The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team went on an 18-2 second-half run to assume control of Wednesday's game against Middle Tennessee State, pulling away for a 77-65 win over the Blue Raiders at McKenzie Arena.
The Mocs finish the non-conference part of their schedule at 10-3, and begin Southern Conference play on Dec. 30 against East Tennessee State, which beat Georgia Wednesday.
David Jean-Baptiste led the way offensively for the Mocs with 24 points with six made 3-pointers, while Malachi Smith had 21 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. A.J. Caldwell finished with 11 points and three assists.
The Mocs drew even with the Blue Raiders (9-4) on three occasions in the first half, but trailed for over 18 minutes of it. They kept hanging around until Jamaal Walker's 3-pointer from the left wing with 7:54 remaining gave them a 54-51 advantage. A few minutes later, Jean-Baptiste hit his final 3 as the shot clock buzzer sounded to put the Mocs up 12, and the lead would grow to as many as 17 before the finish.
"I thought it was a great response in the second half," UTC head coach Lamont Paris said. "We were running in mud a little bit in the first half, we just couldn't get it clicking and put it all together. Then there was a point in the second half where we talked to our guys about taking the lead, and then once we did not looking back and that's what we did once we took the lead."
The Mocs outscored MTSU 46-31 in the second half, shooting 56% from the field, knocking down 5 of 8 3-pointers and making 13 of 14 second-half free throws. Defensively, the home team held the Blue Raiders to 39% shooting, with just two makes on 13 second-half 3-point tries. The Mocs also held a 20-9 rebounding edge in the final half.
Wednesday's win gave the Mocs 10 non-conference wins for the first time since the 2015-16 season, the last time the program won the SoCon and advanced to the NCAA tournament.
Compiled by Gene Henley. Contact him at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.