The Chattanooga Mocs struggled on the offensive end in a 73-54 loss at South Alabama in day one of the Goldie & Herman Ungar Classic. A key stretch to end the first half doomed the Mocs chances.

The Jaguars closed the first half strong. Up six, 23-17, after Justin Brown’s basket around the basket at the end of the shot clock, the hosts went on a spurt. They out-score the Mocs 14-5 over the final 3:56 to take a 15-point advantage, 37-22, into the locker room.

USA’s lead reached its zenith at 22, 50-28, with 16:19 to play on a Trhae Mitchell three. The Mocs did not quit.

Donovann Toatley and Kevin Easley combined on an 8-1 spurt over four-plus minutes to shave the margin to 13, 51-36. Maurice Commander made it a 12-point affair, 58-46, on a 3pt in front of his squad’s bench with 8:28 remaining.

But that’s as close as it would get. The Jaguars held the Mocs without a field goal over the next six minutes. When Commander made his layup with 2:28 to go, it was a 17-point margin 69-52 before finishing at 73-54.

Easley led Chattanooga with 19 points and five rebounds. Toatley chipped in 11 with six boards and two steals. Josh Ajayi led all scorers with 23 points to go with 12 rebounds. Herb McGee added 16 points and eight boards.

The Mocs endured a difficult shooting night. They made 29.8 percent (17-57) from the floor and just one of 16 3pt attempts.

“We didn’t play well, really on either end of the floor,” Coach Lamont Paris shared. “Particularly offensively…we didn’t shoot well. More indicative of that is we didn’t move well on offense which meant there were more contested shots.”

The Mocs get to turn it around quickly. They square off Saturday vs. Southeast Missouri at 4:05 p.m. (EST). SEMO defeated Jacksonville in the first game today.