The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team completed a season series sweep Wednesday night to push its winning streak to four games.
Some shooting success from long range and balanced scoring from its primary players helped UTC beat Wofford 71-60 in the Southern Conference matchup at McKenzie Arena, three weeks after the Mocs came out on top of the Terriers 75-67 in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
In the rematch in Chattanooga, the Mocs (17-4, 7-1) shot 11-for-25 (44%) from 3-point range, and Malachi Smith led their scoring with 18 points, adding seven rebounds and three assists two days after it was announced he had been named the SoCon player of the week for the fourth time this season. Smith is the first UTC player to do so – Casey Jones did it three times in 2014-15 – and the first player for any team to win the SoCon honor four times in a season since Davidson’s Stephen Curry in 2008-09, according to a Mocs release.
David Jean-Baptiste added 13 points, while Darius Banks chipped in 12. A.J. Caldwell filled up the stat sheet for UTC by chipping in eight points, six rebounds and five assists with no turnovers. Silvio De Sousa finished with eight points despite spending most of the second half in foul trouble.
The Mocs also got solid play from reserve post players Josh Ayeni (four points, two rebounds, two assists in 10 minutes) and Avery Diggs (three points, two rebounds in six minutes).
UTC limited the Terriers (12-9, 4-5) to 27% shooting from 3-point range, only their fourth game this season shooting less than 30% from behind the arc. Wofford’s 34% shooting from the field was its worst performance of the season.
“It was a physical game,” UTC coach Lamont Paris said. “It was one of the few times (this season) it was physical, and I felt like it was just going to be a physical game. I was happy with the guys, how they competed and how they played, and obviously beating a good team is always a plus.”
The Mocs are on the road for their next two games, facing The Citadel at 1 p.m. Saturday in Charleston, South Carolina, and Samford next Wednesday in Birmingham, Alabama. Their next home game is Feb. 5 against Mercer.
Compiled by Gene Henley. Contact him at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.