Chattanooga forward Casey Jones (24) blocks a shot from Kennesaw State forward Nigel Pruitt (1) at Kennesaw State University’s Convocation Center, in Kennesaw, Ga., on Saturday, Nov. 29.The good has been pretty good so far for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team. At the same time, the bad has, at times, been pretty bad.
The Mocs experienced both Saturday in their 77-69 loss at Kennesaw State University at the KSU Convocation Center. During a six-minute stretch in the first half, the visitors defended, rebounded and played like the better team. Quick outlets off rebounds and a wall around the paint slowed down the Owls’ penetration into the lane, which had been its primary advantage so far. The Mocs went on a 20-6 run, taking a two-point lead with less than a minute to go in the half.
During that span, the Owls were 2-for-9 from the field. But prior to that, UTC had suffered through a dry spell of 6:06 without a basket, which had allowed the Owls to stretch their lead to 18-6.
The second half was more of the same. Kennesaw started the half with a 12-1 run, and added a 13-1 spurt midway through the half. The Mocs had a span of 4:10 without a basket, and another 3:42. The droughts allowed the Owls to build as much as a 16-point lead, one they would not relinquish despite a late run by the Mocs that cut the lead to nine on a Chuck Ester dunk with 1:21 to go.
Yonel Brown was a catalyst and a thorn in the Mocs’ side all night, as the 5-foot-9 guard had a career-high 32 points, to go along with three assists and three steals.