Jack Kostel, left, and Garrison Keeslar are key components as UTC opens the second half of SoCon play Saturday against Mercer
photo by Laura O’Dell/GoMocs.com
A lot has changed since the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga kicked off the start of Southern Conference play on New Year’s Day against Mercer.
The Mocs departed Macon, Ga. that afternoon knowing they had let one get away, battling back from a seven-point deficit with just over a minute remaining to force overtime, where they eventually lost by a 99-94 margin.
The recent version of Chattanooga looks markedly different than the product displayed a month ago. The Mocs committed a season-high 17 turnovers leading to 25 Mercer points, and the Bears canned 10 of their 15 made 3-point baskets in the first half while shooting 50% behind the arc on the day.
To make matters worse, UTC was whistled for 19 fouls compared to only nine for Mercer, leading to a glaring disparity on free throws where the Bears attempted 27 while the Mocs were perfect on only six tries.
Since that opening loss, Chattanooga has won six of eight with the two losses coming to SoCon co-leaders Samford and UNC Greensboro by a combined seven points. UTC (14-8 overall, 6-3 in conference) is hoping to continue its run of success and atone for the earlier loss to Mercer on Saturday at 2 p.m. when the teams open the second half of league play at McKenzie Arena.
Saturday's game promotion features a special Scrappy Bobblehead giveaway for the first 1,000 fans courtesy of Great Clips.
In January, Bears’ guards Tyler Johnson scored 26 and Ahmad Robinson 25 as Mercer had four scorers in double figures that accounted for 82 points. Robinson enters Saturday’s contest scoring 17.5 points per game, followed by Johnson’s 15.7 average.
UTC led by eight in the opening period before the Bears’ 20-7 run leading into intermission gave them a 42-37 lead at the half. Chattanooga was able to regain the lead and held a six-point advantage with 6:42 left, then staged the furious late comeback to require overtime.
Chattanooga never led in overtime as Champion scored all nine UTC points in the extra period, finishing with a season-high 24. Bash Wieland added 19, and Trey Bonham and Jack Kostel both tallied 11.
The game served as a wake-up call for the Mocs on both ends of the floor. UTC has turned up the intensity on the defensive side since then, limiting opponents to only 35% shooting from long range while becoming more balanced offensively leading to an average of 18 free throw attempts per outing.
Meanwhile, Mercer (11-11, 4-5 SoCon) has been a hard team to figure out under former UT-Martin coach Ryan Ridder in his first year with the Bears. They picked up a road win at VMI after defeating UTC to start 2-0 in league play, but then dropped four straight.
Three defeats by a total of six points – home losses by two ETSU and by a single point against Samford plus a 3-point loss at Western Carolina -preceded a 25-point humbling at Wofford.
Mercer then responded with a one-point victory at UNCG before falling at Furman by 79-74. The Bears closed the first half of the season with a 34-point home win over winless The Citadel on Wednesday.
Chattanooga enters the game winners of two in a row following a beatdown of Western Carolina earlier this week. The Mocs feature four scorers averaging in double digits led by Bonham and Wieland at 13.4, followed by Honor Huff at 13.3 and Champion at 10.3.
UTC leads the overall series by a 47-42 count in the 90th meeting between the schools, including seven of the last 10 encounters. The Mocs had won six straight prior to the loss in January, and hold a 13-8 advantage since Mercer joined the SoCon in 2014.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com