Wednesday night inside McKenzie Arena, UTC used its staple – strong defense - and gained solid play in a four-guard set to beat The Citadel, 83-73, and improve to 13-4 overall and 4-1 in the Southern Conference. The Citadel is 9-10 overall and 2-4 in the SoCon.
“I am proud of our defense tonight (six steals and the visiting Bulldogs committed 19 turnovers) and (guard) Johnathan Burrows-Cook played great as his speed changes the game as he can get in the lane,” said UTC coach Matt McCall.
Five Guards: The five Mocs guards accounted for 39 of the 83 points, eight steals and four assists, led by Cook (20 points, 4 rebounds) followed by Greg Pryor (9 pts., 3 rebs, 4 steals), Rodney Chatman (2 pts, 1 assists, 1 steal), Nat Dixon (5 pts, 1 steal, 1 assist) and Makale Foreman (3 pts., 1 steal).
Good Defense: The Mocs held the nation’s top scoring team to 24 points under its average (Bulldogs entered the game averaging 97.2 ppg), scored 19 points off the visitors 19 turnovers and also led in second chance points, 19-8.
Hit The Road and then Home: The Mocs are at Mercer Saturday at 2 p.m. (the UTC women are at home at 2 p.m. vs ETSU) and back home Saturday Jan, 21 for men's and women's doubleheader
“We can’t play casual against The Citadel as we had six turnovers in the first seven minutes, but only seven in the final 33,” said McCall. "Maybe we got consumed with ourselves (over winning).
“But I am proud that we held them in the 70s which is a great accomplishment and they made only eight 3-pointers (averaged 12 before tonight).”
Early Bulldog Lead: While the Mocs had those early turnovers, the visitors built at 19-12 lead at the 13:17 mark on a jumper by Warren Sledge, but four minutes later the Moc had pulled even at 24-24 on a 3-pointer by Foreman, his only points of the night.
The Mocs led by eight at half, 36-28, and had its largest lead at 17 (81-64) on a Cook basket at 2:32.
The Citadel was led by Zane Najdawi with 15 points and five boards, followed by Frankie Johnson with 13 points, three assists and two boards.
UTC was led by Justin Tuoyo with a 13 points-13 boards double-double (his fourth double-double of the season) along with three assists and four blocks. The senior from Fayetteville, Ga. tied his career best with the 13 boards.
Matt McCall on Being Ready: We have to be mentally and physically prepared each night for every team to give us their best game. We have to be ready, every single day and every single game.
Key Stat: All 13 wins this season are by double digits
UTC 83, The Citadel 73
The Citadel 38 – 5 - - 73
UTC 46 – 37 – 83
UTC (13-4, 4-1) The Citadel (9-10, 2-4)
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net