UTC men sprint to big lead, then repel Lipscomb's rally for road win

Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / UTC men's basketball coach Lamont Paris talks with Malachi Smith during a Nov. 23 home game against Covenant College. Smith scored 27 points Sunday as the Mocs beat Lipscomb 85-64 in Nashville.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / UTC men's basketball coach Lamont Paris talks with Malachi Smith during a Nov. 23 home game against Covenant College. Smith scored 27 points Sunday as the Mocs beat Lipscomb 85-64 in Nashville.

The two-headed monster of David Jean-Baptiste and Malachi Smith combined for 51 points, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team improved to 7-1 with an 85-64 win over Lipscomb on Sunday at Allen Arena in Nashville.

Smith totaled 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Jean-Baptiste sccored 18 of his 24 points in the second half and chipped in five steals for the Mocs, who never trailed and built a 38-18 halftime lead. Darius Banks struggled from the field (1-for-7, two points), but he had 12 rebounds and three assists in almost 33 minutes of action, during which the Mocs outscored Lipscomb 71-49.

Silvio De Sousa chipped in 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, and fellow UTC big man Avery Diggs added eight points and five rebounds in just 16 minutes.

The Bison (5-4) used a 22-6 run to start the second half, cutting UTC's lead to 44-40. KC Hankton grabbed an offensive rebound on the Mocs' next possession, then hit a 3-pointer to stretch the lead back to seven. Lipscomb cut the lead to six, but the Mocs slowly got their advantage back to double digits and pulled away.

"I told the guys at halftime that if you have a 20-point lead, you're going to play a little more conservative offensively. It's going to be your natural instinct," UTC coach Lamont Paris said. "It can set you up for having a really good half if you're mature and handle things, or it can be a really bad half because momentum gets going, but the guys did a great job composing themselves and getting themselves back together and making some plays.

"They made a couple of shots that stopped the bleeding."

The Mocs will try to complete their current road swing 3-0 when they visit UNC Asheville (5-3) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday before hosting Tennessee Wesleyan at 2 p.m. next Sunday. UTC beat UNC Asheville 75-45 on Nov. 14 at McKenzie Arena.

Compiled by Gene Henley. Contact him at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.

photo Staff photo by Troy Stolt / UTC's David Jean-Baptiste (3) drives to the basket during a Nov. 14 home game against UNC Asheville. Jean-Baptiste scored 24 points Sunday as the Mocs beat Lipscomb 85-64 in Nashville.

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