Box Score | Notes/Quotes

CHATTANOOGA (February 26, 2026) – The Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team saw yet another late-game rally fall short on its home floor following an 85-80 defeat to UNCG during late-season Southern Conference action on Thursday night inside McKenzie Arena.
 
Following the loss, Chattanooga drops to 12-18 overall and 6-11 inside SoCon play with the regular season finale against VMI set for Saturday. UNCG improves to 13-17 overall and ups its league record to 9-8 after the victory.
 
The contest marked Chattanooga's 800^th Southern Conference regular season game since joining the league and Division I ranks in 1977-78. The loss also dropped UTC's home record to 6-8 this season, solidifying a sub-.500 home season for the first time in 44 seasons playing inside UTC/McKenzie Arena.

Quick Records
Chattanooga: 12-18, 6-11 SoCon
UNCG: 13-17, 9-8 SoCon

Series History
Meeting: 60th | UNCG leads 31-29 (H: 15-13; A: 13-15; N: 1-3)
*UNCG leads 28-24 in SoCon regular season meetings

Game Breakdown

• UNCG opened the game on a 9-2 scoring run over the first three-plus minutes, featuring three buckets in the paint and a triple from KJ Younger.
• Tate Darner finished a contested layup following a Brennan Watkins defensive rebound to bring UTC within three, 15-12 (14:20), before UNCG responded with five-straight points to build a 20-12 lead with 12:47 left in the half.
• UNCG extended its advantage to nine, 33-24 (5:28), on a Donald Whitehead, Jr., three before UTC answered with six of the next seven points to close its deficit to four, 34-30 (3:56).
• Chattanooga trailed by just one, 38-37, at the break after scoring the final five points of the half, capped off by a full-court, breakaway layup from Jordan Frison.
• The Spartans put together a quick 8-2 run to open the second half, creating a 49-42 (16:39) lead and forcing the Mocs into an early timeout.
• After a Frison floater cut the UTC deficit to three, 53-50 (14:16), UNCG went on a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to amass a 13-point edge, 63-50, with 12:11 remaining in the contest.
• Teddy Washington Jr. and Billy Smith knocked down consecutive threes to pull Chattanooga within eight, 69-61, at the 8:48 mark ahead of yet another UNCG response as the guests upped their lead back to 13, 74-61, just 40 seconds later.
• With UNCG leading 81-67 (4:59), Chattanooga used a crucial 11-0 scoring run to cut the gap to one possession, 81-78, with 1:33 left.
• Brennan Warkins knocked down a pair of free throws to make it 83-80 with less than a minute left before UTC came away with a huge defensive stand, leading to an opportunity to tie the game in the waning seconds. Smith's potential game-tying three in the corner failed to fall and UNCG iced the game at the stripe, 85-80.

Notes to Know / Inside the Box Score

• Chattanooga has solidified itself as either the No. 8 or No. 9 seed ahead of next weekend's SoCon Tournament in Asheville… will play No. 8 or No. 9 The Citadel in the opening game on Friday (March 6) at 5 p.m. (ET).
• G Jordan Frison poured in a season-high 28 points on 12-17 FG (2-5 3FG; 2-3 FT)… added three assists and two boards in a team-high 35 minutes… closing in on a potential 500+ scoring season… sits with 476 with at least two games left.
• G Billy Smith notched 1,000 career points in his NCAA DI collegiate career following his fourth point of the night (entered with 996)… finished with 12 points on 4-8 FG (all 3FG)… added four rebounds… team-high +7 in 31 minutes.

Postgame Quotes
Dan Earl's opening thoughts after 85-80 loss to UNCG.
"First of all, credit to UNCG. I thought this game was going to come down to the tougher, more physical team, and they were both of those. Obviously, Neely and Younger are tough covers. They drive the ball downhill, they're physical and we allowed them to do that over and over and over again. We talked about the first four minutes, about being ready to play. Ready to play is both moving fast and into the game but also communicating doing all the little things. For whatever reason, we didn't do that in the start of either half."
 
Up Next | Schedule
Chattanooga hosts VMI on Saturday afternoon in the regular season finale inside McKenzie Arena and will celebrate 'Senior Day'. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. (ET) and tickets can be purchased at the schedule link above.

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