NOTES | QUOTES | PHOTOS
CHATTANOOGA (Nov. 26, 2023) – The Chattanooga Mocs men’s basketball team rebounded from its first defeat of the season with a dominating defensive effort, earning a wire-to-wire 72-56 victory over SEMO on the final day of the Coke Zero Sugar Classic on Sunday afternoon inside McKenzie Arena.
Chattanooga improves to 5-1 on the season and notches its first win over the Redhawks in the three all-time meetings. SEMO drops to 1-5 this year following the defeat.
The Mocs showcased a hounding defensive effort and limited SEMO to a 19-of-58 (32.8%) shooting mark from the field, the lowest percentage allowed to a DI non-conference opponent since November 14, 2021 (UNC Asheville). The 56 points allowed were the least to a non-conference opponent since 54 against Illinois in the NCAA Tournament back in March of 2022.
“In previous games, we’ve been kind of passive on defense – not using our arms and hands and being active on defense. I thought we did a much better job at that today,” said head coach Dan Earl following the victory.
“So, it was a very good game defensively; still a lot to learn offensively. We’re not a finished product, but we did enough to get the win.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Chattanooga raced out to a 12-0 lead at the 15:20 mark as the sophomore duo of Honor Huff and Sam Alexis combined for 11 of the 12 points in the early going. The scoring slowed down over the next few minutes as SEMO worked it back to four, 14-10, before UTC answered with six quick ones to make it 20-10 (10:01).
Huff hit his third three in as many tries to extend Chattanooga’s lead to 25-11 (7:56) before the hosts continued to lead 27-16 at the under four media (3:52) before halftime. The Mocs finished the opening half allowing just a 26.7% (8-of-30) field-goal percentage to SEMO while carrying a 35-25 advantage into the break.
Alexis knocked down his second three of the game early in the second half to push the edge to 40-27 (18:01) before SEMO pulled back within single digits, 42-33, on an Adam Larson three with 15:55 left in the game. The Redhawks continued to charge back with a 5-of-9 (3-of-3 3PT) second half start from the floor, cutting their deficit to seven, 47-40 (13:24).
Chattanooga locked down defensively and went on an 11-2 scoring run over the next seven-plus minutes, holding the Redhawks scoreless for more than five of those minutes, helping build a 58-42 lead with 7:09 on the board. UTC continued to suffocate the SEMO offense and rolled its way to the eventual 72-56 final tally.
RECORDS/SERIES – Chattanooga 5-1 · SEMO 1-5 · Series: UTC earned its first win in the series as SEMO now leads the all-time series 2-1.
THREE KEY NOTES | MORE
1. Another dominating effort on the glass for UTC… earned a 43-29 (+14) edge in the rebounding category… fourth time in first six games of the season with a +11 margin or better… first time since start of 2012-13 season with 10+ margin in a four-of-six game stretch.
2. UTC limited SEMO to just a 32.8% (19-of-58) mark from the field… 29.2% (7-of-24) from deep… lowest FG% and 3PT FG% mark allowed to DI opponent this season… lowest FG% allowed to DI non-conference opponent since UNC Asheville on November 14, 2021.
3. Jan Zidek added 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field… went 7-of-10 from the FT line… grabbed five rebounds and recorded two assists and a block… career-point total is closing in on 1,000… currently at 957.
QUOTABLE | MORE
HC Dan Earl on Sean Cusano’s development & debut today.
“I was just proud of him, he checked into his first Division I basketball game. He probably had [some] nerves there. You want to play and then you check in and go, ‘Whoa, this thing’s moving fast.’ He stuck his nose in. You could see, they were trying to post him right away, but he did a really good job of getting his hands on the ball and he played really good post defense. That might come quicker than the offensive end, but he’s a real cerebral player. He’s smart and doesn’t try to do too much, so we’re looking forward to trying to get him some more minutes as we roll forward.”
F Jan Zidek on playing with Sam Alexis.
“As the season goes along, we’ll get more games and more experience, and we’ll get better at playing together. Having that size, with me and him both on the court, helps our team a lot. Sam’s been doing a great job for us this season; [he’s been] amazing on the boards and scoring the basketball as well as being a good defensive player.”
NEXT UP – at Lipscomb – Wednesday, Nov. 29 – 12:00 p.m. ET – Nashville, Tenn. (Allen Arena) – ESPN+
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