Mocs Matchup: UTC men go for sweep of Mercer

Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / The Citadel guard Tyson Batiste (13) fouls UTC counterpart Trey Doomes as he drives to the basket on Jan. 22 at McKenzie Arena.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / The Citadel guard Tyson Batiste (13) fouls UTC counterpart Trey Doomes as he drives to the basket on Jan. 22 at McKenzie Arena.

UTC (17-11, 8-7 SoCon) vs. MERCER (14-14, 8-7)

4:30 p.m. Saturday at McKenzie Arena

Video & radio: ESPN3 & 97.7 FM/1070 AM

Storyline: Who knew at the time that the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's 70-61 win at Mercer in early January would be one of the biggest favors they could do for themselves? To complete the regular-season series sweep of the Bears, the Mocs need to execute a game plan similar to the one from that afternoon: limit turnovers, harass the Mercer guards and hit the boards hard. Those have been strong aspects of play for UTC in recent wins; not so strong in losses to Furman, East Tennessee State and Western Carolina. Matt Ryan is playing his best ball of the season, coming off a 27-point, nine-rebound game in Wednesday's 91-68 win at The Citadel. He'll need another strong performance to offset Mercer's Djordje Dimitrijevic, who has averaged 17 points per game this season and can go off for much more on any given night, as he did during the Bears' six-game winning streak from mid-January to early February. Also able to light it up outside for the Bears are Ethan Stair (15 points per game) and Jeff Gary, who is coming off a 32-point performance in Wednesday's 106-66 win against Samford. If the Mocs need a defensive stopper or help on the boards, look for coach Lamont Paris to get sophomore Trey Doomes in early. The West Virginia transfer put up eight points and hauled in eight rebounds in just 17 minutes at The Citadel.

What's at stake? A win wouldn't be enough to guarantee UTC a top-six seed in the Southern Conference tournament, but it would, at worst, put the Mocs in the driver's seat for such a position with the next game on their schedule a very winnable one. A UTC win Saturday coupled with a Furman win over Wofford would likely put the Mocs in a tie for fourth place.

Up next: The Mocs are at Virginia Military Institute at 7 p.m. Wednesday, then close the regular season by hosting UNC Greensboro at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 29.

Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.

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