ATHENS, Ga. - Three quick takeaways from the Mocs' 92-90 win at Georgia, their first over a Southeastern Conference team since defeating Tennessee on Dec. 5, 2004:
Small lineup did wonders: Maybe UTC head coach Matt McCall lucked into something, due to all of the foul trouble the Mocs were in against the Bulldogs. Justin Tuoyo played only 18 minutes because of fouls, which caused McCall to go with a lineup that featured 6-foot-5 Casey Jones at the 4 and 6-foot-7 Chuck Ester at the 5. The Bulldogs were able to pound the Mocs inside for layups when they were able to beat UTC's pressure, but the Mocs created mismatches on the other end which led to layups and 3-pointers.
Another 3-point frenzy: Yeah, those 3s? They were falling Friday. The Mocs were 7-15 in the first half and hit 12 for the game, which does a lot to neutralize a bigger lineup like the Bulldogs typically had on the floor. The Mocs made the extra pass when they needed to and made the clutch shots when they needed to, which in the end made the difference.
Mocs weren't intimidated: Aside from a few fans behind the Mocs' bench and a small faction of fans in sections JJ and KK in Stegeman Coliseum, the crowd of 5,925 was all sporting red and black. Even as the fouls started to mount, the experienced players on the floor kept their cool, which aided in the biggest win since winning the Southern Conference tournament in 2009.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.