Led by a strong second-half effort, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team won 88-71 at Kennesaw (Ga.) State on Saturday.
The Mocs (5-2) will play their sixth road game Tuesday at Coastal Carolina before hosting Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday.
UTC shot 59 percent from the floor, including 16-for-26 in the final 20 minutes, while limiting the Owls to 39 percent shooting. Trailing by seven rebounds at halftime, the Mocs outrebounded KSU 19-11 in the second half for a 30-29 tally.
Greg Pryor led six Mocs scoring in double figures with 21 points on 6-for-11 shooting. Tre' McLean and Johnathan Burroughs-Cook each finished with 14 points, with Justin Tuoyo contributing 13 points, eight rebounds and five steals.
Makinde London and Casey Jones had 10 points each. Jones added three rebounds and a pair of assists in his first action since an ankle injury sidelined him for the past three games.
The Mocs held a 40-37 lead at halftime and took firm control with a 13-4 run to start the second half. Their lead never dipped below double digits the rest of the way.
"Games like this are difficult a lot of times," UTC coach Matt McCall said. "This time of year you're on the road, there's a lot going on today in athletics you really have to create your own energy. I really thought we fought human nature in the game and tried to get ourselves up against a good team that is difficult to prepare for.
"That is how the game is played every night. I'd still like to have a few more assists (eight) and fewer turnovers (10), but six guys in double figures tells me we played the game the right way."
Kendrick Ray led the Owls (2-4) with 24 points. Aubrey Williams had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Jordan Jones chipped in 12 points.
"Kendrick Ray is a phenomenal player," McLean said. "He'll be one of the more talented players we'll play against this year. Give credit to Burroughs-Cook, Rod (Chatman), Greg Pryor and Nat Dixon: They did a good job making it tough on him tonight. I feel like we did a good job (as a team) of making it tough on him.
"We knew we needed to do that to come away with a win."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.