and things like that. If you're just flying around and playing as hard as you can, it'll happen. We have to learn that."
 
Up Next | Schedule
Chattanooga turns its attention toward an early key Southern Conference battle against Samford on Saturday afternoon inside McKenzie Arena. Tip-off is slated for 4:30 p.m. (ET) and will be the second leg of a doubleheader with the women's team set to tip off at 2 p.m. against Furman. Tickets can be purchased on the schedule page at the link above.

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