Makinde London, Rodney Chatman lead Mocs to 94-46 rout of Hiwassee [photos]

UTC forward Makinde London (22) works a against Hiwassee forward Tevin Henry (33) and shooting guard Jay Johnson (3) at McKenzie Arena on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
UTC forward Makinde London (22) works a against Hiwassee forward Tevin Henry (33) and shooting guard Jay Johnson (3) at McKenzie Arena on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017 in Chattanooga, Tenn.

For the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team to reach its peak success, point guard Rodney Chatman and forward Makinde London will have to play big roles.

They did that Thursday in a 94-46 defeat of NCCAA member Hiwassee.

The Mocs assumed control of the game with a 22-4 first-half run at McKenzie Arena. They held a 19-point lead at halftime and only expanded on that in the second half.

London finished with a career-high 20 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks, while Chatman had 15 points and five rebounds. Nat Dixon added 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds as UTC registered its first win of the season and the first of the Lamont Paris coaching era.

London and Chatman had combined for nine points on 4-for-19 shooting in a lopsided loss at The University of Alabama at Birmingham on Monday, so their improved performances were a welcome sign for the Mocs.

UTC made 14 3-pointers and had 22 assists on 31 made baskets.

"It was just a matter of being confident in ourselves, stepping into the shots and knocking them down," Chatman said. "We know we all can shoot. We trust each other, but tonight was good. Hitting 14 3s, we gained a lot of confidence and know we can do it."

While pleased with the shooting, Paris was equally happy about holding the Tigers to 33 percent shooting, while pointing out plays such as freshman guard Jonathan Bryant "guarding the ball screen the way we asked him to do it."

"Defensively we were locked in and really committed for the majority of the game," Paris said. "We were committed to following our rules and our defensive schemes; a couple of times we got outside of that, but we reeled each other in. We encouraged some tough shots, and we saw how it all fits together when we stay committed to those things."

All 12 active Mocs got in the game, with nine scoring. Freshman Duane Moss made all three of his 3-point attempts and finished with nine points, matching junior Dylan Brewster - getting his first action of the season after offseason knee surgery - and Bryant in that category. Freshman James Lewis had eight points, six rebounds and a pair of steals.

David Jean-Baptiste also had nine points while adding six assists, while Makale Foreman had a team-high seven assists to go along with five points.

"We take it day by day, and we had another opportunity today," London said. "We've practiced against each other since the summer, so tonight we got to see another team, regardless of who it is. They had a different jersey and we wanted to go compete. Any time we lace them up and play anybody different, we want to compete and we got to do that - it was at ground zero again.

"Every day is a new day. We're coming in and trying to be better than we were yesterday. It was good to get the 'W,' but we just know it's a lot more games left in the year, so we don't get too high and try not to get too low on any loss or win, and keep on attacking every day to try to get better."

Tevin Henry finished with eight points to lead the Tigers (6-3). Former Ooltewah standout Ben Snider had seven, while Jay Johnson, who prepped at McMinn County, had three rebounds and Hixson product Justice Alameda had a rebound and an assist in five minutes.

Contact Gene Henley at ghen ley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.

Upcoming Events