Western Carolina knew the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team's biggest weakness.
And Thursday night, the Catamounts did everything they could to exploit it.
Led by 27 points and eight rebounds from Mike Amius, they pounded the paint for 44 points while leading for more than 35 minutes at McKenzie Arena. In the process, they handed the Mocs their third consecutive loss, 75-63, as UTC fell to to 0-2 in Southern Conference play.
The Mocs (6-9) host East Tennessee State in the second game of a three-game homestand at 5 p.m. Saturday. It will also be the second game of a doubleheader that day, with the women hosting Western Carolina at 2.
The Western Carolina men (6-8, 2-0) had 21 second-chance points on 17 offensive rebounds while also taking advantage of 15 UTC turnovers and turning them into 19 points.
"I thought we had an advantage with Mike at the basket, but games are funny," Western Carolina coach Larry Hunter said. "It worked out well for us there. I knew we would get a good shot early because they were coming off a loss, and with the tradition and pride in the program, but we were fortunate to get back in it early and got the lead.
"They made a run at us in the second half, which a good program is going to do. We were fortunate to get a good road win; rebounding was key, Mike was key and our bench was good."
The Catamounts finished with 18 points off the bench, compared to three for UTC - two free throws made by Jonathan Bryant and one by David Jean-Baptiste.
Makinde London led the Mocs with 22 points on 9-for-16 shooting. He also had eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. Rodney Chatman had 16 points to go along with six assists, while Nat Dixon had 11 points and was 3-for-7 from 3-point range, but the Mocs were outrebounded 43-24.
The Mocs shot 46 percent from the field, but 30 of their 50 shots were 3-pointers. It was the second consecutive game in which 60 percent of the Mocs' shots came from 3-point range.
"I don't think they played in a manner where 60 percent of our shots should have been 3s," UTC coach Lamont Paris said. "There were still times we settled for a 3 when we could have created something else for somebody else. There were some 3s that were available, but there were some that were too quick and some that were too contested."
The Mocs jumped out in front early, taking a 9-2 lead. They led 10-5 after a Joshua Phillips free throw, but the Catamounts responded with a 16-0 run to build a double-digit lead. They led 42-28 at halftime, with 26 of their points coming in the paint, 14 off turnovers and 13 on second chances.
London scored 13 of his points in the second half, with back-to-back layups cutting the lead to 63-54 with 4:46 remaining.
A 3-pointer by Chatman made it 67-60 with 1:05 remaining, but the Catamounts responded with six straight points and UTC didn't score again until Chatman's second 3-pointer of the game with 16 seconds to play.
"You just have to tip your hat to Western Carolina," London said. "They came in aggressive, they came in prepared to go to war, so I think that's what we have to do mentally. A lot of our success will depend on how well we focus on things. We have to make sure we're finishing plays. A lot of times we're guarding for 15 to 25 seconds, but then we allow a second-chance opportunity.
"That really hurt us tonight."
Deriece Parks had 10 points for the Catamounts, while Desmond Johnson had nine and both Marc Gosselin and Devin Peterson finished with eight.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.