The Chattanooga Mocs night started slowly in the Southern Conference Championships, but it certainly ended well in an 89-79 triumph over Samford. Makinde London led four in double figures with a special stat line.
London tied career highs for points (25), assists (4), blocks (2) and steals (3) while collecting 15 rebounds, 13 coming on the defensive end. He was joined in double digits by David Jean-Baptiste and Rodney Chatman with 18 apiece, and Makale Foreman with 14.
Demetrius Denzel-Dyson paced the Bulldogs with 20.
Justin Coleman added 19 points and a school-record 15 assists, while Eric Adams chipped in 14 points, 10 boards and four blocks.
The Bulldogs jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first two-plus minutes of the contest. A quick timeout from Coach Lamont Paris settled the situation. It was a six-point deficit, 30-24, when the Mocs made a run.
Makale Foreman capped an 8-0 spurt with a triple at 3:14 to give UTC its first lead, 32-30. Denzel-Dyson answered with a three of his own, but the Mocs closed the half on a 7-2 run for a 39-35 halftime advantage.
Chattanooga got the quick start out of intermission jumping out to an eight-point lead, 45-37, on a three from Nat Dixon. The Bulldogs cut the lead to a single possession eight times before Kevion Nolan’s layup with 7:19 to play put Samford back on top 66-65.
The Mocs would not be denied this night. Jean-Baptiste’s strong take on a three-on-one fast break gave them the lead for good with 6:13 to go. It was still a two-point game, 81-79, as Triston Chambers nailed a three for Samford at 2:02. Jean-Baptiste answered with a three and the Mocs hit their free throws for the win.
"We had more guys play well at the same time, than we have all season," Paris shared. "It was great to see. We had a bunch of guys made enough shots. Some guys make A LOT of shots. We made plenty of plays. It's an indication you can win. I know this team is good enough to win when we play and compete like that."
The Mocs move on to face No. 2 seed ETSU Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. The game broadcasts on ESPN3 with Pete Yanity, Dean Keener and Stormy Buonantony on the call.