Chattanooga native Jamaal Walker led the Chattanooga Mocs with 16 points in a SoCon Tournament defeat in Asheville
photo by Derek Daniel
They say all good things must come to an end. The Chattanooga Mocs fell 63-53 to ETSU today in Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville. It’s a tough finish for a program that overcame a season’s worth of change considering it did not field the same lineup in more than five straight games.
This one got off to a great start leading by as much as 11-2 before the Bucs stormed back to take a 23-21 lead into the break. It was 27-all when a quick 10-0 spurt made it look like a runaway early in the second half.
The Mocs clawed back cutting the lead to one, 48-47, on Jamaal Walker’s three with 4:15 to go.
Damari Monsanto answered with a three of his own and after back-to-back David Sloan baskets, the deficit was eight again with just over a minute to go. Those scores sandwiched this Walker finish in traffic.
Walker scored yet again in the paint with 44 seconds to go to make it a six-point affair. After a turnover, the ball moved around enough to get Walker open for three in the corner. It just rimmed out. The Mocs got a second chance on the offensive boards, but David Jean-Baptiste’s three was also off the mark as the Chattanooga chances ticked away.
Walker led the way with 16 points. Stefan Kenic added 11 to the cause with A.J. Caldwell grabbing a team-best eight rebounds. Monsanto registered 18 points and 10 rebounds with another 17 coming from Sloan.
Barring a postseason invitation, the Mocs season ends. It was the 33rd time in the last 51 years, along with six of the past eight, the program won 18 or more games.