Late scoring run by Georgia enough to hold off Mocs

Staff file photo by Olivia Ross  / UTC's Jamal Johnson (5) led his team with 23 points, connecting on six 3-pointers, in a 72-65 loss at Georgia on Wednesday.
Staff file photo by Olivia Ross / UTC's Jamal Johnson (5) led his team with 23 points, connecting on six 3-pointers, in a 72-65 loss at Georgia on Wednesday.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team led for nearly 35 minutes of game time Wednesday at Georgia, but a late 16-3 run by the Bulldogs was the difference in a 72-65 win at Stegeman Coliseum.

It was UTC's second consecutive narrow loss after a six-game win streak.

The Mocs finish non-conference play with an 8-5 record and get started against Southern Conference competition with three consecutive road games, beginning with a trip to The Citadel on Dec. 29 at 7 p.m.

"That might be as disappointed as I've been during this non-conference season because I thought the game was for the taking at different points in the game, and unfortunately, we didn't play with the requisite toughness," Mocs head coach Dan Earl said. "We got a couple open shots down the stretch that we missed and I guess that's part of it, but we didn't handle the double teams well and just didn't make enough plays.

"We have to figure out how to be tougher if we're going to beat a Southeastern Conference opponent."

The Mocs led by as many as eight in the second half, building a 46-38 lead after a Dalvin White 3-pointer, one of 14 the Mocs hit in the game on 39 attempts. But for the second straight game free throws hurt the team down the stretch as they missed six of 15 attempts while Georgia connected on 20 of 25.

Jamal Johnson led the Mocs with 23 points, connecting on six 3-pointers. White and Jake Stephens finished with 10 each, with Stephens adding eight rebounds and four assists and White adding four assists. A.J. Caldwell had seven rebounds.

"We started off the game really well," Johnson said. "We had a good first half and they came back, made a few runs, then in the second half we just didn't make the necessary plays down the stretch to win the game.

"We fought hard against a good team."

  photo  Staff file photo by Olivia Ross / UTC's Jamal Johnson (5) led his team with 23 points, connecting on six 3-pointers, in a 72-65 loss at Georgia on Wednesday.
 
 

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