The UTC Mocs concluded their three-game road swing on Wednesday night at UNC Ashville with a win 78-73 over the Bulldogs.
Chattanooga was paced by their incredibly talented sophomore guard Malachi Smith with 28 points and also led the team in rebounds with eight. Smith had to pick up the slack as his equally talented backcourt mate David Jean-Baptiste struggled shooting (1-13 FG, 0-8 3pt) as he netted only two points.
For Ashville, they were led by Tajion Jones with 22 points but it was really a group effort as two other Bulldog starters scored in double figures.
The Mocs enjoyed a 12 point lead with seven minutes to go in the second half but that quickly evaporated just a few minutes later when Jones knocked down his sixth three of the evening to give UNCA a one-point lead with 3:44 remaining. However, Malachi Smith to the rescue as he converted on a driving layup on the very next possession giving UTC the lead back and they wouldn’t relinquish it.
Chattanooga also got a couple of nice contributions off the bench from center Avery Diggs with 11 points and four rebounds and A.J. Caldwell finally had his breakout game of the season with 15 points on 5-5 from three-point range.
With the win, UTC improves to 8-1 on the season and they’ll return home Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. to take on Tennessee Wesleyan.
Via Jim Horton of GoMocs.com:
3 Notes to Know
– 11 straight non-conference road wins…last road loss was Dec. 11, 2019 at Virginia Tech (58-63)…16-4 in last 20 road contests including league play.
– 19-1 in last 20 non-conference games.
– Start 8-1 for the 5th time: 1927 (8-1), 1973-74 (17-1), 1974-75 (10-1) and 1983-84 (12-1)…only better start is last season’s 9-0.
For all of my inner sports thoughts and to keep up with everything I’m doing around the Chattanooga area follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Comments