The Chattanooga Mocs (13-18/8-10) lost 86-60 at Appalachian State (14-15/10-8) Saturday afternoon in the Holmes Center. The Mountaineers raced out to an early lead and never looked back scoring 21 points off the fast break for the game.
Casey Jones (New Orleans, La.) was the bright spot offensively for the Mocs. He scored a season-high 16 points making seven-of-eight from the field. Ronrico White (Knoxville, Tenn.) added 10.
Jay Canty led all scorers with 27 for App State.
Nathan Healy had a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
The Mountaineers got off to a hot start from the field making 56.3 percent from the field (18-32) and three-point range (9-16) in the opening half. A 14-2 run broke open a four-point game ending with a Canty three-pointer at 11:03 for the 25-9 lead for the Mountaineers. App kept the offensive pressure on en route to a 55-30 halftime cushion.
UTC showed flashes mid-way through the second half but fell too far behind to mount a serious charge. The win clinched the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Southern Conference Championship for the Mountaineers while the Mocs were in limbo awaiting the remaining conference matchups.
A win by Samford at Western Carolina and Chattanooga is the six seed. If the Catamounts win, the Mocs drop to No. 7. It is a foggy outlook at press time as the likely first round opponent with around four teams in the mix from eight to 11.
The SoCon Championship starts Friday, March 8, with three first round games featuring seeds five through 12. The tourney wraps up Monday, March 11, at 9 p.m., on ESPN or ESPN2. The first three rounds can be watched on ESPN3.com. The bracket will be released at the completion of the regular season this evening.