Oh goody, we’ll, I have no doubt, get the benefit of Archie Manning’s wisdom for the next week or so, now that Eli and the New York football Giants won their playoff game.

I can’t wait.  I don’t know exactly what it is that raises my hackles about Archie. I have no doubt he is a fine fella, but his main claim to fame these days is that he and his wife have produced two kids who are NFL quarterbacks of some note.

And maybe that’s the thing that bothers me about Archie. He had a storied career at Ole Miss…of course a storied career at Ole Miss does not mean the same thing as say, having a storied career at Alabama, for instance. 

But in Oxford, they sang songs about him, and for whatever reason, he was instrumental in hiring both Houston Nutt and agreeing to a $6 million buyout in Nutt’s contract, so that Houston Nutt is not coaching at Ole Miss anymore, but is not worried about making his boat payment.  Nice of Archie to be part of the brain trust that agreed to all that.

Archie’s career at Ole Miss is the stuff of legend…at Ole Miss.  The teams he led did not win much of anything, nor beat Alabama, which is a milestone in that part of the world.   Archie then went on to play for the Saints, which is approximately the same as playing for Ole Miss.  The Saints have gotten better lately, but when Archie was the quarterback they were horrific.

So if it sounds like I may be hinting that Archie is clinging to Peyton and Eli’s respective or collective coat tails, I can see why you might think that, but I could not possibly comment.

Both Eli and, of course, Peyton were great college players, although neither of them won much of anything.  Peyton won more games at Tennessee than either Eli or Archie did at Ole Miss…combined, but like his daddy, Peyton played through his career at Tennessee without beating the big dog in the East at the time…Florida.

Peyton has certainly made up for anything he did not win in college, and so has Eli, both of them, I seem to recall have Super Bowl rings, which among the NFL cognescenti is a pretty big deal.

Archie does not have a Super Bowl ring unless they gave them out to the player’s daddies.

I was trolling the cable one night and I watched, for a brief period, a sports talk show with Joe Montana, Dan Marino and Archie Manning.  I wondered the whole time why Archie was selected to appear with Montana and Marino…then I got bored and turned off the show…besides it was time for Friday Night Lights re-runs.

Archie Manning did play quarterback in the NFL Business for a long time…eleven years in New Orleans…and Pro Football Reference.com lists him as the 359th best player in the history of the NFL Business…right behind Harold Carmichael, Bert Jones and Cliff Harris.

Archie’s won-loss stats during his New Orleans years is…. ah…. well, interesting…. Archie’s teams went 35-91-3.

Archie’s career at Ole Miss was some better. In fact he was the quarterback for the Rebels in the first prime time televised college football game…against Alabama. Ole Miss lost by one point, 33-32, but Manning managed 540 yards of total offense, which is tied for the all time SEC record.

Ole Miss was 15-7 in his last two years. In his college career, he threw for 4,753 yards and 31 touchdowns (despite 40 interceptions) and ran for 823 yards.

Bear Bryant said Archie was a great quarterback.

Archie was also involved in the selection of Peyton as the winner of the Hype Man Trophy Peyton’s senior year.  Oh…wait a minute, Peyton got beat out by a defensive back from Michigan…forgot about that.

Archie has also had an interesting broadcast career. In 2007, Manning was hired as spokesman for a United Parcel Service contest to promote its "Delivery Intercept" service. He appeared in an advertising campaign for the UPS Delivery Intercept Challenge Video Contest, which solicited amateur videos of football interceptions from high school and youth games. Among the prizes were a tailgate party with Manning, and Manning-autographed footballs.

Look, I got nothing personal against Archie Manning…he never did anything bad to me or, in fact even to my football team…and I have to say, having Archie on a football talk show with Joe Montana and Dan Marino is more logical than having, say…me on the talk show.

I just don’t understand why Archie is a celebrity when other famous dads, like Cecil Newton, for instance, get no pub at all.

 - Scorpio Jones III

Hasty Judgment of Heroes and Other Lofty Pursuits

Joe Paterno and Tim Tebow, both folk heroes at opposite ends of their hero careers.

Paterno, whose half-century of leadership at Penn State went down in ignominious flames over something he could have or should have done, and involved the most egregious of criminal behavior by one of his long-time assistants.

And Tebow, whose hero status took a significant hit over the weekend at the hands of the Godless New England Patriots and their aging quarterback, Tom Brady.

Tebow’s cult hero status comes from his wearing of his religious beliefs on his sleeve as much as his athletic ability, which is without question.

Two or three people sent me the Jimmy Fallon You Tube vid. My reaction to it was, to me, anyway, interesting.

(Fallon was right, by the way, that Tom Brady would kick Tebow’s ass…).

If you have not seen it, here’s the link:

http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/tebowie-11212/1378838

When the video of Fallon begins, I chuckled, but by the end I was reacting in a surprising way, because I am certainly no devotee of “Tebowmania”.

I found Fallon’s poking at Tebow’s outward manifestation of his faith a little bit of a cheap shot.

When somebody like Tebow does what he does, he is an easy target, a quick pick, as it were.

But, frankly, if Tim Tebow wants to do what he does, and his team and the NFL Business allow him to do it… which they certainly will, as long as it is perceived to be good for the NFL Business, it is hardly any skin off my nose.

Do I agree with public displays of religious fervor? Absolutely not.  I drank the “religion is a private thing” kool aid many years ago, and that’s what I believe, that my religion is my business and not yours.

I doubt anyone in New England expects Tom Brady to genuflect after a big play, and I suspect Brady figures the way to stop Tebow from doing it is to sick the Patriots’ defense on him.   Which seems to be effective.

But if Tim Tebow wants to do these public displays, do they really hurt me?   They certainly don’t cheapen the NFL Business. (Certainly.)

As a Georgia fan, I think I prefer the Tom Brady method of stopping Tebow from Tebowing, but that’s just me.

Joe Paterno spent a good bit of time, over a couple of days, with a reporter from the Washington Post, a newspaper that, in spite of national trends to the contrary, is still trying to do what a great newspaper does.

Having read the lengthy Post piece, it is clear to me that Paterno believed he was doing things the right way when he reported an incident he was told about by one of his graduate assistants to his boss.

That Paterno did not know quite what else to do is easy to criticize, harder to understand if you are not in your eighties, but I believe Paterno when he intimates exactly this.

It is easy to say, “Oh, well Paterno was the most powerful man at Penn State, and he could have done more, done anything he wanted to do.”

That is easy to say from the perspective of folks outside Penn State.  While Paterno may have been untouchable at Penn State, the clear implication of what he said to the Post reporter indicates that while you and I may have viewed him this way, Paterno himself may not have.

My view (and yours) is colored by our SEC fandom, where, at one of our institutions of higher learning, the president reportedly said about firing a football coach, that said president hoped the football coach did not fire him.

And from that perspective it is easy to assume Paterno could have, and should have taken matters into his own hands, and that this “is what I would have done.”

But there is some indication Paterno did not view himself this way…at least from Paterno.  And, you don’t remain at a job for nearly half a century if you don’t understand things like chain of command and responsibility.

So if Paterno made a mistake in judgment, and there are indications he may believe that, at least understanding Paterno’s generational and societal view helps comprehension of Paterno’s actions.

The conspiracy theorists want to paint both Paterno and Tim Tebow with the same false prophet brush. 

I’m just saying it may not be that simple.

 - Scorpio Jones III

Ok, Ok, Ok…I kinda thought I might be wrong about LSU beating Bama on LSU’s first halting, stumbling offensive series.

I’mon tell ya what the deal was…in Tuscaloosa, Ala-by-God-Bama, for 40 days, and probly 40 nights, it rained LSU film.

Yep, I shoulda known better…Georgia actually exposed LSU for most of the first half of the SEC championship.  You reckon that sorta got Nick Saban’s attention?

I thought LSU would handle the rematch pressure the press lords had dialed up; they seemed to be the looser, more adaptable team.

So, I was wrong.

Hats off to Bama, the coaching staff and the football players…they wiped the floor of the Dome with LSU.

Yeah, it seemed to me Jordan Jefferson forgot to eat his Wheaties, but the kind of defensive complexity Bama dialed up would have had any quarterback looking a little dazed and confused.

I have read speculation (which is always mostly bs) Jefferson did not have his head in the game or something…which is a circumlocutional way of saying he did not care and was not paying attention. I find it amazing any rational person can think, let alone write, this stuff, but they did.

Brent Musberger did not get the “buffoon of the game” award, despite Ole Brent’s love fest with a mostly irrelevant Honey Badger…wonder if Brent…well…. the “BOG” award goes to the normally not bad John Saunders, whose podium soliloquy to Nick Saban was to delve into Nick’s relationship with his father.

I would guess Saunders was trying to elicit something from Saban that would show Nick to be more human than he is perceived in some circles.

Whatever the back-story, it was excruciating.

If Saunders had asked the Bama long-snapper something about his girlfriend it would be relevant, asking a very successful grown man about something that has no relevance is just bad TV.

I still, and never will understand how anyone who hires announcers could possibly think Brent Musberger is good at calling a football game…it is just amazing to me. I guess that Musberger continues to call big games is a real insight into the minds of the folks who make decisions at the Disney/ESPN factory.

I think XM/Sirius satellite radio made a huge mistake not investing in heavy promotion for their airing of the Bama and LSU radio broadcasts during the game.

Eli Gold may not be your particular cup of tea, Jim Hawthorne calling the game may not ring your bell, but either of these worthy gentleman would have been able to tell you what was going on clearly and without making out with one player as Musberger has always been prone to do.

And, of course, that Tyrann Mathieu was mostly irrelevant all night did not faze Ole Brent at all.  At all.

I suppose I should not be surprised that some folks have decided the game was not entertaining…these are mostly the same folks who are banging the drum for a big time college football playoff to supplant the BCS.

The object, I believe, of playing a football team is to find out, at the end of the game, who has more points, then declare the team with more scored points the winner.

The problem with the way Nick Saban and his staff approach football is that the object is to win the game, not score touchdowns, throw a gazillion passes and rack up hundreds of yards.

Win the game, that’s what Bama did in convincing fashion.   Not entertaining?   Talk to a Bama fan.

 - Scorpio Jones III

As we head into the meat of the “bowl season”…the one at the end of the regular season, the one that lasts almost a month…there are a couple or three or more questions I am increasingly aware of.

The first, and the question any two football fans asked each other right after the Christmas presents were opened.

“How did the “bowl season” get so long…”? Well, the answer to that is obvious, there are almost as many bowl games now as there are regular season games because most of them make money.

They make some money for the hoteliers in the towns where the bowls are played, and the restaurant owners around the venue, and the various authorities who own and operate the stadiums where the games are played.

And the Chamber of Commerce in Shreveport, Louisiana, for instance can brag about the huge up tick in overall revenue for the area for a couple or three days right around the former Poulan Weedeater Bowl (no bowl name will ever top that).

The teams playing in the bowl will be able to send their football team and coaching staff and the band and most of the folks who work in the athletic department and their wives and but probably not or girlfriends to the game, and at the end of the day, may even be able to put a little money in the athletic department coffers.  “May” being the operative word here, because many of the trips cost the schools more than the payout.

And the coaches will be able to be assured that their resumes will include so many bowl trips and so many bowl wins and losses, and the entry will ignore the obvious fact that many, indeed most, of the games are about as meaningless as the NFL pre-season.

Of course the big winners of any bowl season are the members of a conference whose teams don’t go to a bowl.

Sometime in February or March, for instance, Tennessee will get a big fat check from the SEC…for not going to a bowl…well, not really, but since all the bowl money is tossed in a pot and divided up by the conference, then parceled out, Tennessee will make bowl money, and they may even show a profit some of the bowl teams won’t.

The TV Weasels won’t talk about that much, what they will talk about is that Tennessee did not go to a bowl or like the fourth time in the history of the known world…thereby making Vol fans aware they had a rotten year on the gridiron, which I am sure they need to be reminded of by Chris Fowler or somebody.

And if Chris Fowler or one of the other talking heads is talking about Tennessee in this connection next year about this time, Derek Dooley will have gone back to lawyering.

Because in spite of the obvious fact that most of the bowl games are in cities nobody would dream of visiting for any rational reason, and that most of the games are totally meaningless from a competition standpoint, and that most schools which go to a bowl don’t make any money, and that the team with the fewest key injuries almost always wins the bowl game, TV makes a big deal out of going to one of them because TV is really paying the tab for the bowl games.

Of course the TV Weasels don’t talk about that either.

As we approach the bowl games that actually might mean something to a team, the Sugar Bowl, and the Rose Bowl and so forth there are actually some intangibles involved in playing the games.

And the paychecks are large enough so some of the more frugally traveling schools might actually make some money on the trip…it costs about the same for a school to travel to Shreveport as it does to travel to New Orleans, but the payout from the Sugar Bowl is significantly larger.

And there is some glory for the players, the graduating seniors and the juniors who are leaving…at least there is glory for the winners.

But there is only one bowl game that really matters, and that’s the one so special it needs some breathing room between it and the paltry games preceding it.

All the meaningless conversation about post-season bowl games actually becomes relevant when Bama and LSU square off again for the national championship game…or at least the game the Bowl Cash Series would have us accept as the national championship game.

To Bama fans and Tigah fans it is all about the game…to everybody else it is all about the money, and is, after all, just another bowl game.

 - Scorpio Jones III

Obviously, despite some snarky comments I have made about him, I really don’t know Urban Meyer.

But I still don’t like him.

Some of that, of course, comes from the fact he was at Florida.

But most of my dislike for Urban Meyer comes from all the indications that, while a pretty good football coach, he has a voracious ego…an ego that produces such gems as a vow that “Urban Meyer will never forget” the outrage of Georgia players celebrating a touchdown in a game Georgia would go on to win.

Urban Meyer wrote, in a book by Urban Meyer, that Urban Meyer would never forget this perceived slight.

And then there is the flip-flopping, retired, not retired, leave of absence, and “taking time off to be with my family” pile of bovine fecal matter.

Maybe Urban Meyer does not understand the public relations implications of some of the things he says, or the impact of some of his actions on people other than his own perfection-striving self.

Maybe.

And there is the whole Cam Newton affair.

Where on numerous occasions former Mississippi State quarterback Jon Bond claims to have been on a conference call with MSU coach Dan Mullen and Urban Meyer…talking about Cam Newton.

Two years after Cam Newton had transferred to a tiny junior college from Florida.

And the subsequent leaking of what were said to be Newton’s academic records at Florida. (Although there is no proof that the records leaked actually were Newton’s records, since the records are, by federal law, sealed.)

During, of course, the football season where Newton was leading Auburn to a national championship and a HypeMan Trophy for himself.

There are indications Meyer was grinding his teeth over letting yet another HypeMan player slip out of Gainesville…because the Florida coaching staff thought John Brantley was going to be a better fit for the Gators’ quarterback position than Cam Newton.

So it seems the leak of academic misdeeds by Newton was, to say the very least, self-serving justification, long after the fact. And only relevant as a defense for letting Newton get away.   And the question you have to ask is “who stood to gain?”

Because if Newton had stayed at Florida, and believe me, being in possession of a laptop stolen by someone else was not an offense that was likely to get a player kicked off the Florida team…according to the Orlando Sentinel, during Meyer’s tenure “… the program had at least 31 arrests.  Of those, 10 included felony charges but they were either reduced to misdemeanors or dropped altogether in nine of those cases.”

So, it is pretty clear to me the laptop deal would almost certainly not have gotten Newton kicked off the team.

I believe Cam Newton when he says he decided to transfer after Tim Tebow decided to come back for his senior year and that John Brantley was going to be red shirted.

So here you have the Mind of Urban Meyer watching a kid he so obviously let slip away leading another team in the SEC to the national championship, and this is the same Mind of Urban Meyer that will never forget the horrid affront to its delicate sensibility delivered by Georgia in the Dawgs one win over Meyer’s Florida teams.

The Mind of Urban Meyer don’t like, it seems, to lose.

Which brings to mind the interesting note that the only loss for Meyer’s 2006 edition of the Gators was to…. hmmm Auburn.

Anyway, Urban Meyer, with signed family contract apparently approved by THEOhio State’s athletic director, will coach his first season as a head coach in the Big Ten or however many there are these days. And, in spite of THEOhio State being under an NCAA investigation for paying players that caused the job opening in the first place, the NCAA has decreed it is ok for THEOhio State to basically have two coaching staffs working in place…one to get ready for the Buckeye’s throwaway bowl game against…Florida, and the other, led by The Mind of Urban Meyer, to recruit.   Which is simply amazing.

Since Urban Meyer is no longer coaching in the big boy football league, I really don’t much care if he wins or loses at THEOhio State, or turns in to a blubbering pile of donkey doo on the sidelines in the Horseshoe when he gets beat by some ne’er do well Big Ten team.

He will be in a league with at most one other relevant team…and they (Michigan) are in the throws of a comeback from an abysmal period on the gridiron…Penn State has probably done themselves in for at least the foreseeable future…So it seems almost impossible that with all the resources Meyer will have at his disposal in Columbus that he won’t win…and big.

But for me, he will always be the man whose mind forced him to walk away from, then come back, then quit at Florida, and the man who looked as though his head, quite literally was about to explode as Bama pounded his Gators into the turf in the SEC Championship game in 2009.

And the man who, in his time at Florida, never beat…wait for it…Auburn.

 - Scorpio Jones III

Urban and THEOHIO State

Normally I am little interested in the Heisman Trophy, but for the last couple of years the award has gone to players who are clearly the most valuable players to their individual teams in the country.

Cam Newton last year, and Robert Griffin, III of Baylor this year, while very different in the media firmament, are the kind of players the award was intended for back in the leather helmet days when it was conceived.

Newton was an easy pick, replete with a constant barrage of publicity from ESPN.   Griffin was more under the radar, since Baylor almost never plays in front of a national TV audience, but both are deserving.

There is, apparently, much joy in Columbus, Ohio, at the finally official news that former Florida coach Urban Meyer will take over the troubled football program at THEOhio State.

After a period of dodging questions and verbal misdirection that bordered on outright lies, Meyer took the job.  THEOhio State is waiting for a decision from the NCAA about their immediate football future, and if there is any justice, the decision will not be pleasant for Ohio State.  But with the NCAA, justice is a complicated process, so we shall see.

Meyer, you may remember, left Florida to spend more time with his family after winning two national championships, following his exposure to a disease that is fairly common in the SEC…Sabanitis.

There are folks who say Urban Meyer’s sudden decision to re-dedicate his life to bring up his children came as a direct result of Tim Tebow’s graduation and playing Bama in the SEC Championship game.   Some said Meyer took a look at the future without Tebow and found it not so pleasant.  I can see why folks would say that, but I trust Meyer’s heartfelt desire to be able to watch his daughter play volleyball at Georgia Tech.

If Meyer were running for public office he would have some tall explaining to do, but since Meyer, although a very public figure, is not elected, but selected, he won’t have Anderson Cooper trying to keep him honest.  At least not just yet.

It is interesting that Meyer seems to have all the tools to replace his predecessor at THEOhio State, Jim Tressel, at least in the truth-telling area.  I guess the administrators in Columbus just view all that public comment about Meyer’s increased interest in his family as just food for the media grist…nobody takes it seriously, right?

I will not be surprised if Meyer is successful at Ohio State, he goes from a conference with Nick Saban, Les Miles, Mark Richt and Steve Spurrier coaching against him to…ah…well, a conference with a group of somewhat less historically successful coaches across the field.

Interestingly, THEOhio State, following a less than historic season, is to play Meyer’s former team, the formerly mighty Florida Gators in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida.   Florida’s season was historic, but not for good reasons.

When Meyer left the Gators, former University of Texas head-coach-in-waiting, Will Muschamp took over leadership of the Gators football fortunes.   Muschamp brought in former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weiss to direct the Gators move from Meyer’s spread offense to a more tradition NFL-style.  That the transition has not been exactly smooth is evidenced by more than one Florida sportswriter referring to the Gators’ offense this year as a “dumpster fire.”

After a year most Florida fans would love to forget, Weiss has left the warm climes of Gainesville for a gig as the head coach at one of the most downtrodden programs in the history of college football, the University of Kansas.

It was so bad in Gainesville, that most Gator fans would have been happy to bring back Urban Meyer’s much and oft maligned interim replacement, Steve Addazio, to run Muschamp’s offense.

And so, like sands through the hourglass, these are the tales of THEGENIUSURBANMEYER and his short, but successful foray into the world of big boy football in the SEC.

Gosh, Urb, we hardly knew ye.

 - Scorpio Jones III

LSU And Bama...A Match Made In ......?

Judging from the Internet chatter there are some Georgia fans that actually thought the Dawgs were better than LSU.

Insanity does run in some families.

I had watched LSU every time I could, in the second halves of those games, Les Miles and his staff had the luxury of substituting liberally, especially along the defensive line.

Ultimately LSU’s superior depth got Georgia. The only team in the SEC with comparable depth is Bama.

So, it is fitting they are playing for the Bowl Cash Series national championship, I suppose.

Although I have to admit I would prefer to see LSU play Oklahoma State, the game is between the two best teams in the country.

Surely nobody doubts this.

To the delusional Georgia fans that are not pleased with the way the regular season ended, now you understand why the more knowledgeable writers point out the number of freshman Georgia has been playing.

It is not that LSU does not play freshmen, they certainly do, but it is by choice, not necessity, and there in lies the cautionary tale.

There is a lot of conversation about over signing recruits out there today, especially among the Georgia faithful. It cannot be denied that if one team as more players than another, and the players are of equal or better talent, then the team with the most players obviously has an advantage.

But for the folks who are saying over signing by LSU is the reason Georgia got beat, well, I think that is unrealistic.

Interestingly, Ole Miss led the over signing hit parade. So numbers are only one component.

But ultimately, LSU has more mature players who are at least as talented as Georgia does, with the possible exception of Aaron Murray. Jordan Jefferson operates the LSU offense well, but if Jefferson had Murray’s gifts, the LSU offense would be even more unstoppable.

At the end of the day, Georgia was able to play with LSU, which means pretty much anybody in the known world, for one half.

Had Georgia not had some drops, some of which were attributable to LSU, the game might have been different for a while, but ultimately, LSU just had too much for Georgia to overcome.

And having seen that happen, I can tell you I am not bothered in the least by the rematch between Bama and LSU for the national championship.

Clearly, Bama is the only team LSU faced all year long that has the team stamina to hang with the LSU.

Oregon did not have it and neither did anybody else.  So Bama and LSU is a fair match up.

It is also eminently fair to Oklahoma State, despite the whining of T. Boone Pickens, who maintains he is going to start an investigation of something, although Pickens is not clear about who is going to investigate what.

Pickens can investigate till the cows come home and LSU would still have eaten Oklahoma State for lunch.

So from a pure competition standpoint, LSU and Bama is a significantly better match.

I am proud of my Dawgs; the first half defense was as good as I have ever seen a Georgia defense…ever.

The idea LSU would start the third quarter with zero first downs is amazing.

So, Georgia is about half as good as LSU.

Some of the bowl matchups are interesting.   Particularly Ohio State playing Florida in the Gator Bowl.

Urban Meyer who suddenly recovered from whatever psychological problems working in Gainesville, Florida gave him will return to coaching at Ohio State next season. In a conference I might point out without Nick Saban or Les Miles, or even Mark Richt, which Urban should find more conducive to a happy mind.

Can you imagine the reaction of the already disgruntled Gator Nation at the Gator bowl when Meyer’s name comes up?   Which you can rest assured will happen.

There is even a new conspiracy theory that Meyer’s plan was to go to Ohio State all along, having known from the beginning that Jim Tressel was down the tube about the end of the 2010 football season, but that by “taking a year off to re-connect with his family” Meyer was able to improve his status as the savior of Ohio State football.

Liars apparently do prosper in the Big Ten…or however many there are of them.

 - Scorpio Jones III

It has been a typically strange year in the SEC.  Vanderbilt is going to a bowl, Tennessee is not.  Florida had its worst year since the early 80’s, but since they play in the SEC East they are going to a bowl.   Georgia entered the season with yammering for a coaching change swirling around the atmosphere in Athens, started with losses to Boysee and South Carolina then won 10 straight to win the SEC East.

Tennessee had, possibly, its saddest moment in football history when video of the locker room celebration of beating Vandy in overtime reached the Web.  Vandy.

Then proceeded to lose to a Kentucky team considered as woeful as Ole Miss in the SEC.

Well, actually, nobody is as bad as Ole Miss.

And if you want to study the fan base of an SEC school for your doctorate on delusional groups, Oxford, Mississippi is a great place to start.

On more than one Ole Miss message board there are suggestions that Urban Meyer should be interested in restoring the fortunes of the Ole Miss football program…a program whose titular leader, the Ole Miss president, has said, in one of the great understatements of all time, that the school is lacking some resources.

And, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino, always a model of moral superiority, apparently was incensed because LSU’s Les Miles elected to go for a field goal at the end of a game that saw all conversation about Arkansas being in the BCS championship go a glimmering.   Perhaps Petrino would have preferred Miles just keep running the football and scoring yet again, a touchdown.

Greater minds than mine have tried to resolve the character issues so obvious in Petrino.

And likewise, greater minds than mine have tried to understand how Tennessee has come to this.

None of which matters, the point is that Tennessee football is where it is, and the loss to Kentucky indicates there is a very long road ahead for the Vols and whoever survives as head coach.

I see Derek Dooley having one more year in Knoxville, and it won’t matter who is guilty of the original sin, the Vols will be looking for their third new coach after firing Phil Fulmer.

I hope it is not lost on the Big Urnge Nation that the much-despised Lane Kiffin has done pretty well at USC this year despite the Trojans’ recent unpleasantness with the NCAA.

USC won one of the divisions of the Pac 12, despite being ineligible for the official title, by beating their version of Kentucky or Vanderbilt 50-0.

It is hard to even conceive of the misery in Knoxville.

I have to tell you, there are some arguments out there that Tennessee may actually be incapable of turning the thing around.

I find that hard to accept, but these are funny times in the college football business.

Wouldn’t you love to sit down over a plate of ribs with Tee Martin and Randy Sanders to hear their thoughts on the subject?  Martin and Sanders, you may remember are UT alums coaching on Joker Phillips’ staff at Kentucky.  Martin and Sanders are the guys who got a wide receiver ready to play quarterback, a guy who had not played or practiced at that position since high school four years before, a guy who managed to lead the Wildcats to their first win over Tennessee since right after Lee surrendered at Appomattox.

Onward and upward.

LSU is clearly the best team in the whole danged United States, and because of the arcane selection methodology of the Bowl Cash Series, it appears LSU will play Alabama in the BCS National Championship game…even if the team bus has a wreck on the way to the Georgia Dome and LSU manages to figure out a way to lose to Georgia in the SEC Championship.

In what is already being billed as the Return of the Game of the Century, LSU will play a team they have beaten, just, apparently not convincingly enough.

Oh the experts on the World Wide Order of Weasels will blather incessantly, working all sorts of black helicopter scenarios in between commercials, but none of that will matter, because, at least at this point in the season at least, it appears the LSU and Bama ARE the two best teams in the country.

 - Scorpio Jones III

Fans, And The Passing Of An Artist

Once again, James Franklin, Vandy’s new football coach and arbiter of the culture of Vanderbilt football has proven you can’t win a football game with your mouth.

Here’s a beaut from Senator Blutarsky of Get the Picture: “After this week’s game, James Franklin ought to cement Vanderbilt’s new reputation by chasing after one of the Wake Forest coaches and coming up from behind to throw a rolling block into his knee.”

Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley made one of the saddest post-game comments in the history of college football after the Vandy game.

“This was a big step for our program,” he said.

LSU, Bama and Arkansas are pretty good football teams, Georgia and South Carolina are decent, Auburn is somewhat less than that, but the rest of the SEC, including the once-mighty Gators are woeful.

Ole Miss may be the worst SEC team in the history of the conference.   Les Miles’ decision to take a knee four times in a row on the Ole Miss 10-yard line is one of the all time great in-game insults…and a fitting commentary on both Ole Miss and their lame duck coach.

Georgia fans should take a lesson from the misery that is Ole Miss football now and for the foreseeable future. Ole Miss had David Cutcliffe, who took them to two bowl games in a row for the first time since leather helmets. But Cutcliffe was deemed not good enough for the “Ole Miss Tradition”.

So, in one of those few instances where somebody gets what they got coming, Ole Miss got Houston Nutt.

And now, Ole Miss will pay Nutt $6 million bucks over five years to go away and leave them alone.

Even the Ole Miss president acknowledges the school has some “resource issues”…but they have money to pay a coach to leave…makes perfect sense, right?

And despite seeing all this unfold over the last couple of years, Georgia fans wanted to fire the coach who has taken Georgia to four SEC championship games in 10 years…four times in 10 years…I am told that is more than any other school in the conference…more than Bama, more than LSU, more than the former Mighty Gators have managed in a 10-year period.

They saw it unfold because Ole Miss has been on the Georgia schedule the last two years.

And still they whined.

Football fans, most of whom are pretty smart people away from their fandom, become collectively stupid when faced with results on the field that don’t meet their own unrealistic expectations.

If there was any justice, Mark Richt would finish the season at Georgia, then retire to some small, impoverished South American country to do good works for people who will consistently appreciate him. But you know what?  I doubt Richt will do that, because he understands loyalty even if a portion of his fan base does not.

Mark Richt is a fighter, not a quitter. I hope the folks who quit on him are beginning to realize what fools they.

There are quitters in every fan base…the “what have you done for me now” folks.  Derek Dooley is beginning to hear their voices in Knoxville.

Sometimes, as in the case of Houston Nutt, the quitters are prescient, but most times they are not, they just want to brag around the office, or the bar…they don’t really care about the overall, long term health of the program they support when it is winning and complain about when it is not.

Larry Munson, voice of Georgia football for over 40 years, passed away this past Sunday at the age of 89.

Munson called Georgia football games with true artistry. Art usually ensues when a person expresses his true feelings without fear of exposing them, while doing his work.

During my time in the area I have listened to a number of very stupid people blather about Munson, calling him a “homer” because he used “we” when talking about Georgia during a game. But these folks were not fans of Georgia football, and could not get beyond their own prejudices to accept that Munson had a gift no other broadcaster of his time had.

Munson could take the listener to the game, put the listener in the game, give the listener a taste of the excitement, the agony and utter joy that was playing itself out on the football field below him.

He was an original, a one-off, the Bob Dylan or Hank Williams Sr., of sportscasters. He brought a passion to a profession that went against the grain of the Syracuse University school of broadcasting blandness. His passion and love of Georgia football, and his lack of fear in the booth made most of his peers look phony or inept or both.

Two of his most revered calls came against Tennessee…I say against Tennessee because Munson seemed to play the game with his Dawgs, and when he told us Dawg fans “My God, only a freshman” or that we had “Stepped on their face with a hob-nail boot” he was allowing all the little guys huddled around the radio in their gas stations in Hahira or Adel, to actually feel like he, and they, were playing Tennessee…out there on the field, running over Bill Bates with Herschel, stepping on their face with Verron Haynes.

One would assume Larry Munson is now hunkering down in heaven, watching the sugar falling from the sky…Bye Larry; Thank you for being ours, we’ll miss you forever.

 - Scorpio Jones III

After a couple of seasons of hot seat talk, there are now rumors of a new contract for Georgia’s Mark Richt. This following Georgia’s nationally televised destruction of Auburn in the worst beating of one team by another in the south’s oldest football rivalry since 1946.

Even the most bellicose members of the anti-Richt faction have begun to, if not eat crow, at least consult their recipe books.

If Georgia manages somehow to beat Kentucky in Athens this Saturday, it will, as best anybody can tell, be the first time in history Georgia has won nine SEC games in a row.

A win over Kentucky will also win the Eastern Division of the SEC for Georgia and send them to Atlanta to play the winner of the Western Division in the SEC Championship.

It appears at this point that is likely to be LSU.

It appears also that at least some of the Georgia fan base has noticed the unpleasantness at Penn State, and are glad to have a coach and administration who are committed to do more than pay lip service to doing things the right way, even if the right way makes a program look less than perfect.

It is interesting to note that Nick Saban has decided he prefers the overtime rule as used by the NFL to the one used by the college game. Unfortunately for Saban he made this observation following his team’s loss to LSU. The general retort from the media and Web involved the taste of grapes and suggestions Bama would not win an overtime done the NFL without a competent place kicker.

In Knoxville, there is, finally, some good news. Savior-flavor of the year Tyler Bray’s broken hand has recovered to the point where he can begin to practice again.   At the first of this year, or really any year, that this would be such big news the week before the Vanderbilt game is an interesting commentary on the state of the Big Urnge Nation.

Over in Nashville, Vandy coach James Franklin, who is about as slippery a thinker as any in the business is getting ready for his first trip to Knoxville, where the history of Vandy football usually goes to die at the end of each season.

Vandy may actually have a shot at beating Tennessee this time, but it is a long shot, and if Bray is actually ready to play by Saturday, I would doubt Franklin, despite all his emotional gymnastics will find much to enjoy along the banks of the river.

Vandy may be playing as well as they can play, which is good enough to beat Kentucky, but Tennessee at its worst, which is about where the Vols are, is not Kentucky.

Tennessee fans know chippy play when they see it, and I doubt Franklin’s reception in Neyland stadium will be warm, either before or after the game.

 - Scorpio Jones III

Kickers And Joe Paterno

Note from Nick Saban to publishers of his new book, “The Process”…”Guys, I am re working the chapter on recruiting, it occurred to me late Saturday night it might be a good idea to recruit a kicker once in a while.

Some of the big thinkers have said Les Miles out-coached Nick Saban in the game of the century of the century last Saturday night. I am not sure how anybody knows this, unless they mean Miles got lucky with his kicker recruit and Bama did not. I guess this is coaching, but …?

I don’t think I have ever seen a more amazing assemblage of athletes on one field at the same time. No Super Bowl has ever had two teams like that.

Both offensive and defensive fronts will spend most of this week in their respective whirlpools, the line of scrimmage in this game was no place for boys.

It did seem to me that LSU’s athletes made a couple more amazing plays than Bama’s, although I have not seen the film.

The argument that LSU and Bama should play again in the BCS national championship game only has validity in the South, where football is better understood than in some other areas.

What should happen, assuming both LSU and Bama run the table, is that the two teams who get left out of the big game play Arkansas and whoever wins the East in the SEC in bowl games.

And now we come to the really unpleasant stuff.   

Since March, there has, apparently, been a continuing police investigation of former Penn State player and defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky.

Sandusky was arrested last week and charged with 40 counts of various types of horrific conduct with young boys. The incidents have, reportedly, been going on since at least 1998.

Sandusky was elected the national assistant coach of the year in 1999, the year he retired from Penn State at the age of 55.

A Pennsylvania grand jury also indicted Penn State athletic director Tim Curley, and Penn State vice president Gary Shultz for perjury and failure to report child abuse. Both Curley and Shultz have resigned or been retired.

The grand jury has not indicted Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.

Paterno was called before the grand jury and told them he was told of one incident in 2002 and told his supervisors about it. Which, legally, was all Paterno was required to do under Pennsylvania’s child protection law.

At that time Sandusky was told not to bring children into the Penn State football facilities. (There are various reports of this as being largely unenforceable, and Sandusky continued, it is has been widely reported, to attend football games, with young boys including away games and bowls.)

I remember watching Paterno’s studied commentary on the situation exposed at Georgia in the 1980’s by the firing and subsequent trial of Jan Kemp. I found Paterno’s comments about the duties of football coaches and the responsibility a football coach has to his players both interesting and inspiring.

There is no proof to be had that Sandusky left Penn State in 1999 as a result of the complaints against him, rather, the “company line” is that Paterno told him that he (Sandusky) would not be head coach when Paterno retired, and that Sandusky retired.

If this was not an accurate reporting of Sandusky’s retirement, then why would the former assistant be given, literally, the keys to the football facilities and an office in the football building at the school.

It would be easy to say that Paterno should have followed up on the situation with the complaint against Sandusky in 2002. I have no idea why he did not, but the argument that he followed the chain of command is, considering Paterno’s stature, patently absurd.

Paterno could have made a full disclosure of the situation to the New York Times and the FBI and nothing would have happened to him.

It may have been a tough situation to be in for Paterno, after all, Sandusky both played and coached with Joe Pa basically from 1963 when Sandusky came to Penn State as a player, till he retired in 1999.

But the Joe Paterno I observed commenting from the moral high ground on the Jan Kemp situation should have taken more definitive action to remove from Sandusky the means and opportunity to molest children.

If Paterno’s reputation is damaged, which seems to be the concern of his “family spokesman” he has only himself to blame.

It appears, to paraphrase Irish philosopher Edmund Burke, all that was necessary for the triumph of good over evil was for Joe Paterno not to do enough to stop it.

I hope I am proven wrong.

 - Scorpio Jones III

The Process vs. The Mad Hatter

There is considerable jubilation among the Georgia fan base today. Georgia beat Florida Saturday in the game formerly known as the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail party.

Mark Richt is now 3-8 vs. the Gators.  Vince Dooley, for instance, was 17-7.   But that was another time.

One thing I notice is that there is very little sympathy for Will Muschamp, who, despite his protestations to the contrary since taking over Florida’s football team, played at Georgia.

Almost uncommented on in all the hoopla following the win was Georgia corner Brandon Boykin running down one of Florida’s several fastest men in football, stopping a touchdown.  To me this was the turning point in the ball game.

For what it is worth, the CBS broadcast team is pretty good; Gary Danielson actually seems to know something about the teams playing in front of him.

Georgia’s radio broadcast team is ok, not great, but ok…the problem they have is they are not Larry Munson.

Sympathy is in short supply in Knoxville, too. Some pretty ugly observations on the Vols’ boards about John Majors.

With Middle, Arkansas, Vandy and Kentucky left to play, there probably won’t be a great deal of joy in Mudville for a long time.

The current culprits for the current state of Tennessee football are Phil Fulmer’s recruiters who loaded the Vols roster with “thugs and felons” or so I read.

People who may know more than me are beginning to realize Tennessee football is in a very bad place, and that improvement will come in very slow doses…. even Vandy begins to look intimidating.

It is interesting to note two members of Nick Saban’s coaching tree, Derek Dooley and Muschamp may have missed a master class or two during their tenure at the Saban coaching university.

Muschamp’s offense is a train wreck despite talent; Dooley’s offense is just a train wreck.

I still think Lane Kiffin is a buffoon, but maybe he took a look at the roster and the schedule before he bolted for the west coast.

In answer to the obvious question, I don’t know what Phil Fulmer’s recruiters have to do with anything either.

Nick Saban, on the other hand has no interest this morning, none, in what happened to either Dooley or Muschamp.

Saban is busy organizing the process to get ready to play LSU for the championship of the known world.

Finally, it is the week of certainly the most ballyhooed SEC game in a long time. It is the process versus the Mad Hatter.

I have no idea what will happen, although, for some reason I am leaning toward LSU, mostly because they seem to play like they enjoy it.

The experts will blabber about all sorts of non-essential things for a week with the college game day crew providing the real insight sometime Saturday morning.

This is the first game between 1 and 2 since 2006, when Ohio State beat Michigan by three points.

I have read a very mediocre ticket to the game is going for over $10,000 on stub hub…a seat in the end zone, lower level.

For those interested, Gary Danielson and Verne Lundquist will do the TV audio description…just think it was not long ago we would have had to suffer through Brent Musberger just to watch the game on TV. Musberger is relegated to ABC with Kirk Herbstreit, via the ESPN connection. At least with Herbstreit in the booth, somebody on that crew will know something about football.

Like somebody said, “Football in the South is not a religion…it is way more important than that.”

 - Scorpio Jones III

Chooooookelahoma…. where the BCS championship game goes whistling out the door.

And where, no surprise here, Tommy Tuberville proves he can still coach, even if Auburn doesn’t love him any more.

Texas Tech’s offensive staff thought they saw something they could work with in Oklahoma’s secondary.

They were right, and the Sooners bid goodbye to their hopes of making it to the national championship game.  (Where they would have lost to the winner of the LSU-Bama game in a couple of weeks.)

And in Big However-Many land.   If anybody wants to visit with Ole Lady Luck, I would suggest setting up a meeting with Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, who, apparently, has the gal locked up in his office closet.

At then end, in spite of all the hype from the Worldwide Order of Weasels for two weeks leading up to the game, HypeMan quarterbacks not withstanding, Wisconsin’s season came down to Ole Lady Luck meeting a cast off from…. wait for it…. Oklahoma…Michigan State’s Keith Nichol, just barely in the end zone. It was a brief, but torrid meeting.

And in the process, the lady showed why instant replay is a keeper. The call on the field being wrong, and overturned, sending the Badgers to the showers.

Georgia fans…remember when Ole Lady Luck lived in Athens?

But most of the above-mentioned stuff really does not matter. Because even if Oklahoma State does managed to survive the season with record unstained, do you really think the Cowpokes will be dancing the dance after their meeting with Bama or LSU?

Do you?

Really?

Everybody involved with the Auburn football program is in the whirlpool this morning.   All, that is, but defensive coordinator Ted Roof, who is running stadium steps.

In Knoxville, Derek Dooley is answering questions from an increasingly hostile media bunch about why he yanked the red shirt off the quarterback of the future late in a game the Vols had about as much chance of winning as the Egyptians did of holding back the Red Sea.

Derek’s momma has a whole new set of questions to answer this week.

No doubt she will be able to provide the answers, the question is, will Derek.

Bubba and me watched the first half of the Ole Miss vs. Arkansas contest together, by phone.   We were amazed, Ole Miss actually looked like a football team. But neither of us was canceling our bets on the Hogs.

And we were right. Ole Miss is battling hard with Kentucky and Vandy to see which group finishes with the worst record in the SEC…. Ole Miss leads at the moment, and for what it is worth, I don’t think even Houston Nutt can blow this one.

One thing me and Bubba noticed, Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, in the middle of the second quarter looked about like it did four hours before kick off, empty.

The Houston Nutt era at Ole Miss is grinding to an agonizing, but hardly surprising, end.

So, who is gonna win the national championship Nov. 5 in Tuscaloosa?

Well, I gotta tell you, in spite of Nick Saban and all the wonderous things he has done, and all the wonderful players he has accumulated there in Tuscaloosa, I will never bet against Les Miles again.

Yep, the same Les Miles who could have been the coach at Michigan.  (There is a new book out detailing the machinations behind the hiring of Rich Rodriguez…and if the book is accurate, Miles was deemed unworthy of leading the Michigan program.)

LSU faced Auburn without its starting running back and without its Honey Badger, yet Miles just rolled with the flow, and the Tigahs laid a whipping on Auburn the likes of which has never been seen in the series before.

It seems obvious to me, LSU just has too much mojo working. There is the Miles story, and the John Chavis story (you think ole Chief would not like to prove to the dumb asses in Knoxville he’s got one more national championship defense in him?).  The Tigahs got a Honey Badger, they got two quarterbacks, which makes Kirk Herbstreit nervous, but does not seem to bother Miles one little bit. And they got Barkevious Mingo.    And a Jordan Jefferson somebody has taught to throw the ball.

It will be a gut-check of the first order…big boy football…the evil genius versus the goofy genius.  (Miles still claps funny.)…The hat versus the hair, the process versus the artist.

Two weeks to get ready.

Meanwhile, Georgia plays Florida, Tennessee plays South Carolina.   Both have some impact on who gets to play the Bama-LSU winner for the SEC championship in Atlanta.

Not that it matters.

 - Scorpio Jones III

Tennessee Gets To Closely Observe The Differences Between LSU And Bama

The rest of the world seems to agree Bama and LSU are the two best teams in college football land, at least until the teams settle the argument on November 5.

And even then, unless one team puts a beat down on the other, which I find unlikely, it is possible, with the right things happening on the field in other parts of the country, the loser of the game at Tuscaloosa could wind up being ranked number two in the polls.

How much better are LSU and Bama compared to the rest of their SEC brethren?

The eventual SEC west champion will be a prohibitive favorite over the representative from the woeful eastern division, no matter who it is.

And, unfortunately for the Vols, Tennessee will have a unique opportunity to compare and contrast both teams when they travel to Tuscaloosa next Saturday.

The styles, on both sides of the ball are subtly different. LSU plays a looser defensive style, which produces more individual attention for players than Bama.  But Bama has the same quality of athlete that LSU has.   Bama’s playing style on defense is more like that of an NFL team, more business-like, at least when playing a lesser opponent. You have to wonder if that game face will change when LSU gets to town.

It is said, sometimes by people who may actually know something, that a team reflects the personality of its coach.

For classic examples of this, just look at LSU and Alabama, and their differences in playing style.

Oh, and Gary Danielson can moan all he wants about LSU playing both Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson at quarterback, I sure did not see any drop off in efficiency when the swap is made…and if there are any doubts about Jefferson as an extra running back, ask the Tennessee secondary.

It will be interesting to see if the apparent improvement in the Vols’ running game lasts more than one week.

If Tennessee can move the ball against Bama, then in the next few weeks the Vols could at least have something to say about the SEC east race, assuming they get out of Tuscaloosa with no more key injuries.

With the loss of Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina becomes an average SEC team at best, with a good SEC defense, but not a great one. It is possible that unless Bama destroys the glimmer of improvement the Vols have been showing from time to time, Tennessee might be able to struggle to a win over South Carolina, which would make a lot of folks in the Athens, Georgia area very happy.

And, provide a slight glimmer of hope for the future of Tennessee football.

There has been considerable analysis of the dust up between Vandy’s James Franklin and Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham after the Dores’ near miss in Nashville the weekend past.

Ultimately I found the incident pretty cool in the sense that both coaches allowed us fans to see something of the fire that drives them and most of the time us fans don’t get to see.

Franklin, whose rant continued when he eventually found Georgia’s Mark Richt, clearly has a good bit to learn about the etiquette of post game meetings with the opposing coaching staff…mainly that following an emotional game, it is probably not a good idea to scream and point fingers at other coaches.

Or, maybe it is. Maybe Franklin is so naïve he thinks the basic difference between Vandy and other SEC teams is one of attitude and he really believes if he leads his troops in a fiery way, good things will happen.

Todd Grantham probably should not have let his real feelings show, when as has been widely reported, Franklin called out one of his players…at least not in the so-so proper world of coach behavior, but it made for pretty cool TV.

For a minute, right there at the end of the game, you kind of forgot Georgia was playing Vandy.

 - Scorpio Jones III

An October To Forget, And Maybe November, Too

They a lota laughing and joking in Athens, Ga. this morning, cause the Dawgs don’t have to play, barring a miracle, either Bama or LSU.

Don’t notice much of the above in Knoxville.

Derek Dooley, the “mama’s boy who can’t coach his way out of a wet paper bag” or a “lawyer having a mid-life crisis”, goes from losing to Georgia to getting ready for Louisiana State University. Oh, and after that Bama and South Carolina.

That lack of noise you will hear in Knoxville for the next two weeks for sure, and probably a third, is the sound of Tennessee fans beginning to understand the true state of their cherished football program.

I would love to point out some bright spots for UT fans…let’s see DaRick Rogers and 81 can take a hit.

The defense was pretty effective in the first half.

Georgia had the longest third down in the history of the known world (3rd and 57), and maybe some of that was due to the Vols’ defense…maybe.

If any UT fans thought Georgia’s defense looked good…wait till Saturday. You ain’t seen nothing yet, it’s Big Boy football time in Tennessee.

And what is really awful is that LSU, in gang-raping Florida in Baton Rouge, showed an offensive punch that is…well, pretty punchy.

Oh, and that running game the Vols thought they found against whoever it was the week before, you remember that one… minus 20 yards rushing against Georgia? Against Georgia?

Methinks Chief will have some trouble getting Barkevious Mingo and Company to show some interest in the Vols.

Then, there is the next week, and don’t forget, South Carolina has a pretty fair country run defense, too.

November begins with Middle Tennessee State.

I wonder how Derek’s bamboo story is going to work for the next three weeks?

Better back the water trucks up, boys, them shoots ain’t growing much.

Oh…there is a bright spot; Tyler Bray could be back in time for Arkansas. Wonder how this game got scheduled in November?

In a day of spread offenses, the two best teams in the country run pretty much the old fashioned power I. Yes, I mean LSU and Alabama. And, if we are lucky we will get to see one of them get after Oklahoma, probably.

Both Bama and LSU have big, strong offensive lines, big, strong running backs and quarterbacks whose main function is to operate the offense efficiently, throwing now and then when the opportunity presents itself. The TV weasels, who have to talk about quarterbacks a lot because their focus groups show that’s the only position the average fan can tell from the rest of the players, call this “managing the game.”

And both Bama and LSU have defenses that should spawn a whole host of new video games. “Score on the Tigahs…rules of engagement” or “Run the ball on Bama…breaching the wall of steel.”

If you are not a Tennessee fan…for the next three weeks or so, you might want to avoid standing next to any person wearing orange…and especially orange pants…at your local public house. Any thing you say is liable to cause trouble.

You gotta figure Tennessee can beat Middle, and Kentucky may be worse than Ole Miss if that’s possible, but Arkansas and Vandy…? Yes, Vandy.

By the time the Dores get to Knoxville, Derek’s bamboo shoots could look like somebody sprayed them with Roundup.

For the Georgia fans among us, I don’t know what to think. On the one hand the Dawgs seem to be getting their groove on a little bit after starting 0-2, but five holding penalties in succession?

Here’s my prediction. Georgia will go to a better bowl than Tennessee.

 - Scorpio Jones III

Of Padawans and Disaster

Into the Swamp comes the master. 

His padawan feigns indifference, but quakes in the dark of night.

The padawan hopes his team’s speed will negate his master’s power.

Hope, as Stephen King says in Shawshank, is a dangerous thing; it can make a man crazy.

And at the end of the day, there is little left on the floor of Florida Field but rags, bits of bone and hanks of hair.

The master began to think about LSU midway through the third quarter.

The padawan, his worst nightmare come to pass, decides, like Scarlet O’Hara, that he’ll think about LSU tomorrow.

Here is the synopsis from Matt Hinton of Yahoo Sports, which, I think sums things up nicely.

“So the Gators' first two offensive possessions of the night yielded 119 yards and ten points. On the third possession, Brantley was picked by Courtney Upshaw, who took the ball in for Alabama's first lead, 17-10. Florida's next nine chances with the ball yielded a grand total of 77 yards, seven punts, six three-and-outs, two turnovers, a missed field goal and zero points. Last week, they rushed for 405 yards at Kentucky; this week they rushed for 14. Warp-speed tailbacks Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps combined to run for eight yards, on a long gain of seven.”

And hats off to Desmond Howard, who on the Weasels’ college game day pick em, chose Bama. The other cast members are now probably over their enchantment with Tim Tebow.

So, here we are with slightly under a month before the national championship game between LSU and Alabama.

They are still them what think LSU is the better team.

Should be the game of the decade.

Meanwhile, the eastern division of the SEC is in a complete shambles this morning, following Florida’s humbling at the hands of Bama, and South Carolina’s loss to Auburn.

What these two games mean is that the selection of Bama’s opponent in the SEC championship game is yet to be determined.

South Carolina and Florida are still mathematically in the lead, but with the meat of their conference schedules yet to come.

Even Tennessee has a glimmer of hope.   The Vols play Georgia this weekend.   It is an important game.

And that’s all I got to say about that.

I say the LSU-Bama game Nov. 5 is for the national championship, and it is, no matter what say the World Wide order of Weasels have to say, which will be much signifying nothing.

There will be much blather about Wisconsin, certainly the unending drool of Lou Holtz about Notre Dame, but at the end of the hunt, the winner of Bama-LSU is the national champion.

And in fact, there is a good, and previously used argument, for the loser of the game to wind up playing the winner again in the Bowl Cash Series game in January, assuming the loser has no more losses.

Certainly the winner of the game will pay for the conference championship, and from what I have seen so far, the eastern division champion, whoever that may be, might want to think about taking a forfeit and moving on to a good bowl game against a more suitable opponent.

It appears, from this vantage point, that folks in the East talk about being serious about football, folks in the West, on the other hand, are.

 - Scorpio Jones III

Vandy And Houston Nutt's Charade

Nashville…. Vandy coach James Franklin tears up over the Dores win over old Mississippi.

Mississippi…the above win over the Rebs produces full page ads in state newspapers suggesting, not so subtly, that not only is Houston Nutt a buffoon posing as a football coach, but the guy who hired him, athletic director Pete Boone, should take the same fast train out of Oxford as his coach.

And if Nutt and Boone can’t get train tickets, one group suggests it has plenty of rails ready for riding.

I don’t like Houston Nutt as a football coach…what a shocker, right?  I thought his teams at Arkansas were undisciplined to the point of wondering if it was a systemic situation.  (In other words, they taught them that crap.)

Nutt won at Arkansas…. not big but he won some games before becoming embroiled in a devastating personal and professional scandal that, to me, indicates a lack of well…character.  Nutt won at Arkansas because he had access to more talented players than he does at Old Mississippi, and as the talent level went down, Nutt’s capabilities as a football coach became more apparent.

One of the victims on the charade that was the last couple of years of the Nutt Era at Arkansas was Gus Malzahn who seems to have recovered rather well…see Auburn’s national championship last year.

In Knoxville, at least one of the local wags still finds the Vols wanting in the face of “big boy football” after their erratic performance against Florida.   The offensive numbers that are probably worrying Derek Dooley this morning are the ones that show Tennessee managing about 50 yards rushing against the Gators.

For all the folks, including myself, who thought Gators’ offensive coordinator Charlie Weiss would have a tough time adjusting his thinking to the spread-borne running backs Urban Meyer left at Florida, all I got to say is.. Ooops!  Chris Rainey had more yards in pass receptions than the Vols had in offense.  Rainey, who did everything but sell peanuts at the half, is the most explosive offensive player in the SEC, bar none.

In Columbia, South Carolina, the old (emphasis on the old part) ball coach is happy enough with his football team, despite an alarming near miss by Navy. South Carolina continues to win football games they could very well lose, and that, folks, makes the Gamecocks a tough team to beat.  It is easy to get fired up to play Georgia, Navy not so much, but USCe managed to win when they were obviously not ready for prime time.

And Marcus Lattimore…. he may not be Herschel, but he’s the closest thing the SEC has seen in a long time…too bad he’s not…oh well.

Bama won, la de da. A tune up for the next eight games…all in the SEC all pointing to the big one with LSU the first weekend in November.

And then there is the best football team in the nation, LSU.  John Chavis, the refugee from Phil Fulmer’s staff appears to be, hell, he does not appear to be, he is, the best defensive mind in the SEC, including Nick Saban and the Sabanite disciples Kirby Smart and Will Muschamp. The LSU defense is stifling, adjustable and unflappable…great work, Chief….boy do they miss you in Knoxville.

 - Scorpio Jones III

Points of Clarity – The First Week

Some things are clear

The football division of God is not pleased with the way Notre Dame is playing.

I, personally, think the Irish have made a mistake in their hiring of a football coach...yet again.

I think this is a different world, one where big time football players do not respond well to coaches screaming at them on national TV.

But that remains to be seen.

I did notice it was not long after the screaming incident was broadcast that lightning struck the press box at Notre Dame stadium, causing the game to be halted with the Domers behind to a team coached by the son of the guy who was the Notre Dame coach the last time the school was a part of the national championship equation in minds other than Notre Dame fans’.

Finally the game was called with Notre Dame three points behind Central Florida, called on account of the bad weather.

All this weather sensitivity is alarming to me, making football more and more like baseball and, God forbid, golf.

Other things are also clear.

Auburn may have lost Cam Newton to the NFL Business, but the Tigers still have some of the luck they had last year.

LSU looks clubfooted on offense, but hostile and agile on defense, and that was more than enough for Oregon.   LSU should probably be ranked number one in the nation, but probably won’t be because Oklahoma won going away.

Another point of clarity is relevant at this point in the discussion. Boise State is a very good football team, a very good football team composed for the most part of kids the recruiting services listed in the asterisk categories, and very well coached. Georgia was simply no match for the Broncos.

Which brings us to this point of clarity. The length of Mark Richt’s tenure

 at Georgia will be decided by the outcome of the Georgia vs. South Carolina game Saturday. That Richt may be the victim of his own early success at Georgia is beside the point, the only thing that matters in the current football coaching market is “what have you done lately” and in the case of Mark Richt, what he has done the last four years is simply not acceptable in today’s SEC.

In its whole football history, some football researcher has discovered, Georgia has never had a winning season when it lost the first two games of the season. Never. My personal observation is that South Carolina is a better team, with more talented players than Boise State.

I see little hope the Dawgs can win Saturday even clad in their real uniforms and playing in their real stadium.

But the game will probably be played anyway.

Tennessee got a win over Montana.   Yippee Skippy.

Alabama beat Kent State....and in a look at how infantile the  football broadcasting media has become, there were actually comments on whether Nick Saban would hold down the score because Kent State is his alma mater.

What, I ask, are these TV weasels smoking?    Nick Saban?   Hold down the score?

More importantly, Bama looked exactly like you would expect Bama to look....like the second best team in the country no matter who they were playing.

Ole Miss and Kentucky appear to be the two worst teams in the SEC. If Mississippi State was in the SEC East, they could be making plans for a New Year’s Day bowl game....since they are in the West, it looks like a bowl game sometime between Christmas and the real bowl games.

So much for the first week of the season from my point of view. I wonder if next week a giant hand will come down from the sky and slap the Notre Dame coach cross-eyed on national TV?

 - Scorpio Jones III

So, get the picture now.

The Southeastern Conference is apparently waiting for Texas A&M to unshackle itself from what remains of the Big 12 Conference (now down to ten teams) before making any kind of formal offer to the Aggies to join the conference.

This appears to be the result of ameeting of conference school presidents, which took, place Sunday, despite reports to the contrary by at least one big sports magazine.

All of which is, I suppose, very interesting, assuming you care about whether the SEC adds one, or more probably two teams sometime soon.

This is probably more interesting to the lawyers among us, since the only thing that is happening for sure is that A&M’s legal staff is preparing to rack up significant billable hours, as is the SEC’s, and probably the Big 12’s too.

A&M has, as it turns out, a contract as part of the arrangement with the Big 12 and Fox Sports, and the pundits have decided the SEC is trying to avoid some charge of raiding the Big 12 (10), which would, inevitably, lead to a lawsuit involving the SEC.   The SEC would prefer to avoid this, which actually makes some sense.

But to the average SEC football fan, that’s about the only thing that does make sense about the whole deal.

As a fairly serious SEC football fan myself, frankly speaking, I could not care less about expanding the SEC.

While I understand the marketing advantage of expanding the SEC’s TV “footprint” into Texas’ big markets, all I see coming from this is more money, and there is already so much money available to the SEC schools, I am beginning to wonder what the point of all this actually is.

Each SEC school pocketed something like $20 million from TV revenue last season, and while I understand with money more is always thought to be better, my only interest in the football season is the football games played during the season.

Yes, it is nice to get these games on TV, but if you did not, and I lived a long, long time without getting every SEC game on TV, life would go on.   It has, it did, and it would.

I think you get the idea where this is going…no; I could not care less about the SEC’s expansion plans or lack thereof.   And, ultimately it does not matter whether I care about expanding the conference, or you care about expanding the conference.   What matters is how hungry for money the school presidents are, and how much Mike Slive and his negotiators can wrangle out of the TV networks while brandishing the enlarged footprint of the SEC.

And you know, the last time I browsed the Wall Street Journal, the United States is in significant economic turmoil.

Folks are out of jobs, folks have been out of jobs for so long in a lot of places, they have fallen off the job radar completely.

Businesses in the United States are clinging to their existence by their fingernails, the government debt is beyond comprehension, the two major political parties can not agree on anything substantive to assist the situation.

So, in the face of all this, the SEC is, and I don’t care how they couch it, talking to another school about joining the conference so the conference and the member schools will make more money.

And, believe me, if the SEC is talking about this, they have certainly had discussions with the TV folks about the possibility of more money generated by adding another school, yet one of the football-broadcasting TV networks, Fox, is ducking and covering as its parent company and its parent’s owner Rupert Murdoch goes through an inspection process over law-breaking of the kind that has, historically, been kinda bad for business.

This should give you an idea of the confidence the commissioner Mike Slive and the SEC leadership has in their product.

Meanwhile, out here in fan land, most of us are worried about keeping our jobs and making the mortgage, and maybe having money to pay for cable to watch games on TV.

Other than being able to pay in most cases, to see more football games, how does all this money the conference is raking in benefit the fan base?  

Are football season tickets lower in price because the schools are making more money?   I don’t think so.   Are the kids who play the games we watch better off because the schools are sharing some of their dramatically increased revenue with scholarships that cover the full cost of attendance…well the schools are talking about it, but that is all, so the answer is no.

The schools get more money, the coaches’ salaries rise… in most states the highest paid public employees are football and basketball coaches…what a shock!

And yet, each school is lobbying the legislature for more tax money every day, all day, while the TV money the school’s football team generates is being used to build fancier and fancier practice facilities and stadiums and office buildings.

If the SEC schools are generating so much revenue from sports, why is tuition continually increasing?

It just seems as though the SEC is saying to me and you that they really don’t care what the economic future for you is like, we are going to grab all the money we can get, right now…damn the economic misery picture and full speed ahead.

 - Scorpio Jones III

I ran into one of my Tennessee fan buddies at the grocery store over the weekend.

It turns out any fan of a team which loses a bowl game is assigned grocery store duty.

Since neither of us really finds deciding between LeSeur and Delmonte English peas, we got into a discussion, a fairly long one, much to the disgust of the folks who were shopping who actually knew what they were doing, about how Tennessee got where they are at, football-wise, today.

Harlan, which could be his real name, but probably is not, pointed out something I had suspected but not really thought about in anywhere near the depth Harlan had…what a surprise.

“Recruiting,” says Harlan, eyeing the French cut green beans, “That’s what got Phil, and its why we are where we are, and it’s why we won’t be back to where we was anytime soon, I don’t care if Jimmy Cheek hires Jesus’ step-brother as AD.”

This went on for a few minutes, and the evil looks from the folks trying to get to the green beans were increasing, so we called it a day and went to stumbling around the store getting in the way of more knowledgeable shoppers.

But, you know, Harlan may very well have a point.

As I have made, I hope, perfectly clear, I think the recruiting class rankings are moose puckey, but they do have their uses. Even if the rankings are flawed, meaningless and driven by web traffic, they are at least a place to start.

So…. in the last three years of the Phil Fulmer era, the Great Punkin’s recruiting efforts netted the Vols, according to the recruiting weasels, only one class, 2007, was thought much of, and the 2007 class may turn out to be the most disappointing in UT football history.

Ranked fourth and third in the nation by the largest of the recruiting services, the 2007 class had 17 signees who for one reason or another did not finish their eligibility. That is over half of the class. Over half the 2007 signees, who would I believe, be seniors this year never made it to the end of their eligibility at Tennessee.

By the beginning of last year, Tennessee had lost four offensive line signees out of the previous classes, and if you think that does not hurt, ask the UT offensive coordinator or Tyler Bray.

Then came the coaching change from Fulmer to Lane Kiffin, which saw a dozen or so players decide their football fortunes were best served at another institution of higher learning, and in addition, while Kiffin signed a recruiting class some of the experts were pretty high on…earning the ire of the NCAA in the process…three of the most ballyhooed signees won’t be around for the 2011 season. The Bryce Brown story is almost legendary, and then there was the Hold up at the Zippy Mart, which got two more players with many stars.

Lane Kiffin hits the road, and in comes Derek Dooley, and the change left another seven players so unenchanted they decided to leave UT.

Since you can only sign, the old fashioned way in any case, 25 players per year, it will take Derek Dooley, assuming he is still in Knoxville, till at least the 2013 recruiting class to get the Vols back to parity numbers-wise with even Vanderbilt and Kentucky.

Just how Phil Fulmer, who went from ace-country-scouring recruiter to such a flop is one of those conversations I would love to have with ole Harlan, but it is probably not suitable for the canned veggie aisle at the grocery story.

And there is another interesting story here, and that is how the Great Punkin’s boss, former UT AD Mike Hamilton, allowed this to go on, and on and on.

The two stories are closely intertwined and ought to make a great made-for-TV movie somewhere down the road.

Phil, for his part, made the most salient comment on the whole situation as he was exiting stage right for his replacement.

“Boy,” said Fulmer, it has been reported, “We sure screwed that up.”

And in that summation is the reason the search for an athletic director in Knoxville is so important.

And the idea that all this horror could have been avoided if Mike Hamilton had planted his size ten shoe in the appropriate place on Phil (certainly no a hard target, if you will pardon me.)

I have said before I don’t know if Derek Dooley will survive the rebuilding process, although I think that situation looks better than it did.

But it is clear to me that hiring Derek a boss who is not afraid to get his or her hands dirty with the meat and potatoes of being successful on the field is not only a good thing, it is absolutely essential.

Telling an SEC fan base to be patient is a waste of air, but the Vols are a long way from the glory of 1998…. a very long way, indeed.

- Scorpio Jones III

- Scorpio Jones III

The NCAA has let it be known Tech’s penalty would have been far less severe had the school not meddled in trying to cover up the, again, minor indiscretion of one or two of its football players. The NCAA it is reported, told the school that the eligibility of two of its players, both starters, were in question for the final three games of the season, and the NCAA urged the school to sit the players.

Tech decided to play them anyway… which was another, shot across the bow of the NCAA’s enforcement folks.

So Tech got backhanded…in an ACC kind of way.

But the more onerous message from the NCAA seems to be that if you lie, or meddle or in any other way impede an investigation into rule breaking at your school, you will be the grass, the NCAA being the lawn mower.

So, it appears to me the Tech situation could have unsettling portents for schools under investigation for impeding investigations or lying to the NCAA or a combination of the two.

And yes, I see you THEOhioState and Tennessee.

And probably Auburn, especially if they can’t keep their football coach away from public appearances by NCAA’s director of enforcement.

And a side note to all the Georgia fans who thought Georgia caved in to the NCAA on the issue of A.J. Green selling his jersey last season…now you know why that situation was handled the way it was.

Personally, I think the NCAA is on the right track here. And, in fact, fining evildoers is a very effective way of getting folks attention, although the amount in the case of Tech is small, so was the initial offense.

Of course since the evildoer in this case is Georgia Tech, it behooves me to admit there is a certain glee involved.

But point being, if the NCAA is going to really get serious about if not stopping agent meddling in college sports, at least putting a finger or two in a seriously leaky dike, then it seems to me the obvious thing to do is to take away some of the ill-gotten gains.

Hit them where it really hurts…in the wallet.

- Scorpio Jones III

- Scorpio Jones III

- Scorpio Jones III

Most of the shooting is done in Austin and Pflugerville, Texas and environs, and there was little or no rehearsal with the only stricture on the actors being to follow the plot.

Which produces a “look” similar to a documentary, or at times, somebody’s home movies, with hard close-ups of characters’ faces. And no stage sets….when the team goes to a chain restaurant…which is upscale dining in the fictional Dillon, Texas, after a game, it really is an Applebee’s, and the neighborhoods are real neighborhoods, the classroom stuff is in a real classroom…you can almost smell the teen angst mixed with chalk dust.

As the story moves on into the third and fourth year, the characters move on with their lives in the context of the show…which means you have to have seen the show before to get the picture.

And most important for us Football Droolers this time of the year, you get to experience a full season of football for each year of the show.

Most football fans, the silly, serious ones….the ones the nerds at the office laugh at… walk a thin line between love and psychosis (hell, some of them poison the opponent’s trees, fer God’s sake).

Friday Night Lights is helping me stay just this side of silly as the season approaches…I could only watch “Remember the Titans” so many times, after all.

- Scorpio Jones III

And now that all the bad stuff happening in Columbus is out in the college football air, it appears the heads of the three most powerful conferences in all of college football, the commissioners of the Big Ten, the SEC and the Pac-12, have all promised to at least “explore” the possibility of allowing the players to benefit at least a little bit from the huge river of money coming to them. The conference commissioners are “exploring” the idea of a “cost of attendance” scholarship for players, in direct response to the conditions that entice athletes to stray into the “black market” in the first place.

The NCAA president, who has more problems than anybody, and is the titular leader of the organization formed and designed to enforce the status quo, which is that it is “grossly unacceptable and inappropriate to pay players” apparently is standing in the same line at the watering trough as the conference commissioners.

And boys, that won’t be much solace to Buckeye fans for quite a while, but the idea that players should get a little bit of the pie for the money they help generate is a an indication of a sea-change in the thinking of the bosses of college football.

For every Peyton Manning who did not need the money from selling his jersey, there are a thousand good kids who do need the money. Even the consideration of leveling the situation is a very good thing, very good indeed.

- Scorpio Jones III

- Scorpio Jones III

An injury to returning starter Herman Lathers is not good news for the Vols’ defense. According to webinfo, Lathers won’t be ready for the beginning of the season after fracturing an ankle last week, an injury that will require surgery to repair and has no definite timetable for return. Backup Greg King also required arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, but the procedure performed Friday is expected to have him ready in time for camp in August.

It appears Tennessee may have replaced Georgia as the most banged up team in the SEC East going into the fall, and the injuries for the Vols just keep on a’coming at spots where there is little or no depth. Not a fortunate portent for the upcoming season.

In spite of much protestation to the contrary, it seems the Big Ten (or howevermany they are) will not play the league’s championship game at an outdoor location like Chicago’s Soldier Field in order that the attendees to the game would get to experience the weather fans keep blathering about. Well, it ain’t gonna happen. The league championship will be in Indianapolis Lucas Oil Field for the foreseeable future.

In a continuation, more or less of the first item, there is a serious (to West Virginia fans) cat fight over former coach-in-waiting Dana Holgerson’s alcohol-related problems, or at least to the source of the reports that Holgerson actually has or had problems with Demon Rum. It seems the most likely candidate for the stories is the guy Holgerson was picked to replace, Bill Stewart, although there is no actual proof of any of this, Stewart is the man tapped by the intertubes as being responsible for the spreading of the doo doo.

Makes you think most schools will want to re-think the idea of hiring a “coach-in-waiting” for somebody they are just trying to fire. It appears things would be significantly simpler at West Va if the school had just fired Stewart.

I refuse to make a comment linking the first item with anything connected to the Neers’ new football coach.

There is an interesting cast of characters at the soap-opera also known as the UT response to the allegations of wrongdoing by the NCAA.

Former coaches Bruce Pearl and Lane Kiffin are at least proposed actors, backed up by Mike Hamilton and a cast of lawyers and other interested parties.

I gotta tell you I can’t think of an NCAA infractions case that has had all the sub-plots of this one... phone calls, traveling cuties, lies and re-lies (which should be self-explanatory).

There is simply no predicting how this will all shake out for the Vols football and basketball programs, but it interesting to note the only face consistently in the picture is AD Mike Hamilton. All the other actors are either gone or new.

A lot of Vols fans have a very bad feeling about the outcome of this passion play, and I don’t blame them... the whole magilla has the unpleasant odor of “lack of institutional control” about it, although that’s just my personal perspective, and we all know what that’s worth.

- Scorpio Jones III

And in spite of a babbling endorsement by Brent Musberger, this is most assuredly not Tressel’s first brush with “unfortunate circumstances” during his tenure as a head football coach. Tressel went through a similar round of embarrassing recitals of wrongdoing at his former job, as head coach at Youngstown State. The school was punished after Tressel left, although most of the problems suddenly went away when Tressel took over in Columbus.

One of the early and interesting communications surrounding Tressel’s departure is a memo from TheOhio State president and resident slime ball, Gordon Gee, who is famous in the SEC for basically dismantling Vanderbilt’s athletic programs then hitting the boogie trail for the greener pastures of Columbus, Ohio.

Here’s how Gee stood up for his coach and program.

“I write to let you know that later this morning we will be announcing the resignation of Jim Tressel as head coach of the University’s football program,” the memo read, according to The Dispatch. “As you all know, I appointed a special committee to analyze and provide advice to me regarding issues attendant to our football program. In consultation with the senior leadership of the University and the senior leadership of the Board, I have been actively reviewing the matter and have accepted Coach Tressel’s resignation.”

Note the slick political way Gee found the cojones to fire Tressel.

It is also interesting that Brent Musberger found Tressel guilty of a minor incident.

Which is certainly not the case. What Tressel did was try his dead level best to cover up the “Tat Gate Five” incident, and, despite there being no proof the administration was involved in the cover up, it seems inconceivable that no one knew anything.

What this means is that Tressel won’t be coaching for quite a while. The offense he committed, lying to the NCAA, usually follows a coach around, but this will all be decided in the future. And firing Tressel will not assure the program of not getting slapped by the NCAA.

I, for one, hope this is just the first salvo in a new offensive by the NCAA to get big time cheating under control. The NCAA delivered a back hand to USC’s appeal a couple of weeks ago. College football’s controlling body needs to hammer Ohio State whether Tressel is gone or not.

I never really liked sweater vests, and the following blurb from the cover of one of Tressel’s several books on motivation, finding God in a car dealership and other pithy subjects is one of the reasons:“If you’re struggling with your place in the world, if things have become difficult and you feel like giving up, this little book will encourage you, lift you up when you’re wrestling with life, push you forward, and motivate you to be a better person — and a more vital part of whatever team you serve.” If that sounds like a thinly veiled ripoff of Rudyard Kipling’s “IF”, what can I possibly say?

And then there was Junior.

It has been an agonizing couple of years for fans of the driver who in many ways is the face of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing.

First there was the unforgettable scene of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. literally pushing his teammate to a win.

Then last Sunday night there was, possibly, the most agonizing moment of all for the Junior fans as their hero led going into the final turn of the last lap, only to run out of gas roughly a quarter-mile from the finish and a win for the first time since Michigan in June, 2008.

If Junior had managed to hang on to the win, there would have been great jubilation behind the closed doors of NASCAR headquarters, because of Junior’s importance to the NASCAR brand.

Very few athletes have meant as much to their sports as Junior does to NASCAR…= Johnson and Michael Jordan in pro basketball, Cam Newton in college football, Tiger Woods to golf.

If you wonder how Junior can maintain the level of support he does, in spite of not winning in a sport where his grandfather told his father…”Second place is just the first loser”, class has something to do with it.

“We kind of knew we were going to be short (on gas),” Junior told the media after the race. “We had a good top-five car. What can you do? We came close.

“I hate it for our fans. It’s hard to win a race and give them something to cheer about. We should find our fortune soon.”

This just minutes after what could only have been a crushing moment for a guy who was weaned on winning.

When Kyle Bush, who has won more than Junior of late, put himself out of the race, scrambled out of his car, gave the assembled multitudes a seething look, then blew off the media as he stomped back to his fancy bus.

NASCAR is in sort of a personality slump these days, and it is patently obvious that pulling out of that is going to involve Junior in some way.

To the Junior fans among you here’s a word of hope, I hope. Junior lately is kind of like the football team that fumbles at a crucial time or gets penalized for a non-violation that ultimately loses a close game for them, or whose coaching staff forgets how to count at a must have moment.

Junior’s luck on the track just has to change, and it is not just Junior who needs that to happen, and soon.

- Scorpio Jones III

The defending national champion Awbun Tigers (Unless you are one of the many Bama fans who are still digging around in Cecil Newton’s financial statements for signs of a big deposit, and therefore believe it is only a matter of time for Awbun.) start the spring with very few of the players who played Oregon for the crystal football.

In addition to Cam Newton and Nick Fairley, who represented most of the Tigers’ offense and defense, Gene Chizik has to rebuild his offensive line, find a new quarterback and rebuild his whole defense….which gets smaller by the arrest.

Suffice to say no matter how all this goes, Awbun will be a shadow of its Cam-self come September. Probably the most interesting thing about the offense will be to see if Gus Malzahn can find a quarterback to run things….chances are whoever gets the job won’t be in the Cam Newton category.

Bama fans, when they are not entertaining themselves watching Court TV for the other shoe to drop on Awbun must be pleased the defensive players are talking about knocking down the opposing quarterback more often. It is noted that Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins, interviewed while still in the whirlpool following the Spartans’ bowl date with Bama, said “Huh?...they want to hit the quarterback more often…what, they gonna hit me when I am on the sidelines or something?.....Jeesh!”

Bama does have to replace quarterback Greg McElroy, but Bama’s offense requires a game manager rather than a game changer, and with Nick Saban’s recruiting success this will probably be more of a case a little re-tooling.

LSU is adding Georgia transfer via junior college Zach Mettenberger to the mix at quarterback which position has not been a bright light for the Tigers for the last couple of years.

Mettenberger is a big body, big arm pro-style quarterback who had worked himself into the starting rotation at Georgia despite the presence of ultimate starter Aaron Murray, before making an unfortunate decision during spring break that involved alcohol and a girl.

Les Miles replaced his offensive coordinator over the winter, and one of the reasons for this was quarterback play…which was spotty to say the least. My LSU-fan buddies say Jordan Jefferson will probably start the season for the Tigers, but that word out of Baton Rouge is that Mettenberger could very well finish the season there.

Tennessee coach Derek Dooley has decided last year was not really year one for he and his staff in Knoxville, that the upcoming season is actually the “year one” of his tenure.

During the winter, Dooley parted ways with former Vol Chuck Smith, who was coaching the defensive line, and typically for the Vols of late, Smith’s departure turned into something of a soap opera, albeit a bit overshadowed by the continuing saga of the men’s basketball program going into meltdown with the firing of Bruce Pearl.

For a while, at least, there is something for the writers around the state to talk about other than Lane Kiffin, at least until the NCAA decides what it is going to do about some of the rather egregious things Kiffin’s staff did in Knoxville.

Derek Dooley’s boss, athletic director Mike Hamilton is catching the brunt of the Vol Nation’s displeasure since he hired Kiffin and, with the advise and consent of his boss, fired the popular Pearl.

It is always hard to tell how turmoil in the athletic department plays out of Saturdays in the fall. An awful lot of folks, including a couple of local members of the Vols’ heavy hitter booster club, think the real problem at UT is Hamilton and that he should go. I agree with these folks, but timing of Hamilton’s exit is clouded by the situation with the NCAA. Do you fire Hamilton and leave his replacement to deal with the fallout? Or do you let Hamilton bear the brunt of whatever the brain trust at the NCAA has in store for the Vols, then give him the boot for overseeing the debacle?

Despite all denials to the contrary, all this has to have some impact on Dooley’s efforts to rebuild the football Vols, you may have to look very close to see this on Saturday next fall, but any turmoil has a trickle-down effect.

Dooley will still be dealing with a talent and numbers deficit this September, but there is no question the Vols did a decent job of hanging together at the end of the season, which should bode at least better for next year.

I’ll get to Florida and some other SEC teams next time.

- Scorpio Jones III

- Scorpio Jones III

- Scorpio Jones III

Weilguni Leads Mocs to Tie for 4th at Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate

Chattanooga redshirt freshman Benni Weilguni (Langelois, Austria) posted his best career finish winding up fourth at the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate. Weilguni's 70 (E) today gave him a 54-hole total of 210, even par.

"Really proud of Benni and how he played this week," said head coach Mark Guhne.  "He put together three strong rounds and is off to a great start to the Spring."

Weilguni's play led the Mocs to a tie for fourth overall with East Carolina at 866.  Today's 292 was the fourth-best team total for the final round.

No. 2 Alabama won the event at nine-over par 849.  No. 17 Virginia was second at 860, while Liberty ended up third with a total of 862.

Chattanooga claimed wins over Clemson (2 shots) and Vanderbilt (11), along with SoCon rivals Wofford (17), Georgia Southern (27), Furman (34), College of Charleston (34) and Elon (35).

Bud Cauley of Alabama was the individual medalist with a tourney-record 201 (-9).  ECU's Harold Varner was second at minus four, 206, followed by Adam Hoffman (Vandy) at one under, 209.

Stephan Jaeger (Munich, Germany) ended his 54 holes tied for 21st at 219 with rounds of 70, 75 and 74.  Steven Fox (Hendersonville, Tenn.) was tied for 24th at 220.

Chris Robb (Aberdeenshire, Scotland) had a strong bounce-back round today with a one-over par 71. That moved him 29 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 32nd at 222.  Davis Bunn (Knoxville, Tenn.) rounded out the Mocs lineup at tied for 38th one shot behind Robb at 223.

"I like the way Chris came back today," added Guhne.  "He gave us what we needed.

"Overall, it was a decent start," Guhne concluded.  "We had one great round and another strong one.  I'm looking forward to seeing it continue to come together."

Next up for Chattanooga is the Furman Intercollegiate next week, March 18-20.  Fox is the defending co-medalist of the event.  Live scoring will be available on GoMocs.com.

Mocs in Fifth after 36 Holes at Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's golf team is fifth after 36 holes of the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate at Palmetto Golf Club.  Chattanooga shot rounds of 280 (E) and 294 to stand at 574 (+14).

That total puts the Mocs nine shots off the pace set by No. 2 Alabama at 565 (+5).  Liberty is second at 569 (+9), while No. 18 Virginia and Clemson are tied for third at 571 (+11).

Chattanooga got off to a tremendous start.  It played the opening 18 holes at level-par 280.  Benni Weilguni (Langelois, Austria) opened with a three-under par 67, his best round with the Mocs.

Stephan Jaeger (Munich, Germany) was just a little off Weilguni's pace shooting 70 (E).  Davis Bunn (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Steven Fox (Hendersonville, Tenn.) rounded out the counting scores posting 71 (+1) and 72 (+2), respectively.

The 280 made Chattanooga the early leader.  Liberty and Clemson trailed by five shots at 285 (+5) in second, while Alabama was fourth at 288 (+8).

The second round was not as kind.  Fox led the way with a 71 (+1) as UTC shot 294 (+14).  The Crimson Tide surged to the lead with a three-under total of 277.

Weilguni leads Chattanooga at 140 (E) which is tied for eighth overall.  Fox is tied for 13th at 143 (+3), while Jaeger is tied for 26th at 145 (+4).  Bunn is a shot back tied for 32nd at 146.  Chris Robb (Aberdeenshire, Scotland) is tied for 61st at 151.

Chattanooga tees off the first hole at 9:50 a.m., playing with Clemson and Vanderbilt.  Robb leads off followed by Bunn (10:00), Jaeger (10:10), Fox (10:20) and Weilguni (10:30).

Chattanooga Finishes Tied for 6th at SunTrust Gator Women’s Golf Invitational

Chattanooga senior Emma de Groot (Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia) finished tied for third at the SunTrust Gator Women's Golf Invitational at Mark Bostick Golf Course at UF.  de Groot carded a level par 70 in final round for a six-over par total of 216.

The tie for third is the third consecutive top five for de Groot and the 18th in her illustrious career.  It is the 22nd top 10 in 41 events in her three-plus years.

"Emma played well," said head coach Colette Murray.  "But I don't think we could've played any worse as a team.  If we would've played for 54 holes the way we did for the first 12 and last seven, we'd have won the tournament.  But we didn't."

The Mocs tied for sixth as a team with No. 11 Iowa State and Coastal Carolina.  Today's 300 gave UTC a 54-hole total of 901as the Mocs made up five strokes on the Cylcones and Chanticleers.

Florida won its event at 865 (+25).  The Gators topped Florida State (883) by 18 shots and Ohio State (895) in third by 30.

FSU's Hannah Thomson's even-par 210 won medalist honors with rounds of 69, 72 and 69.  Vicky Villanueva (OSU) was second at 212 (+2), while de Groot paced a quartet of golfers at 216 (+6).

Freshman Marion Duvernay (Publier, France) finished tied for 25th in her first event as a counter at 227.  The mid-season enrollee earned a spot in the lineup with her play at the Kinderlou Forest Challenge.  Senior Christine Wolf (Igls, Austria) was third for the Mocs tying for 35th at 229.

Junior Maria Juliana Loza (Burcarmanga, Colombia) and freshman Yushira Budhram (Johannesburg, South Africa) rounded out the team scoring tying for 62nd at 236.  Loza had the second lowest round of the day for Chattanooga behind de Groot at 74 (+4). Freshman Jordan Britt (Dayton, Tenn.) wound up tied for 67th at 238.

Murray added, "We know we when we need to knuckle down and get it done, we can.  We just need to do that from the start."

The Mocs return to Florida later this week for the JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational at Eagle Landing Golf Club outside Jacksonville.  The 54-hole event starts Friday, March 11 and ends Sunday, March 13.  Live scoring can be followed at GoMocs.com.

Chattanooga in 8th after 36 Holes at SunTrust Gator Women’s Golf Invitational

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's golf team is in eighth place after 36 holes at the SunTrust Gator Invitational at Mark Bostick Golf Course at UF.  Chattanooga shot rounds of 297 and 304 to stand two shots behind seventh-place Ohio State and one stroke ahead of Georgia State in ninth.

Host Florida leads the event at 12-over par 572.  It followed an even-par start of 280 with a plus-12 292.  The Gators are 17 shots ahead of second-place Florida State (589) and 22 clear of No. 22 Arkansas (594) in third.

Senior Emma de Groot (Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia) leads the Mocs tied for 15th at six-over par 146.  Freshman Marion Duvernay (Publier, France), a mid-season enrollee, matched de Groot's first 73 before shooting 75 over the second 18 to tie for 21st at plus eight, 148.

Duvernay had the shot of the day in the first round.  She aced the 177-yard par three sixth hole, her 16th hole of the round (shotgun start) with a five iron.

Senior Christine Wolf (Igls, Austria) is tied for 23rd one shot behind Duvernay at 149 (+9).  Freshman Yushira Budhram (Johannesburg, South Africa) and junior Maria Juliana Loza (Bucaramanga, Colombia) round out the squad tied for 66th (159) and 80th (162), respectively.  Freshman Jordan Britt (Dayton, Tenn.) is playing as an individual this week and is tied for 68th at 160.

Georgia Sate's Charlotte Lorenzen fired a second-round 64 (-6) to move into first place at minus two, 138.  Vicky Villaneuva (Ohio State) is second with a one-under par total of 139.  Hannah Thomson (Florida State) is third at 141 (+1).

Chattanooga played the opening 18 at 17-over par 297.  The trio of de Groot, Duvernay and Wolf each carded three-over par 73s.  Budhram rounded out the team scoring with a 78.  Britt shot 74 for the first 18.

The Mocs tee off at 8:30 a.m., in a shotgun start.  They will be paired with Ohio State and Georgia State teeing off holes 7-9.  Live scoring can be followed at GoMocs.com.

Mocs Make it Four-Straight With a 4-3 Win at Davidson

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team pulled off a big 4-3 road win in its Southern Conference opener at Davidson today.  The Mocs won their fourth match in a row to improve to 5-6 overall and 1-0 in league matches.

Bad weather forced the match indoors, but UTC was still able to snap a three-match slide to the Wildcats.  The win is the first for UTC over Davidson since posting a 5-2 victory at home on March 3, 2007.  It is the Mocs' first win at Davidson since a 6-1 triumph on March 26, 2006.

UTC got off to a fast start by winning the doubles point for the fourth-straight match.  Sophomores Jackson Tresnan (Apopka, Fla.) and Stephen Crofford (Franklin, Tenn.) lost the first contest of the day at No. 2, but UTC's No. 3 tandem came right back with a win.  Sophomore William Disterdick (Hixson, Tenn.) and freshman Trent Cobb (Melbourne, Australia) evened things up with their 8-2 win over Kevin Moore and Chris Mark.

That left the No. 1 match between sophomores Chris Smith (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Roberto Vieira (Bedfordview, South Africa) and Davidson's duo of Joe Shafer and Calum Gee.  These two pairs went back and forth with the Wildcats breaking for a 7-6 lead.  Smith and Vieira then ran off three straight games to grab a 9-7 win and improve to 7-3 on the year.

"When you win the doubles in this league it gives you a chance," stated head coach Carlos Garcia, who won his 100th match as the men's coach at UTC this week.  He now owns a 101-118 record in men's play in over nine seasons at Chattanooga.  "Our top four got off to a great start in singles action, but it was a total team effort today."

The Mocs won the first set in three of their first four singles matches, but Davidson tied the team score at 1-1 when Shafer defeated Smith (6-4, 6-2) at No. 2.  Chattanooga countered with Vieira's 6-4, 6-4 win over Chris Mark at No. 1.  Vieira evens his record at 7-7 with the win.

UTC went up 3-1 when Cobb put away Aria Hefter 7-5, 7-5 at No. 3.  The Mocs clinched the match with the continued strong play from Tresnan at No. 4.   He won his seventh-straight match with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over Walker Lyons.  Tresnan improves to a team-leading 10-7 on the year and is 7-0 at No. 4.

Disterdick and senior Rick van de Bovenkamp (Oud-Beyerland, The Netherlands) both lost in their matches at No. 5 and 6, respectively.

"Everybody contributed today," continued Garcia.  "This is a tough, tough place to play and anytime you can get a win at Davidson's indoor courts, you have accomplished something.  The team is really coming together and we will continue to work hard and get better as the season goes on."

The Mocs are back in action on Thursday, March 10 when they host Murray State.  Match time against the Racers is set for 2:00 p.m. on the UTC Tennis Courts.  Live scoring for the match will be available on GoMocs.com.

Chattanooga 4, Davidson 3

Mar 06, 2011 at Davidson, N.C. (Knobloch Indoor Tennis Center)

Doubles competition

1. Chris Smith-Roberto Vieira (UTC) def. Calum Gee-Joe Shafer (DAV) - 9-7

2. Walker Lyons-Ethan Kallick (DAV) def. Stephen Crofford-Jackson Tresnan (UTC) - 8-2

3. Trent Cobb-William Disterdick (UTC) def. Kevin Moore-Chris Mark (DAV) - 8-2

Singles competition

1. Roberto Vieira (UTC) def. Chris Mark (DAV) - 6-4, 6-4

2. Joe Shafer (DAV) def. Chris Smith (UTC) - 6-4, 6-2

3. Trent Cobb (UTC) def. Arie Hefter (DAV) - 6-5, 6-5

4. Jackson Tresnan (UTC) def. Walker Lyons (DAV) - 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)

5. Calum Gee (DAV) def. William Disterdick (UTC) - 6-1, 6-2

6. Kevin Moore (DAV) def. Rick van de Bovenkamp (UTC) - 6-0, 7-5

Samford Sweeps Lady Mocs from SoCon Semis

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team fell 68-66 in overtime to No. 2 seed Samford in the semifinals of the 2011 Southern Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Sunday afternoon at the McKenzie Arena.

Sophomore Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.) led the Lady Mocs with her third double-double of the year scoring 17 points and grabbing a career-high 14 rebounds. Junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) managed 16 points making 8-of-9 from the free throw line.

Chattanooga started with an 8-2 lead holding the Bulldogs to just two free throws and an 0-for-4 effort. Samford would hit another pair of free throws before getting its first bucket from Hannah Dawson at the 15:24 mark. A jumper from Savannah Hill knotted the game at 8-8 but a pair of free throws from Hood put Chattanooga back on top.

Samford took a 13-10 lead on a 3-pointer from Emily London with 11:39 to play in the first but Lambert cut it to 13-12 just 48 seconds later. London stretched the lead back out to three points on a jumper at the 10:36 mark and it would be the last field goal for either team over the next nine minutes.

The two teams combined to go 0-for-19 from the field over that time but were 13-of-17 from the free throw line. Samford hit all six of its attempts and led 21-19 with 2:56 to play until halftime. Brittany Jack's layup with 1:33 to go ended the scoring drought and the Lady Mocs followed that with a 3-pointer from freshman Taylor Hall (New Tazewell, Tenn.) to bring Chattanooga to within a point at 23-22 with 1:20 on the clock.

Freshman Alex Black brought the crowd to its feet with a trey from the right wing to give Chattanooga back its lead with 47 seconds to go. Jack tied it up with a layup 30 seconds later, but the momentum was all Chattanooga's as Lambert drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the Lady Mocs into intermission with a 28-25 lead.

Lambert got the ball rolling to start the second half with another 3-pointer and the Lady Mocs stretched its tenuous lead to 36-28 with 16:31 remaining in regulation on a triple from junior Bailey Dewart (Spartanburg, S.C.).

Samford got to within three on five quick points from London and Hill, but Chattanooga battled back. Dewart capped an 8-2 run to put the Lady Mocs up 44-35 with 14:07 on the clock. That would go for naught behind a 10-0 Bulldog run to give Samford the lead for the first time since the waning moments of the first half, 45-44 midway through the second.

Chattanooga, however, would again put together a drive, outscoring Samford 13-7 over the next eight minutes to lead 59-52 with 3:08 in regulation. That would be the final points for the Lady Mocs who took just three shots in that time while Samford put seven points on the board to tie the game.

Chattanooga forced a Samford turnover deep in Bulldog territory and called a timeout with six seconds on the clock to set up the final play. Christopher got the ball on a curl and went up in the lane for the shot against heavy pressure from Samford and the ball fell short forcing overtime.

In the extra period, Samford quickly built a seven-point lead, 66-59 with 3:08 to play. Lambert started the Chattanooga run to the finish with a pair of free throws. After a missed shot by the Bulldogs, UTC managed to keep the ball in Lady Mocs' territory and a jumper from Christopher fell as she was fouled, cutting the lead to 66-64 with 1:19 to play.

London hit a quick jumper to give Samford a four-point lead but Townsend cut it back to two on a layup with 33 seconds to play. Dawson missed the front end of a one-and-bonus and Christopher grabbed the rebound and the Lady Mocs set up the final play with just seconds left.

Christopher passed the ball to Dewart who was blocked on the drive to the basket and the Lady Mocs fell to the Bulldogs for the third time this season.

Christopher closed out the game with eight points, eight rebounds and four assists. Townsend had four points and four assists, while Dewart put up nine for Chattanooga, all on 3-pointers. Hall had a career-high three 3-pointers and nine points for the Lady Mocs and sophomore Kiara Smith (Rome, Ga.) had five rebounds in just three minutes on the floor.

Samford was paced by London's 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. Hill had 20 points and nine boards, as Ruth Ketcham and Shelby Campbell each tossed in eight points.

Chattanooga outrebounded Samford 44-33 with 16 offensive boards converting that into 12 second chance points. The Lady Mocs scord eight points off eight Bulldog miscues while Samford scored just three off 10 UTC turnovers.

UTC closes out the season at 17-14 and third in the SoCon standings. Samford (24-7) will go on to play No. 1 Appalachian State in the finals Monday afternoon at 4 p.m. The game will be carried live on SportSouth with Tom Werme and Robin Muller.

Mocs Fall 61-52 to Furman in SoCon Tourney Quarterfinals

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team ended its season Saturday night with a 61-52 loss to Furman in the Southern Conference Tournament Quarterfinals.  The loss ends Chattanooga's year at 16-16, while Furman improved to 22-9 awaiting the winner of the nightcap between Elon and College of Charleston.

The Mocs were led by Keegan Bell (Hazel Green, Ala.) with 20 points.  Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) each had 12 as the starting guard trio scored 44 of UTC's 52 points.

Furman guard Jordan Miller had 21 points to pace the Paladins.  Amu Saaka added 15 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, while Darryl Evans chipped in 14 points.

Trailing by 10, 38-28, on a Miller three-pointer at 16:55, the Mocs made a mini-run.  They scored seven unanswered points to close within three, 38-35, on Wattad's trey at 13:35.  As he did most of the night, Miller had an answer with a three-pointer to stop the run and give his teammates some breathing room.

But Chattanooga was not done.  Two Bell free throws at 8:47 made it a three-point game again, 43-40.  Furman responded with a 10-0 run over the next 4:50 to jump back up by 13, 53-40, taking control of the game.  The Mocs got no closer than seven the rest of the way.

It was a cold shooting night with UTC shooting a meager 31.4 percent (16-51) including 25.0 percent (5-20) from beyond the arc.  Most frustrating was the 51.7 percent (15-29) effort from the free throw line.  At one point in the second half, the Mocs made just two of eight during a span where they held the Paladins without a field goal for four-plus minutes.

Furman started the game on a 13-0 run over the first five-plus minutes of play.  Saaka capped it with a three-pointer and it looked like an easy night for the Paladins.  In the Mocs' first eight possessions, they missed all five shot attempts and had four turnovers.

Chattanooga battled back slowly.  Down 17-6, a Wattad three-pointer sparked seven unanswered points to close with four, 17-13.  The Mocs held Furman without a field goal for more than four minutes.

Two DeAntre Jefferson (Bloomington, Ill.) free throws at 4:35 got UTC to just two down, 22-20, before Furman pushed out to a 30-24 halftime cushion.  The Mocs managed just one field goal over the final three minutes of the half.

Chattanooga ends its season at 16-16, but also as co-champions of SoCon North Division.  The title is the 18th regular season crown in the 34 years UTC has been in the league and 28th overall (10 tourneys).  The Mocs are the only program to win three regular-season crowns in the last four years.

Lady Mocs Advance to SoCon Semis with Win Over Wofford

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) led three Lady Mocs in double figures in a 68-58 win over No. 11 Wofford in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament at the McKenzie Arena Saturday morning.

The Lady Mocs improve to 17-13 overall and Wofford falls to 8-22 on the year.

Christopher scored 11 second-half points on her way to a team-high 17 and nabbed five of Chattanooga's 12 steals. Junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) just missed out on a double-double with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds and junior Tenisha Townsend chipped in 11 from the point and had just one turnover in 27 minutes of play.

Chattanooga had a week off before taking the court Saturday and it showed with a slow start. The Lady Mocs trailed 7-1 through nearly the first six minutes of the game before Townsend drained her 3-pointer at the 14:16 mark of the first half to spark a 10-0 run. Sophomore Kiara Smith (Rome, Ga.) hit a trey from the left wing at the 11:51 mark of the first half to give Chattanooga a 9-7 lead and the Lady Mocs never trailed again.

Wofford rebounded to tie the game at 11-11 with 8:48 in the first but Chattanooga closed out the half on a 20-7 run, capped by a jumper from Christopher at the buzzer, to take a 31-18 lead into intermission.

Chattanooga went on a 7-0 run to start the second half and got out to a 20-point, 38-18, lead behind five points from Christopher. Wofford would not go away and cut into the Lady Mocs' lead getting as close as 42-29 at the 13:11 mark. However, over the next six minutes, the Lady Mocs outscored the Terriers 13-5 and gained its largest lead of the game at 55-34 with 7:57 to play.

Wofford again cut into Chattanooga's lead closing the gap to 59-48 at the 3:07 mark of the game behind the strength of two 3-pointers from Maddie Helms. Helms drained her fourth 3-pointer of the game in the waning moments of the game to cut the lead to 67-58, but the Lady Mocs would prevail for their 28th consecutive win over the Terriers.

Chattanooga redshirt junior Bailey Dewart (Spartanburg, S.C.) had seven points and seven rebounds while sophomore Capriee Tucker (Ft. Payne, Ala.) had eight points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal in just nine minutes of play.

The Lady Mocs outscored Wofford in the paint 30-26 but were outrebounded 43-40 with each team hauling in nine offensive boards. Chattanooga converted that into 11 second chance points while the Terriers had eight. Wofford converted 10 Lady Mocs' miscues into 11 points, but Chattanooga was not as fortunate with just nine points on 15 Wofford turnovers. Chattanooga's bench posted 16 points to Wofford's six.

Wofford's Mahagony Williams led all scorers with 18 points and 19 rebounds including seven off the offensive glass. Helms went 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and had 15 points and five rebounds while April Moorhouse dropped in 10 points and five rebounds.

No. 3 Chattanooga will move on to the semifinals Sunday afternoon to take on No. 2 Samford at 2:30 p.m. The Bulldogs swept the season series from Chattanooga, but the Lady Mocs are 5-1 against Samford in the Roundhouse. The game will be televised by SportSouth (Comcast Chattanooga 53, EPB Chattanooga 33, Direct TV 649 and Dish Network 437). Larry Ward the "Voice of the Lady Mocs" will have the call on ESPN 105.1 FM or go online for live stats and live streaming audio.

Budhram Named SoCon Golfer of the Week

Chattanooga freshman Yushira Budhram (Johannesburg, South Africa) was named Southern Conference Golfer of the Week by the league office today.  Budhram keyed the Mocs' win at the Kinderlou Forest Challenge.

Budhram finished second by one shot at Kinderlou Forest, topping six top 100 golfers including No. 6 Marta Silva Zamora of Georgia and teammate Christine Wolf (Igls, Austria), No. 86.  She was six over through the first nine holes and played six under the final 45 holes.

"I'm delighted for Yushi," said head coach Colette Murray.  "She has worked so hard to improve on her Fall results.  I'm excited to see her to build on this finish throughout the Spring."

Budhram tied for the tourney lead with a career-best 11 birdies.  She shot rounds of 79, 69 and 71 for an even par 219.  Her four-under par total of 69 in round two tied a school record against par.  She played par or better on 45 of 54 holes, 41 of the final 45 holes.

The win was the second in a row for the Mocs who head to Florida this weekend.  They play Sunday and Monday, March 6-7, at the SunTrust Gator Women's Golf Invitational at the Mark Bostick Golf Course at UF.  Senior Emma de Groot (Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia is the defending medalist.

Mocs Defeat Lee 6-1

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team won its third straight match with a 6-1 victory over Lee University today.  The Mocs improve to 4-6 on the year, while the Flames drop to 0-3.

Chattanooga is on its first three-match winning streak since the spring of 2008 when it won seven in a row.  UTC has grabbed the doubles point in each of the last three wins, including today when it took the No. 2 and No. 3 matches.

Sophomores Stephen Crofford (Franklin, Tenn.) and Jackson Tresnan (Apopka, Fla.) started the afternoon off with an 8-1 win over Zach Smith and Renan Molineiro.  Crofford and Tresnan have won three of their last four doubles matches since being paired at No. 2.

Freshman Trent Cobb (Melbourne, Australia) and Orlando Lourenco (Hixson, Tenn.) won their match at No. 3, 8-0, over Michael Hewgley and Andre Ishida.  It was Lourenco's first career doubles action.

Sophomores Chris Smith (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Roberto Vieira (Bedfordview, South Africa) dropped their No. 1 contest to Michael Yokosuk and Richard Gamble, 8-4.

The Mocs took a 2-0 lead when Tresnan won his sixth-straight at No. 4.  He defeated Smith 6-1, 6-0 to improve to 9-7 on the year.  His nine singles wins lead the team.

Smith followed that up with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Molineiro at No. 3.  It was his third-straight win as he improves to 3-4 at No. 3.  Sophomore William Disterdick (Hixson, Tenn.) also won his third in a row and clinched the match with his 6-1, 6-2 victory over Marcelo Martinelli at No. 5.

Vieira and senior Rick van de Bovenkamp (Oud-Beyerland, The Netherlands) closed out the Mocs' scoring with wins at No. 1 and No. 6, respectively.  Van de Bovenkamp is 6-5 on the year, tying his career-high for wins in a season.  Cobb lost the only point on the day for UTC, falling to Gamble in three sets (2-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-6)) at No. 2.

The Mocs open Southern Conference action this weekend with a trip to Davidson on Sunday, March 6.  Match time is set for 1:00 p.m. (E.S.T.).  Be sure to check back to GoMocs.com for scores and a full recap.

Chattanooga 6, Lee University 1

Mar 03, 2011 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (UTC Tennis Courts)

Doubles competition

1. Michael Yokosuk-Richard Gamble (LEE) def. Roberto Vieira-Chris Smith (UTC) - 8-4

2. Stephen Crofford-Jackson Tresnan (UTC) def. Zach Smith-Renan Molineiro (LEE) - 8-1

3. Trent Cobb-Orlando Lourenco (UTC) def. Michael Hewgley-Andre Ishida (LEE) - 8-0

Singles competition

1. Roberto Vieira (UTC) def. Michael Yokosuk (LEE) - 6-2, 6-2

2. Richard Gamble (LEE) def. Trent Cobb (UTC) - 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-6)

3. Chris Smith (UTC) def. Renan Molineiro (LEE) - 6-0, 6-1

4. Jackson Tresnan (UTC) def. Zach Smith (LEE) - 6-1, 6-0

5. William Disterdick (UTC) def. Marcelo Martinelli (LEE) - 6-1, 6-2

6. R. van de Bovenkamp (UTC) def. Andre Ishida (LEE) - 6-2, 6-0

Tennessee fans have, apparently, gotten a sliver of good news from the NCAA about UT’s brief love affair with Lane Kiffin.

From reading published accounts of the NCAA’s letter to UT, it appears at least some of the penalties Kiffin and his staff accumulated in their 14-month stay in Knoxville could actually be against Kiffin personally, and would follow him to Southern Cal.

This should please USC athletic director Mike Garrett.

If this happens, and with the NCAA hardly anything is a sure thing, it is an unusual situation because normally penalties go to the school rather than the coach. But it must be something about the atmosphere in California, because one of those rare exceptions involves Kiffin’s cross-town rival, Rick Neuheisel, who was barred from off-campus recruiting for eight months in 2002, when Neuheisel was head coach at Washington, for recruiting violations that stemmed from his tenure at Colorado in the mid-nineties. Presumably, the notification to USC is notification that Kiffin could face the same fate.

This certainly does not mean UT football will get away clean. There are plenty of violations by Kiffin and his staff that will impact UT football, although most of them are not of the program destroying type, added up, the violations could be another set back for the football Vols.

And, I hate to even bring this up, but there are now stories creeping around that there is taped evidence that Kiffin and or his staff was recruiting Cam Newton, and according to the rumors there was money mentioned. There is no real proof of anything, and as far as is known, the NCAA is not looking at that issue with Tennessee.

UT’s basketball program is another story.

Tennessee’s strange relationship with basketball coach Bruce Pearl will likely come to an end fairly soon, or at least that’s the best guess of most round-ball expert observers. The consensus among these folks is that there will have to be a parting of the waters type miracle for Pearl to keep his job.

The long list of transgressions by the UT basketball program and Pearl specifically includes "failure to furnish full and complete information relevant to the investigation," which has traditionally been the kiss of death when dealing with the NCAA.

Pearl is a pretty good basketball coach, that should be obvious, but his career is a long strange trip if there ever was one.

Blacklisted by almost all the Division 1 basketball programs for reporting a recruiting violation by one of his rivals, Pearl descended to the depths of basketball coaching for almost a decade before re-surfacing at Wisconsin-Milwaukee after putting together a long winning streak in Division II.

It would appear the whistle-blower has turned.

In the continuing saga of over-signing recruits in the SEC, now South Carolina (USCe) is getting lots of negative attention over the Gamecocks treatment of Atlanta defensive tackle signee Lorenzo Mauldin.

Mauldin, a ward of the state of Georgia who has been through 16 foster homes and two group homes in his short life, was informed by a fax to his high school that South Carolina no longer had room for him in its 2011 recruiting class.

Mauldin, who committed to the Gamecocks last July, told reporters he felt “shoved away” by South Carolina.

Steve Spurrier’s football program signed 32 players for the 2011 class. The theoretical NCAA-mandated limit is 25 per year.

Since the mainstream media has picked up this story, the SEC and director Mike Slive are mumbling the right words, but little action has been taken. The annual SEC meetings in Florida are coming up, and there have been reports that over signing recruits in football will be part of the discussion.

There is already a theoretical cap on the number of kids a school can sign each year, so I have no idea how the SEC can do anything more. Some schools are going to do what they are going to do, and there is only one way to stop this rotten treatment of high school kids, and that is for the NCAA to make the practice illegal….it is more than doubtful the SEC will do anything till someone else forces Mike Slive’s hand, no matter what the public outcry may be.

 - Scorpio Jones III

Lady Mocs Shut Out Mercer 7-0

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team posted a 7-0 shutout at Mercer today.  The Lady Mocs evened their record at 4-4 with the non-conference road win while the Bears dropped to 2-3.

Mercer could only suit up five players, forcing them to forfeit both the No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles matches.  Chattanooga took the doubles point behind junior Shaina Singh (Vancouver, B.C.) and sophomore Jenna Nurik's (Roswell, Ga.) team-leading 10th win of the year.  They defeated Amanda Bertoni and Lucie Payrat, 8-3, to improve to 10-5.

Junior Emily Hangstefer (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) and freshman Alexa Flynn (Memphis, Tenn.) also won their doubles match at No. 1, downing Jennifer Lada and Aurelie de Montjou, 8-2.

UTC went up 2-0 when senior Annie Green (Alpharetta, Ga.) took the forfeit at No. 6.  Junior Charlotte Bossy (Koekelare, Belgium) followed that with a 6-0, 6-0 shutout of Sarah Hanna at No. 5.

Hangstefer secured the win with her 6-2, 6-0 win over Payrat at No. 3.  She snapped a six-match losing streak in singles play for her first win of the spring.  Nurik, Flynn and Singh all closed out the day with wins in their singles matches.

"We came down here and took care of business," stated head coach Jeff Clark.  "It is great to get a 7-0 win and get some momentum going into the weekend.  Hopefully, we can continue this strong play against Western Carolina on Saturday."

The Lady Mocs return to Southern Conference action on Saturday when they host the Catamounts at 1:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) on the UTC Tennis Courts.  Live scoring for the match will be available on GoMocs.com.

Chattanooga 7, Mercer 0

March 2, 2011 at Macon, Ga. (Mercer University)

Doubles competition

1. Alexa Flynn-Emily Hangstefer (UTC) def. Jennifer Lada-Aurelie de Montjou (MER) - 8-2

2. Jenna Nurik-Shaina Singh (UTC) def. Amanda Bertoni-Lucie Payrat (MER) - 8-3

3. Charlotte Bossy-Annie Green (UTC) won by forfeit

Singles competition

1. Jenna Nurik (UTC) def. Jennifer Lada (MER) - 6-1, 6-2

2. Alexa Flynn (UTC) def. Aurelie de Montjou (MER) - 6-1, 6-3

3. Emily Hangstefer (UTC) def. Lucie Payrat (MER) - 6-2, 6-0

4. Shaina Singh (UTC) def. Amanda Bertoni (MER) - 6-4, 6-1

5. Charlotte Bossy (UTC) def. Sarah Hanna (MER) - 6-0, 6-0

6. Annie Green (UTC) won by forfeit

Chattanooga Laps Field Capturing Kinderlou Forest Challenge by Nine Shots

Three top 10 finishers led the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's golf team to the Kinderlou Forest Challenge Championship Tuesday afternoon.  Chattanooga won its second event of the season with a dominating performance shooting two-under par 290.

The Mocs started the round six shots behind Coastal Carolina, tied for second with Florida State.  The 290 topped the Chanticleers by 15 shots, while FSU was 14 off UTC's pace.  Chattanooga's 54-hole total of 896 won by nine strokes over second-place CCU and 13 clear of third-place Augusta State.

Freshman Yushira Budhram (Johannesburg, South Africa) shot two-under par 71 to finish in second place at level par 219.  Budhram ended up one shot off the pace set by Augusta State's Casey Kennedy (218).

"Absolutely delighted with Yushi's play this week," said head coach Colette Murray.  "She's always had it in her, but it has just taken some time to get adjusted."

She started her day with a birdie on one and was minus four after a birdie on 12.  A bogey on 13 and double on 14 damaged her medalist hopes, but she closed with a birdie on 18.  Kennedy, who started her day on the fourth hole, birdied her 17th hole (No. 2) and parred her last for the win.

Seniors Emma de Groot (Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia) and Christine Wolf (Igls, Austria) joined Budhram in the top 10.  de Groot ended up fourth at three-over par, 222, while Wolf was seventh at plus six, 225.

Wolf began the round tied for 31st, but her career-best four-under par round of 69, moved her 24 spots on the leaderboard.  The 69 ties for the low round of 2010-11, while also tying for the best score vs. par (-4).

Junior Maria Juliana Loza (Bucaramanga, Colombia) made it four Mocs in the top 20 tying for 19th at 230.  Freshmen Jordan Britt (Dayton, Tenn.) and Marion Duvernay (Publier, France) rounded out the scoring.  Britt tied for 50th at 239, while Duvernay ended tied for 47th (236) playing as an individual.

"It's great to get a win on the board right away," added Murray who now has nine wins in three-plus seasons.  "We still have a lot of work to do, but it's the way you want to get started."

The Mocs topped a solid field of 14 teams ranked in the top 100 in the country.  No. 12 Georgia withdrew due to illness.  The Bulldogs played with four players instead of the usual five in the opening two rounds and lost a second player headeding into today.  UGA was 20 shots behind Chattanooga going into today's round.

Other notable wins include SoCon rivals Furman (24 shots) and Western Carolina (35).  2010 NCAA Regional participants Coastal Carolina, Georgia, East Carolina (24), Florida State, Furman, Georgia State (34) and Texas Tech (42) were in the field.

Chattanooga returns to action this weekend at the SunTrust Gator Women's Golf Invitational, March 6-7, in Gainesville, Fla.  de Groot is the defending medalist.

Five Mocs Honored by the Southern Conference

Three members of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team were named to the 2011 All-Southern Conference squad the league announced today.  Senior Cody Cleveland, junior Brandon Wright and sophomore Josh Condon all made repeat appearances on the team.

Cleveland (Tullahoma, Tenn.), a 2008 All-American, missed significant time this season with a number of injuries, but still managed to earn All-SoCon honors for the third time in his career.  He finished the regular season 11-0, including a 5-0 mark in league matches.   

Cleveland has only lost one SoCon match in his impressive UTC career.  That loss come in his first league bout during his freshman season when he fell to UNC Greensboro's Chris Bencivenga 13-12 on Jan. 27, 2007.  Since then, he is 19-0 against SoCon opponents with two league titles.  Cleveland has a 72-24 record during his career and is eight wins shy of the top-10 all-time at UTC.

After earning All-SoCon honors at 165 in 2010, Wright (Germantown, Tenn.) moved up to 174 midway through this season.  He finished with a perfect 5-0 record in league action at 174 to earn his second all-conference award.  He finished the year 9-10 overall but was 5-4 at 174.  Since transferring to UTC from Missouri in 2009, Wright is 11-1 in SoCon matches.

Condon (Powder Springs, Ga.) is second on the team with 21 wins against six losses at 157.  He went 4-0 in SoCon action to earn his second all-conference honors.  For his career, he is 7-0 in the SoCon.

All three will be in action this weekend when UTC heads to the SoCon Championships in Boone, N.C.  Action is set for Saturday, March 5 at the Holmes Convocation Center.  The preliminary matches will begin Saturday, March 5th at 11:00 a.m. (E.S.T.), with the finals taking place at 7:00 p.m.  All ten weight class champions receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Levi Clemmons (Kissimmee, Fla.) and Shawn Greevy (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) represented the Mocs on the SoCon All-Freshman team.  Clemmons spent time in the lineup at 174 as a true freshman before Wright took over.  Greevy, another true freshman, filled in for Cleveland at 141 and posted a 7-5 record.

Chattanooga Tied for Second Heading into Final Round of Kinderlou Forest Challenge

Chattanooga freshman Yushira Budhram (Johannesburg, South Africa) fired a career-best four-under par total of 69 in leading the Mocs to a tie for second with 18 holes to play at the Kinderlou Forest Challenge.  Budhram carded six birdies on her day en route to carrying the day for UTC.

She is tied for fifth with teammate Emma de Groot (Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia) at two-over par 148.  de Groot, who was tied for the lead after round one, shot 77 (+4) today.  The duo is two shot off the pace set by the trio of Charlotte Guilleux (Georgia State), Casey Kennedy (Augusta State) and Laura Wearn (Furman) at 146.

Budhram's 69 is a new tournament record.  It tops the former number of 70 (-3), held by four golfers including de Groot in last year's second round.

The duo is not the only Mocs currently in the top 20.  Junior Maria Juliana Loza (Bucaramanga, Colombia) and freshman Marion Duvernay (Publier, France) are tied for 19th at 154 (+8).  Loza shot three-over par 76, while Duvernay, playing as an individual, shot 81 (+8) while battling flu-like illness.

Christine Wolf (Igls, Austria) is tied for 31st after today's 79 (+6) gave her a two-day total of 156.  Wolf scored Chattanooga's first eagle of the 2010-11 season on the par 5 18th hole today.  That tied with Jordan Britt (Dayton, Tenn.) at 79 today.  Britt is tied for 48th overall at 160.

Coastal Carolina maintained is first round lead taking a six-stroke advantage over the Mocs and Florida State into the final round.  The Chanticleers are at 600 after a second round score of 297.  Chattanooga and FSU are tied for second at 606.  East Carolina is fourth at 611.

Among the teams the Mocs currently lead are Southern Conference rivals Furman and Western Carolina as well as No. 12 Georgia.  UTC holds a 12-shot lead over the Paladins, while Western Carolina is 17 strokes behind the Mocs.  Chattanooga is 20 shots clear of the Bulldogs.

The Mocs tee off at 9 a.m, in a shotgun start.  They will be paired with Coastal Carolina and Florida State.  Live scoring is at GoMocs.com.

Hood Named to SoCon Media All-Conference Team

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) was selected to the Southern Conference Sports Media Association (SCSMA) All-Conference First Team the league office announced Monday afternoon.

Hood, a redshirt junior transfer from Clemson University, saw her first action this season for Chattanooga and led the Southern Conference in scoring with an average 19.2 points per game and ranks first in field goal shooting making 53.6 percent of her shots. She posted six double-doubles this season and drained a career-high 40 points against Wofford at the Roundhouse on Jan. 2.

Joining Hood on the first team is Southern Confernce Player of the Year Emily London of Samford, Appalachian State's Ashlen Dewart and Sam Ramirez and Davidson's Sophia Aleksandravicius.

London averaged 16.3 points, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals per contest to help lead the Bulldogs their third consecutive second-place finish in the regular season.  The senior from Lexington, Ky., led the nation in free throw percentage, connecting on 93.2 percent from the line.  She also ranked fourth in the nation from behind the arc, shooting 49.0 percent and third in the conference in field goal percentage (.524).  London is a two-time media first-team all-conference selection.

Dewart and Ramirez led the Mountaineers to their first regular season title since the 1995-96 season.  Dewart averaged 16.0 points per game while shooting 53.2 percent from the field.  Ramirez was fourth in the conference in points per game (16.4), averaged 2.6 steals a contest and led the SoCon with a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Aleksandravicius was a power inside for the Wildcats, as she led the conference in rebounds (9.0 rpg) and blocks (3.1 bpg).  The Davidson sophomore was also second in the conference in scoring with 16.4 points per game and shot a consistent 81.6 percent from the charity line.

The All-Conference second team includes Appalachian State's Anna Freeman, Elon's duo of Kelsey Evans and Ali Ford and Samford's Savannah Hill.

Picking up Freshman of the Year honors was Murray, who averaged 11.9 points and shot an impressive 82.8 percent from the free-throw line, which is third best in the SoCon.  The guard from Harrisburg, Pa., led all freshmen in scoring, made three-pointers and free-throw percentage.

Along with Murray, the All-Freshman team features College of Charleston's Janae Smith, Georgia Southern's MiMi DuBose, UNCG's Janae' Stevenson and Samford's Shelby Campbell.

The SCSMA selected Appalachian State's Darcie Vincent as Coach of the Year. In her third year at the helm, the Mountaineers won 23 games overall and 17 league contests.  It was the most regular season conference games ever won by the Mountaineers. Appalachian State also set a school record with its ten home wins this season.

2010-11 SCSMA All-Southern Conference Team

First Team

Ashlen Dewart, Appalachian State

Sam Ramirez, Appalachian State

Whitney Hood, Chattanooga

Sophia Aleksandravicius, Davidson

Emily London, Samford

Second Team

Anna Freeman, Appalachian State

Kelsey Evans, Elon

Ali Ford, Elon

Monique Floyd, UNCG

Savannah Hill, Samford

All-Freshman Team

Janae Smith, College of Charleston

Laura Murray, Davidson

MiMi DuBose, Georgia Southern

Janae' Stevenson, UNCG

Shelby Campbell, Samford

Player of the Year

Emily London, Samford

Freshman of the Year

Laura Murray, Davidson

Coach of the Year,

Darcie Vincent, Appalachian State

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Chattanooga Captures Share of SoCon North Crown with 77-72 Overtime Win at Samford

Keegan Bell (Hazel Green, Ala.) scored a career-high 25 points leading the Chattanooga Mocs to a share of the Southern Conference North Division Championship with a 77-72 overtime win at Samford (12-18/4-14) Saturday evening.  The Mocs are now 16-15, 12-6 tying Western Carolina for the North title.

The championship is the 28th for Chattanooga in 34 seasons in the SoCon.  That breaks down to 18 regular season (8 division/10 non-division) and league-record 10 tournament crowns.

Bell's 25 points came along with five rebounds and five assists without a turnover.  He had eight of the Mocs' 12 overtime points.

Andy King and Josh Bedwell each scored 14 points for the Bulldogs.  Fifteen of Samford's 25 field goals came from three-point range including nine of 10 in the second half.

Samford led by six early in the second half, 40-34, when the Mocs made their move.  Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) capped a 9-0 run with a three-pointer at 15:08 for a 43-40 UTC lead.

Gaby Bermudez's three-pointer at 10:28 regained the lead for the Bulldogs, 49-48, but it was short lived.  Jeremy Saffore (Nashville, Tenn.) started eight unanswered points for the Mocs for a seven-point cushion, 56-49, at 7:57 on Omar Wattad's (Johnson City, Tenn.) jumper.

Down seven, 62-55, at the four-minute mark, Samford was up to the task.  It out-scored Chattanooga 10-3 down the stretch as Josh Davis tied the score at 65-all with 25 seconds left in regulation. Bell missed a three-point attempt followed by a missed desperation heave from Jeffrey Merritt sending the game into overtime.

After Bedwell's three-pointer at 2:33 gave the Bulldogs a 70-69 lead, Chris Early (Huntington, W. Va.) stepped up for the Mocs.  He followed his own miss with a layup at 2:05 to put Chattanooga back up 72-71.

Merritt followed with a layup on the Bulldogs' next possession, but it was the final points of the night for Samford.  With UTC down 72-71 at 1:45, Bell took over.

A three-pointer from the left front at 1:17 gave the Mocs the lead for good, 74-72.  Defensive stops and three of four free throw shooting by Bell gave Chattanooga the 77-72 win and the championship.

Taylor joined Bell in double digits for the Mocs.  The junior guard tallied 14 points and five rebounds.

Chattanooga dominated the glass 42-28 led by Early with nine.  Early added eight points, including several key buckets.  His power slam at 8:45 helped key the Mocs 8-0 run to the lead midway through the second half.  It was part of 14 second chance points for Chattanooga compared to zero for Samford.

The SoCon North title did not come easily.  There were 14 lead changes and 12 ties in the game.  The Mocs had one of their best efforts from the free throw line making 13 of 16, 81.3 percent.  Centers Saffore and DeAntre Jefferson (Bloomington, Ill.) made all six of their attempts, 4-4 from Jefferson.

Chattanooga made 10 three-pointers led by Bell with a career-high tying six.  He and Taylor combined for 8-20 from beyond the arc.  While the Mocs were 10-32 from three-point range, they made 17 of 29 (58.6%) inside it.

The Mocs were ready from the outset in its quest for its 28th title.  They scored the first seven points of the game with layups by Saffore and Early just ahead of a three-pointer by Taylor at 16:42.  Chattanooga led by as many as 10 in the opening half only to see the Bulldogs charge back.

Down 12-2 at 15:01, Samford scored 11 straight to take its first lead, 13-12 at 12:23.  Dontay Hampton (Chattanooga, Tenn.) hit a three at 12:08 for the Mocs only to see back-to-back baskets by John Peterson to put the Bulldogs up three, 18-15 at 10:05.

Bell dueled the Bulldogs from long range in the final minutes of the first half.  He hit back-to-back treys before Samford scored seven of the last eight points of the half to lead 34-31 at the break.

It's the third title for fifth-year seniors Saffore and Jeff Smith (Chattanooga, Tenn.).  It's the fourth in seven years with John Shulman at the helm.

It's on to the Southern Conference Tournament for the Mocs without far to travel.  This year's championship is within walking distance at McKenzie Arena starting March 4 and running through the seventh.

Chattanooga is the two seed and will face the winner of Furman and Samford at 7 p.m., in the quarterfinals Saturday, March 5, after a bye on day one.  UTC is looking for an unprecedented 11th SoCon Tournament title.

Lady Mocs Lose at UNC Greensboro 7-0

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team dropped a 7-0 match at UNC Greensboro to open Southern Conference action today.  The Lady Mocs grabbed a doubles win, but could not get on the board against the Spartans.

Chattanooga falls to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in league play.  UNCG improves to 3-1 and 1-0 in the SoCon.  Sophomore Emily Hangstefer (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) and freshman Alexa Flynn (Memphis, Tenn.) won their No. 1 doubles match over Stephanie MacFarlane and Alex Whitehead 8-6.  It was the Lady Mocs pair's second straight win as they improve to 5-6 overall and 3-3 in the spring.

UTC did have two epic battles in singles play.  Sophomore Jenna Nurik (Roswell, Ga.) took Nitooli Wilkins to three sets at No. 1.  They played a pro set in the third to decide the match with Wilkins winning 14-12.  Junior Shaina Singh (Vancouver, B.C.) also had a three-setter.  She lost to Dilara Yurtkuran 0-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-5) in her match at No. 4.

The Lady Mocs continue their road trip tomorrow at Elon at 1:00 p.m. (E.S.T.).  Live scoring will be available for the match on GoMocs.com.

UNCG 7, Chattanooga 0

Feb 26, 2011 at Greensboro, N.C. (UNCG Tennis Courts)

Doubles competition

1. Emily Hangstefer-Alexa Flynn (UTC) def. Stephanie MacFarlane-Alex Whitehead (UNCG) - 8-6

2. Niltooli Wilkins-Lucy Dougherty (UNCG) def. Jenna Nurik-Shaina Singh (UTC) - 8-6

3. Devon Sutherland-Mikayla Rogers (UNCG) def. Charlotte Bossy-Annie Green (UTC) - 8-1

Singles competition

1. Niltooli Wilkins (UNCG) def. Jenna Nurik (UTC) - 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (14-12)

2. Alex Whitehead (UNCG) def. Alexa Flynn (UTC) - 6-2, 6-0

3. Stephanie MacFarlane (UNCG) def. Emily Hangstefer (UTC) - 6-1, 6-4

4. Dilara Yurtkuran (UNCG) def. Shaina Singh (UTC) - 0-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-5)

5. Lucy Dougherty (UNCG) def. Charlotte Bossy (UTC) - 6-1, 6-1

6. Annette Rios (UNCG) def. Annie Green (UTC) - 6-0, 6-3

Mocs Blank Belmont 7-0

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team scored a big 7-0 win over Belmont today.  It was the first shutout of a Division I opponent for the Mocs since defeating Murray State 7-0 on Feb. 22, 2008.  UTC improves to 3-6 on the year while the Bruins dropped to 0-2.

Coupled with a 5-2 win over Jacksonville State on Sunday, Chattanooga has now posted back-to-back wins for the first time in almost three years.  The last time UTC won two in a row was a pair of 4-3 victories over Wofford and Georgia Southern on April 1 and 6 in 2008.

The Mocs took the doubles point for the second match in a row.  Sophomore William Disterdick (Hixson, Tenn.) and freshman Trent Cobb (Melbourne, Australia) cruised to an 8-1 win over Jonathan Murrell and Christopher Bates at No. 3.  The Mocs duo is now 4-1 in spring doubles action.

Sophomores Jackson Tresnan (Apopka, Fla.) and Stephen Crofford (Franklin, Tenn.) fell to Bruno Silva and Felipe Cirne Lima 8-2 at No. 2, setting up the deciding match at No. 1.

Chattanooga sophomores Roberto Vieira (Bedfordview, South Africa) and Chris Smith (Johnson City, Tenn.) battled Rodrigo Amaral and Rafael Matos to a stalemate at 8-8, forcing a tiebreaker.  The Mocs dominated the final frame, jumping out to a 6-1 lead before winning 7-3.

"It is always nice to get the doubles point," stated head coach Carlos Garcia, who won his 99th men's tennis match at UTC today.  "That tiebreaker at No. 1 doubles set the tone for the singles matches and gave us a lot of momentum."

Disterdick put UTC up 2-0 with a lightning-quick 6-0, 6-1 win over Bates at No. 6.  Smith followed that up with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Silva at No. 3.

Tresnan continued his impressive spring season with his fifth-straight singles win.  He posted a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 win over Lima to improve to 5-0 at No. 4.  Vieira snapped a four-match slide with his 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 win over Amaral at No. 1.

Cobb posted a come-from-behind 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Matos for his second win in a row at No. 2.  Senior Rick van de Bovenkamp (Oud-Beyerland, The Netherlands) outlasted Murrell 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 in the final match at No. 5.  

"Our top four did a good job today," added Garcia.  "We took away their strengths because their top guys can play with anybody.  It was also nice to see Roberto get out of his slump and get some confidence.  This was a big win for us today."

The Mocs are back in action on Thursday, March 3 when they host Lee University.  Match time against the Flames is set for 2:30 p.m. (E.S.T.) on the UTC Tennis Courts.  Live scoring will be available for the match on GoMocs.com.

Chattanooga 7, Belmont 0

Feb 25, 2011 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (UTC Tennis Courts)

Doubles competition

1. Roberto Vieira-Chris Smith (UTC) def. Rodrigo Amaral-Rafael Matos (BELM) - 9-8 (7-3)

2. Bruno Silva-Felipe Cirne Lima (BELM) def. Jackson Tresnan-Stephen Crofford (UTC) - 8-2

3. William Disterdick-Trent Cobb (UTC) def. Jonathan Murrell-Christopher Bates (BELM) - 8-1

Singles competition

1. Roberto Vieira (UTC) def. Rodrigo Amaral (BELM) - 6-3, 1-6, 6-1

2. Trent Cobb (UTC) def. Rafael Matos (BELM) - 3-6, 6-4, 6-2

3. Chris Smith (UTC) def. Bruno Silva (BELM) - 6-4, 6-2

4. Jackson Tresnan (UTC) def. Felipe Cirne Lima (BELM) - 6-3, 5-5, 7-5

5. R. van de Bovenkamp (UTC) def. Jonathan Murrell (BELM) - 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (10-9)

6. William Disterdick (UTC) def. Christopher Bates (BELM) - 6-0, 6-1

Mocs Lose to Wofford 97-58 in Home Finale

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team lost its home finale tonight, 97-58, at the hands of defending Southern Conference champion Wofford (17-12/13-4).  Chattanooga is now 15-15 overall, 11-6 in the SoCon North Division.

Chris Early (Huntington, W. Va.) led the Mocs with 13 points.  Dontay Hampton (Chattanooga, Tenn.) added a career-high 12 points in just 14 minutes off the bench.

Noah Dahlman led all scorers with 23 points and eight rebounds for the Terriers.  Cameron Rundles chipped in 21 points including a 5-7 effort from three point range.

The Mocs were up 9-8 at 17:16 of the first half when Wofford took control of the game.  The Terriers went on a 19-1 run over the next 7:11 to take a 27-10 advantage.

Bell broke an eight-plus-minute drought with back-to-back jumpers to cut it to 13, 27-14.  But Wofford kept the pressure on.  It out-scored the Mocs 18-7 to end the half up 45-21.

The Terriers kept the pressure on with a Kevin Giltner layup at 13:52 building the lead to 31, 67-38.  The Mocs made a few runs, but Wofford scored 16 of the final 19 points to close out the win.

Keegan Bell (Hazel Green, Ala.) scored 10 with three assists for Chattanooga.  He scored six of the first seven points for the Mocs.

It was senior night for Chattanooga.  As such, head coach John Shulman started his four seniors: Troy Cage (Baton Rouge, La.), Jeff Smith (Chattanooga, Tenn.), DeAntre Jefferson (Bloomington, Ill.) and Jeremy Saffore (Nashville, Tenn.).

The Terriers out-rebounded the Mocs 42-28 on the evening led by Tim Johnson's nine.  Jefferson had a team-high six boards for Chattanooga.

Wofford shot a blistering 58.3 percent (35-60) from the field including 52.2 percent (12-23) from three-point range.  In contrast, the Mocs managed just 35.0 percent (21-60) overall, 25.0 percent (8-32) from behind the arc.

UTC closes the regular season Saturday at Samford.  Game time is 5:00 p.m., (EST) in the Hanna Center.  Fans can access live audio and stats via MocsVision on GoMocs.com.  The game will also broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds.

The Mocs are in a battle with Western Carolina for the SoCon North championship and are one-half game behind the Catamounts (11-5).  WCU hosts The Citadel tomorrow and South leader College of Charleston on Saturday.  A tie for the title will give UTC the No. 2 seed in the upcoming SoCon Tournament March 4-7 in McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga.

Chattanooga Blacks Out Furman 75-59

Chris Early (Huntington, W. Va.) led a quartet of double-digit scorers with 23 points in a 75-59 Chattanooga win over Furman (20-8/12-5) under blackout conditions in McKenzie Arena.  With the season-high crowd of 5,107 decked out almost entirely in black, along with the Mocs team, UTC improved to 15-14, 11-5 staying tied for first in the SoCon North Division.

Early's career-high 23 points was a game-high total along with his eight rebounds.  Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Keegan Bell (Hazel Green, Ala.) had 14 apiece, while Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) added 11.

Noah States led the Paladins with 20 of their 59 points, the fewest points scored by a Division I opponent this season against the Mocs.  Amu Saaka chipped in 10 as the duo combined with Colin Reddick for a team-high five rebounds.

Chattanooga built upon its 12-point halftime lead to go up 17 early in the second half, 45-28, on an Early layup at 18:42.  The Paladins answered with back-to-back three-pointers by Saaka and States to cut the UTC margin to 11, 45-34.  But that's as close as Furman would get.

Up 49-38 at 13:25, the Mocs went on a quick 11-0 run behind three consecutive three-pointers, the last by Bell from way beyond the arc.  UTC went up 22, 60-38, at 11:05 on two Early free throws.  That lead grew to 23 points a possession later on a three-point play by DeAntre Jefferson (Bloomington, Ill.).

A three-pointer by Justin Dehm got the Paladins back to 17 down, 65-48, at 7:43, but the Mocs quickly dashed any comeback hopes.  Chattanooga scored on three straight possessions including a coast-to-coast layup off a steal by Early to build the lead back to 23, 71-48, at 6:13.

The Mocs were impressive on both ends of the floor shooting 48.9 percent (22-45) from the field, 12 of 21 (57.1%) in the second stanza.  Chattanooga made 10-19 (52.6%) from three-point range with the trio of Bell (4-5), Taylor (3-5) and Wattad (2-5) accounting for 9-15.

Defensively, UTC limited the Paladins to 38.6 percent (22-57) from the floor and 21.9 percent (7-32) from three-point range.  Chattanooga also dominated the boards 39-26.

It was a 17-17 game at 13:09 in the first half when the Mocs took over.  Back-to-back three-pointers by Bell capped an 18-5 run as UTC led by as many as 13, 35-22, at 3:17.

Two Wattad free throws at 2:28 got the lead back to 13 before Chattanooga settled for a 12-point cushion at the break, 38-26.

Rebounding and defense turned the first half fortunes around for the Mocs.  Trailing 8-5 on the glass at the 12-minute media timeout, Chattanooga grabbed 18 of the half's last 20 boards.

UTC finishes up the home portion of its schedule on Wednesday as defending SoCon champ Wofford comes to town.  Game time is at 7 p.m., and fans can access live audio and stats via MocsVision on GoMocs.com.  The game will also broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds.

The Mocs will celebrate Senior Night honoring their four seniors prior to opening lineups.  Tickets are available for as little as $4 using the TRADITION promo code on GoMocs.com.  New UT System President Joe DiPietro will host a TRIBUTE event in honor of the Chattanooga faculty/staff in the McKenzie Arena Dance Studio prior to the game and all UTC faculty/staff will receive two tickets to the game.

Lady Mocs Win Over Jacksonville State 5-2

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team posted a 5-2 win over Jacksonville State today.  They Lady Mocs snapped a three-match slide and improve to 2-3 overall.  The Gamecocks drop to 2-5 on the year.

The Lady Mocs came into the day having lost six consecutive doubles matches and were trying to avoid losing the opening point for the third match in a row.  Sophomore Jenna Nurik (Roswell, Ga.) and junior Shaina Singh (Vancouver, B.C.) opened with a dominating 8-1 win over Raisa Guasti and Raphaela Lima at No. 2.  The UTC duo improved to 8-4 on the year and 3-2 in spring action.

Junior Emily Hangstefer (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) and freshman Alexa Flynn (Memphis, Tenn.) secured the point with their 8-2 win against Viviane Marani and Martina Dessbesell at No. 1.  It was their first win as the top seed in four tries this spring.

The senior tandem of Grace Robinette and Annie Green completed the doubles sweep for the first time this season with their 8-3 win over Juliana Renesto and Kelly Tomlin at No. 3.

Flynn made quick work of Renesto in their singles match at No. 3.  She posted her team-high 10th win of the year with a 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 3.  Junior Charlotte Bossy (Koekelare, Belgium) also had a short match, defeating Tomlin 6-2, 6-1 to put UTC up 3-0.

Those were the only short matches of the afternoon.  The rest were either three-set marathons or long two-setters.  In fact, the lights were needed to complete the match on the UTC Tennis Courts.

Guasti got JSU on the board with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 comeback win over Hangstefer at No. 2.  However, Singh secured the team win with her 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory at No 4 over Lima.  It was her seventh singles win of the year.

Rafaela Wenzel gave the Gamecocks their other point with her 7-6, 7-5 win over Robinette at No. 5.  Nurik closed out the match with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over Marani at No. 1.

The Lady Mocs hit the road for the next three matches beginning with their Southern Conference opener at UNC Greensboro on Feb. 26.  UTC returns home on March 5 to take on Western Carolina.

Chattanooga 5, Jacksonville State 2

Feb 20, 2011 at Chattanooga, Tennessee (UTC Courts)

Doubles competition

1. Emily Hangstefer-Alexa Flynn (UTC) def. Viviane Marani-Martina Dessbesell (JSU) - 8-2

2. Jenna Nurik-Shaina Singh (UTC) def. Raisa Guasti-Ralphaela Lima (JSU) - 8-1

3. Grace Robinette-Annie Green (UTC) def. Juliana Renesto-Kelly Tomlin (JSU) - 8-3

Singles competition

1. Jenna Nurik (UTC) def. Viviane Marani (JSU) - 6-3, 4-6, 6-3

2. Raisa Guasti (JSU) def. Emily Hangstefer (UTC) - 3-6, 6-1, 6-4

3. Alexa Flynn (UTC) def. Juliana Renesto (JSU) - 6-1, 6-0

4. Shaina Singh (UTC) def. Ralphaela Lima (JSU) - 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

5. Rafaela Wenzel (JSU) def. Grace Robinette (UTC) - 7-6, 7-5

6. Charlotte Bossy (UTC) def. Kelly Tomlin (JSU) - 6-2, 6-1

Mocs Score a 5-2 Win Over Jacksonville State

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team picked up a big 5-2 win over Jacksonville State today.  The Mocs improve to 2-6 overall while the Gamecocks fall to 3-4.

The Mocs were out to avenge a tough, 4-3 loss suffered at JSU last season.  The day started off looking good for UTC with a sweep of the doubles matches.  Freshman Trent Cobb (Melbourne, Australia) and sophomore William Disterdick (Hixson, Tenn.) opened with an 8-5 win at No. 3.

Sophomores Roberto Vieira (Bedfordview, South Africa) and Chris Smith (Johnson City, Tenn.) followed with an 8-5 win of their own at No. 1.  Chattanooga's top duo improved to 5-2 on the year and 1-1 at No. 1.  Sophomores Jackson Tresnan (Apopka, Fla.) and Stephen Crofford (Franklin, Tenn.) ended doubles action with a 9-7 win at No. 2.

Cobb kept the momentum going with a speedy 6-1, 6-2 win over Axel Sundberg at No. 2 singles.  It was Cobb's sixth singles win of the year as he improves to 2-1 at the No. 2 position.

Disterdick put UTC up 3-0 with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Eric Matthieson at No. 6.  The Gamecocks pulled to within 3-1 when Felipe Wantanabe downed senior Rick van de Bovenkamp (Oud-Beyerland, The Netherlands) 6-4, 6-1.

The Mocs closed out the match with Tresnan's 6-4, 6-1 win over Gustavo Holz at No. 4.  Tresnan improves to 4-0 at the No. 4 slot and records his team-leading seventh singles win of the year.

Jacksonville State's final point came at No. 1 when Brian Kenyon defeated Vieira 6-3, 6-2.  Smith ended the affair with a 7-5, 2-6, 1-0 win over Nenad Marcec at No. 3.

Chattanooga is back in action on Feb. 25 when it hosts Belmont at the UTC Tennis Courts.  Match time is set for 2:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) and live scoring will be available on GoMocs.com.

Chattanooga 5, Jacksonville State 2

Feb 20, 2011 at Chattanooga, Tennessee (UTC Tennis Courts)

Doubles competition

1. Roberto Vieira-Chris Smith (UTC) def. KENYON, Brian-HOLZ, Gustavo (JSU) - 8-5

2. Jackson Tresnan-Stephen Crofford (UTC) def. MARCEC, Nenad-SUNDBERG, Axel (JSU) - 9-7

3. Trent Cobb-William Disterdick (UTC) def. SANTOS, Igor-WATANABE, Felipe (JSU) - 8-5

Singles competition

1. KENYON, Brian (JSU) def. Roberto Vieira (UTC) - 6-3, 6-2

2. Trent Cobb (UTC) def. SUNDBERG, Axel (JSU) - 6-1, 6-2

3. Chris Smith (UTC) def. MARCEC, Nenad (JSU) - 7-5, 2-6, 1-0

4. Jackson Tresnan (UTC) def. HOLZ, Gustavo (JSU) - 6-4, 6-1

5. WATANABE, Felipe (JSU) def. R. van de Bovenkamp (UTC) - 6-4, 6-1

6. William Disterdick (UTC) def. MATTHIESON, Eric (JSU) - 6-4, 6-1

Mocs Wrestlers Win SoCon Title With a 31-6 Victory Over VMI

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team won its seventh consecutive Southern Conference regular season title with a dominating 31-6 win over VMI today.  It is the 35th SoCon win in a row for the Mocs who improved to 11-9 overall and finished a perfect 5-0 in league action.

Chattanooga won eight of the 10 matches, scoring bonus points in four of the wins.  Sophomore Josh Condon (Powder Springs, Ga.) started off the day with his 8-5 decision over Mike Burnett at 157.  Condon improves to 21-6 overall and 4-0 in SoCon action.

Junior Dan Waddell (Chattanooga, Tenn.) upped the team score to 8-0 with his technical fall against Tedd Gottwald.  Waddell scored a takedown with five seconds left to end the match at 19-3.  Waddell is 14-10 on the year and 3-2 in league matches.

Brandon Wright (Germantown, Tenn.) closed out a perfect conference season with his 3-1 decision over Matt Brock at 174.  He finished on a five-match winning streak, improving to 5-4 overall at 174.

Fourth-year junior Jason McCroskey (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) won his final match at Maclellan Gym today.  He posted a 7-1 decision at 184 to improve to 22-8 on the year and 4-1 in the SoCon.  McCroskey, a two-time Academic All-NWCA, plans to graduate in May with a degree in Engineering and will forego his final year of eligibility.

Sophomore Niko Brown (Kissimmee, Fla.) pushed the team score to 17-0 with a 7-2 decision at 197.  He improves to 18-8 overall and 4-1 in the SoCon.  VMI took the next two matches with decisions at heavyweight and 125.

The Mocs got back on track at 125 with junior Demetrius Johnson scoring a technical fall over Luke Todd.  Johnson has missed most of the season recovering from a knee injury, but is getting healthy at the right time.  He is 3-1 in limited action this season.   

Senior Cody Cleveland (Tullahoma, Tenn.) was impressive in his final match.  He posted a technical fall at 141 and remains perfect at 11-0 this season.  That includes a clean slate in SoCon action at 5-0.  Cleveland has won 19 consecutive matches against league opponents.

Sophomore Dean Pavlou (Cleveland, Tenn.) ended the match with an 18-6 major decision over Ryan Goodsell at 149.  Pavlou improves to 13-10 on the year and is also undefeated in league action at 3-0.

The Mocs now have 13 days to prepare for the 2011 Southern Conference Tournament.  Chattanooga has won five of the last six SoCon Tournaments, but UNC Greensboro took the trophy last season.  The event will take place in Boone, N.C. on Saturday, March 5.   

Chattanooga 31 - VMI 6

Maclellan Gym - Chattanooga, Tenn. - Sunday - Feb. 20, 2011

157:  Josh Condon (UTC) - Dec. 8-5 - Michael Burnett (VMI) - UTC 3-0

165:  Daniel Waddell (UTC) - TF 19-3 (6:55) - Edward Gottwald (VMI) - UTC 8-0

174:  Brandon Wright (UTC) - Dec. 3-1 - Matthew Brock (VMI) - UTC 11-0

184:  Jason McCroskey (UTC) - Dec. 7-1 - John Dommert (VMI) - UTC 14-0

197:  Nikolas Brown (UTC) - Dec. 7-2 - Ronald Ellsworth (VMI) - UTC 17-0

285:  Joshua Wine (VMI) - Dec. 4-0 - Matt Lettner (UTC) - UTC 17-3

125:  Johnathan Pope (VMI) - DEC 10-8 - Prescott Garner (UTC) - UTC 17-6

133:  Demetrius Johnson (UTC) - TF 19-3 (5:45) - Luke Todd (VMI) - UTC 22-6

141:  Cody Cleveland (UTC) - TF 21-4 (6:55) - David Yost (VMI) - UTC 27-6

149:  Dean Pavlou (UTC) - MD 18-6 - Ryan Goodsell (VMI) - UTC 31-6

Lady Mocs Downed by Coastal Carolina 6-1

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team dropped a6-1 non-conference match to Coastal Carolina this afternoon.  FreshmanAlexa Flynn  (Memphis, Tenn.) scored the lone point for UTC with at No. 3 singles as the Lady Mocs drop to 1-3 on the year.  The Chanticleers got off to a solid start by sweeping the doubles point. Flynn tied it up with her 6-2, 6-2, win over Kourtney Kowal for her team-leading ninth singles win of the year.  Unfortunately for the Lady Mocs, that was the last win of the afternoon.

Flynn improved to 9-3 on the season and is 2-2 in dual action at No. 3. Coastal Carolina upped its record to 3-1 overall.

The Lady Mocs will be back in action tomorrow when they host Jacksonville State.  Match time is set for 2:30 p.m. (E.S.T.) at the UTC Tennis Courts.  Live scoring will again be available on GoMocs.com.  The women take on the Gamecocks following the men's teams competing at 11:00 a.m.

Coastal Carolina 6 - Chattanooga 1

UTC Tennis Courts - Chattanooga, Tenn. - Feb. 19, 2011

Doubles competition

1. BOLESKY, Lexi-KRISTOFERSSON, M. (CCU) def. Alexa Flynn-Emily Hangstefer (UTC) - 8-0

2. BUNEA, Miki-MORTLOCK, Diana (CCU) def. Jenna Nurik-Shaina Singh (UTC) - 8-4

3. BROOKSBANK, Caitlyn-KOWAL, Kourtney (CCU) def. Grace Robinette-Annie Green (UTC) - 8-7 (7-5)

Singles competition

1. BOLESKY, Lexi (CCU) def. Jenna Nurik (UTC) - 6-1, 6-4

2. BUNEA, Miki (CCU) def. Emily Hangstefer (UTC) - 7-5, 6-2

3. Alexa Flynn (UTC) def. KOWAL, Kourtney (CCU) - 6-2, 6-2

4. KRISTOFERSSON, M. (CCU) def. Shaina Singh (UTC) - 6-1, 6-4

5. MORTLOCK, Diana (CCU) def. Grace Robinette (UTC) - 6-2, 6-1

6. HESKETH, Maria (CCU) def. Charlotte Bossy (UTC) - 6-7 (10-5), 6-3, 1-0

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team fell short, 62-53, in its bid to knock off Georgia Tech Wednesday night in Alexander Memorial Coliseum.  Chattanooga is now 14-14 overall and 10-5 leading the Southern Conference North Division.

It was a sloppy effort for the Mocs with 20 turnovers.  The Yellow Jackets scored 24 points off those 20 miscues and scored 11 more points at the free throw stripe making 17 of 27 compared to UTC's six of 11.

Omar Wattad  (Johnson City, Tenn.) led Chattanooga with 18 points and three steals.  DeAntre Jefferson (Bloomington, Ill.) added 14 points and nine rebounds.

Glen Rice, Jr., led all scorers with 27 for Tech, while posting seven rebounds and four steals.  Iman Shumpert had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.  The duo accounted for 46 of the Jackets' 62 points and 18 of their 34 rebounds.

The Yellow Jackets opened the second half with a three-pointer by Maurice Miller at 18:53 to go up eight, 31-23.  Chattanooga closed to within three, 32-29, on a Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) layup at the 15-minute mark.

Georgia Tech got the lead back to eight, 37-29, on three free throws and a layup, but the Mocs were pesky.  They scored eight of the next 10 points to get within two, 39-37, on a Jefferson layup at 9:54.

Chattanooga had the ball with a chance to tie, but a turnover in the lane led to a Rice three-pointer giving Tech breathing room as it built its lead back to seven points on a Shumpert layup one possession later making it 44-37 at 8:30.

Taylor's three-pointer at 6:32 brought the Mocs to within four points at 48-44.  But that's as close as UTC would get down the stretch.

Taylor had 13 points on an off shooting night.  He scored 11 of his 13 in the second half.  The trio of Wattad, Jefferson and Taylor scored 45 of Chattanooga's 53 points.

The Mocs shot just 37.5 percent for the game, making 21 of 56 shot attempts.  That included a five for 27 performance from behind the three-point line, 18.5 percent.

Chattanooga got off to a tough start missing its first 11 three-pointers of the game.  Tech ran out to a 19-8 lead with 7:30 left in the half as UTC went scoreless for more than seven minutes.

But the Mocs started to find their range.  They out-scored the Jackets15-7 over the final six minutes to close to within three, 26-23, behind Wattad's 12 first-half points.  Shumpert hit a circus shot falling backwards in the lane at the buzzer to give Tech a 28-23 halftime lead.

UTC returns to the friendly confines of McKenzie Arena for a key two-game Southern Conference stretch hosting Furman and Wofford.  The Paladins are up first on Monday, February 21, at 7 p.m., followed by the Terriers on Wednesday, February 25.  Fans can access live audio and stats via Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.  The game will also broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds.

Chattanooga is leading the SoCon North Division at 10-5 by a half-game over Western Carolina (9-5).  The Monday game with Furman has a special promotion as "Blackout" conditions will be in effect.  Check GoMocs.com for all the information behind this special event to help propel the Mocs to their 18th regular-season title.

LADY MOCS DROP HEARTBREAKER TO LEAGUE-LEADING APPALACHIAN STATE ON SENIOR NIGHT

Despite holding Appalachian State to a season-low 57 points, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga struggled offensively and fell 57-56 to the Mountaineers on Senior Night Monday at the McKenzie Arena.

The loss drops Chattanooga to 13-13 overall and 10-7 in league play while the Mountaineers claim their 11th consecutive victory and improve to 2-14 overall and 15-2 against SoCon opponents.

The Lady Mocs drained eight first-half 3-pointers, but netted just one in the second half on 11 tries and the difference came down to free throws and rebounds as Chattanooga went 7-for-13 (53.8%) from the charity stripe compared to the Mountaineers’ 9-of-12 (75%) performance. App State out rebounded the Lady Mocs 47-41, and UTC had 16 offensive boards resulting in 19 second chance points. ASU converted 14 offensive rebounds into 14 points.

The Lady Mocs started the game strong getting out to a 13-5 lead on 5-of-8 shooting with seven points from redshirt junior Bailey Dewart (Spartanburg, S.C.) who was honored before the game as she plays her final season of collegiate ball despite having a year of eligibility remaining.

The Mountaineers, however, found their feet and made it a game the rest of the half and led 29-28 at the break with neither team finding the bucket over the final 3:35 of the half. ASU was 13-of-30 (43.3%) from the floor in the first half without a 3-pointer on three tries. Chattanooga was 10-of-31 (32.3%) in the first making 8-of-20 (40%) from beyond the arc.

In the second half, App State got out to a four-point lead, 35-31 with 15:06 to play before the Lady Mocs got into the game and went on a 15-4 run capped off by a layup from freshman Taylor Hall (New Tazewell, Tenn.) to take its largest lead of the second half, 46-39 with 9:08 to play.

The Mountaineers held UTC scoreless over the next two minutes to take a 48-46 lead on a 9-0 run at the 7:08 mark, getting points from four different players including a 3-pointer from Ashlen Dewart, sister of UTC’s Bailey Dewart.

Over the remaining time, the two teams traded the lead six times including three ties before the Mountaineers Kelsey Shark hit a layup with 11 seconds to play to take the lead for good, 57-56. The Lady Mocs missed a jumper with five seconds remaining and put ASU at the free throw line.

The Mountaineers missed the front end of the one-and-bonus and junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) snared the rebound and quickly called timeout to set up the final play. Appalachian State pressed the Lady Mocs and forced a turnover to end the game.

Chattanooga was paced by sophomore Kylie Lambert’s (Etowah, Tenn.) 11 points and nine rebounds, just missing the double-double. Dewart and sophomore Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) each had 10 points for UTC while Hood and Hall each chipped in eight. Hall had a game-high and career-best 11 rebounds. Chattanooga had 15 assists in the game with four from Christopher and Lambert and three from junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.).

Chattanooga scored 12 points off 16 Mountaineer turnovers and gave up eight points on 14 miscues of its own. ASU outscored the Lady Mocs in the paint 32-16 and held a slight 12-11 advantage on bench points.

Anna Freeman, who left the game in the final minutes with five fouls, led all scorers with 14 points and had six boards, four assists, three blocked shots and two steals along with five turnovers. Sam Ramirez had 11 points, four steals and five rebounds. Kelsey Sharkey had a team-high 10 rebounds and six points.

Along with Dewart, Chattanooga bid farewell to senior managers Courtney Berg (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Ross Jolly (Sparta, Tenn.) and graduate assistant manager Michael Scruggs (Knoxville, Tenn.).

The Lady Mocs will be on the road for the remainder of the year with a visit to UNCG this Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at Fleming Gymnasium. Listen to all the action live with the “Voice of the Lady Mocs” Larry Ward at the mic. Live stats will be available at the official website of Chattanooga athletics, GoMocs.com.

Big Bob is 6’ 7” tall and weighs 362 pounds, after Christmas. He runs a 5.0 40, and has amassed 37 pancake blocks since going out for the football team as a junior. Big Bob is now a senior Armadillo. Big Bob also makes straight A’s and his SAT score, as a junior, was 940.

Several of Big Bob’s teammates have had UPS trucks arriving with boxes of offers from major college teams all over the country.

Big Bob has only one offer, from Troy University.

Only one of the recruiting services has heard of Big Bob, and they rate him a “project” because he has only played two years.

Big Bob’s momma, Christine, and his daddy Big Joe, put together, at their own expense a DVD of Big Bob’s games through the state playoffs. They make 50 copies, and with the help of Roland Satterwaite, head football coach of the Armadillos, they send Big Bob’s DVD’s off to big time programs across the country.

A week passes, then a month and suddenly, the Johansen’s phone rings one night and on the other end when Christine answers is a very high, like very high, profile coach from a very big time school in the Southeastern Conference. In fact, to a kid from Weedowee, Al, they don’t get no bigger time.

The big time coach wants Big Bob to come to the big time campus of the big time school for a recruiting visit.

“Wowie zowie, hot diggety damn,” says Big Joe to Christine. Big Bob has fainted.

So on Friday morning, the Johansen’s pile into their 2003 Saturn and make the trip to Big Time Ville, Alabama.

They are fed, put up in a hotel; the likes of which Big Joe and Christine did not know existed. Big Bob, meanwhile is picked up by the offensive line coach and taken over to the football complex, where he meets and greets with some of the players, then taken to a small indoor practice facility, where, after he gets dressed in shorts and cleats and a sweatshirt, the offensive line coach puts Big Bob through a spirited workout.

A great time is had by all the Johansens, although the hotel loses money on the breakfast buffet….but hey, anything to help the team.

Big Joe and Christine are a little surprised Big Bob did not get offered a scholarship, but they figure that’s just a formality. Big Bob is more than a little surprised about the lack of an offer, but is trying not to show it, and thinking Troy is closer to home anyway.

Two weeks later, the phone in Weedowee rings again, and this time it is the offensive line coach from the Big Time Program who has, he says, very good news for Big Bob.

Big Bob picks up the phone in his room, but his momma and his daddy listen in on the other phone in the hall.

“Big Bob” says the coach, “How would you like to come play football at the Big Time Program?

Big Bob gasps, then manages to say yes. He is now officially (well, in a non-binding kind of way) committed to the Big Time Program.

Big Joe and Christine are dancing in the living room.

By dark everybody in Weedowee has heard about Big Bob’s scholarship offer, and there is a discussion about a special signing party at the Dairy Hut on National Signing Day.

The Dairy Hut puts in a new fax machine, and on Signing Day Big Bob and his big time teammates sign their scholarship papers and fax them all over the country to the big time schools they are headed for.

The coach at Troy sends Big Bob a nice letter thanking him for at least considering coming there, and if there is ever anything, la de da de doo.

Within a couple of weeks all the other big time players in Weedowee have gotten packets in the mail or phone calls about their diets and workout schedules and so forth to get them ready for fall camp.

Big Bob has not gotten one of these packets, but he starts working out at the high school anyway, and Christine buys a nutrition book off the Internet and begins trying to get Big Bob ready for his college career by eating right.

Then about a week after national signing day, the phone rings one night. Christine answers and the caller wants to speak with Big Bob, who is taking a nap before he eats his healthy dinner. Big Bob picks up the phone and it is the assistant offensive line coach, who Big Bob has never met, but has heard of. “Oh boy,” thinks Big Bob, “they have figured out what they want me to do.”

“Bob,” says the assistant offensive line coach, “we got a little problem we hope you can help us out with.”

Big Bob thinks “uh oh, somebody must have gotten hurt in workouts and they need me right now…” “Yessir,” says Big Bob, “ whatever you need.”

“Well, Big Bob,” says the coach, “ we signed too many players, and the NCAA won’t let us get all of them in school, and we’d like you to walk on till we have a scholarship open for you.”

“Ah coach, that means I would have to pay my own way to school, practice with the team, but not get to play in games….right?” asks Big Bob, whose very large face is beginning to get red.

“Yep, but, you know, you would probably be on scholarship by next summer, and we had figured we would redshirt you anyway….so….well Big Bob, just call me anytime and let me know what you want to do, but we have to know pretty fast, like first thing in the morning.”

Big Bob, Big Joe and Christine have a group hug, Christine tells Big Bob not to get his feelings hurt, and not to worry about what the folks at the Dairy Hut think.

Everybody goes to bed slightly short of tears. But Big Joe is up early on the phone with the coach from Troy asking what hell they are gonna do now about Big Bob.

After the Big Time Program releases Big Bob from the scholarship they did not have for him, Big Bob gets a full scholarship from Troy, starts as a freshman, and after his senior year goes to the NFL in the bottom of the first round of the draft.

The names in this tale are not real, of course, but Big Bob’s situation, which is known in the college football trade as “over signing”, is very real. Some schools do it regularly; some schools don’t do it at all.

But Momma, if your big strong baby boy gets an offer, then a scholarship from a Big Time Program, before you sign anything call Christine, she knows how this works.

- Scorpio Jones III

Lady Mocs Lose to Alabama 7-0

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team lost a 7-0 match at Alabama today.  The Lady Mocs drop to 1-2 on the year while the 42nd-ranked Crimson Tide improved to 5-1.

Chattanooga was swept in the doubles matches, only winning one game in the three contests.  The Lady Mocs were able to be competitive in a pair of singles, despite being swept on the day.

Sophomore Jenna Nurik (Roswell, Ga.) lost to No. 63 Alexa Guarachi at No. 1.  Nurik got behind 6-4, but battled in the second set.  She forced a tiebreaker before losing 7-6 (7-3).

Freshman Alexa Flynn (Memphis, Tenn.) actually forced a third set in her match with Alex Clay at No. 3.  Flynn lost the first set 6-3, but came back to take the third 3-6.  They played a pro set  to decide the match with Clay winning 10-0.

The Lady Mocs return home for a pair of matches this weekend.  UTC hosts Coastal Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 11:00 a.m. (E.S.T.) and Jacksonville State on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.  Both matches are scheduled for the UTC Tennis Courts.

No. 42 Alabama 7, Chattanooga 0

Feb. 13, 2011 at Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Alabama Tennis Stadium)

Doubles competition

1. Courtney McLane/Alex Clay (UA) def. Emily Hangstefer/Alexa Flynn (UTC) - 8-1

2. Alexa Guarachi/Antonia Foehse (UA) def. Jenna Nurik /Shaina Singh (UTC) - 8-0

3. Taylor Lindsey/Meritt Emery (UA) def. Grace Robinette/Annie Green (UTC) - 8-0

Singles competition

1. No. 63 Alexa Guarachi (UA) def. Jenna Nurik (UTC) - 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)

2. No. 72 Courtney McLane (UA) def. Emily Hangstefer (UTC) - 6-1, 6-1

3. Alex Clay (UA) def. Alexa Flynn (UTC) - 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-0)

4. Antonia Foehse (UA) def. Shaina Singh (UTC) - 6-1, 6-0

5. Taylor Lindsey (UA) def. Grace Robinette (UTC) - 6-1, 6-0

6. Meritt Emery (UA) def. Charlotte Bossy (UTC) - 6-0, 6-2

Mocs Men's Tennis Falls at Georgia State 6-1

Despite holding Appalachian State to a season-low 57 points, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga struggled offensively and fell 57-56 to the Mountaineers on Senior Night Monday at the McKenzie Arena.

The loss drops Chattanooga to 13-13 overall and 10-7 in league play while the Mountaineers claim their 11th consecutive victory and improve to 2-14 overall and 15-2 against SoCon opponents.

The Lady Mocs drained eight first-half 3-pointers, but netted just one in the second half on 11 tries and the difference came down to free throws and rebounds as Chattanooga went 7-for-13 (53.8%) from the charity stripe compared to the Mountaineers’ 9-of-12 (75%) performance. App State out rebounded the Lady Mocs 47-41, and UTC had 16 offensive boards resulting in 19 second chance points. ASU converted 14 offensive rebounds into 14 points.

The Lady Mocs started the game strong getting out to a 13-5 lead on 5-of-8 shooting with seven points from redshirt junior Bailey Dewart (Spartanburg, S.C.) who was honored before the game as she plays her final season of collegiate ball despite having a year of eligibility remaining.

The Mountaineers, however, found their feet and made it a game the rest of the half and led 29-28 at the break with neither team finding the bucket over the final 3:35 of the half. ASU was 13-of-30 (43.3%) from the floor in the first half without a 3-pointer on three tries. Chattanooga was 10-of-31 (32.3%) in the first making 8-of-20 (40%) from beyond the arc.

In the second half, App State got out to a four-point lead, 35-31 with 15:06 to play before the Lady Mocs got into the game and went on a 15-4 run capped off by a layup from freshman Taylor Hall (New Tazewell, Tenn.) to take its largest lead of the second half, 46-39 with 9:08 to play.

The Mountaineers held UTC scoreless over the next two minutes to take a 48-46 lead on a 9-0 run at the 7:08 mark, getting points from four different players including a 3-pointer from Ashlen Dewart, sister of UTC’s Bailey Dewart.

Over the remaining time, the two teams traded the lead six times including three ties before the Mountaineers Kelsey Shark hit a layup with 11 seconds to play to take the lead for good, 57-56. The Lady Mocs missed a jumper with five seconds remaining and put ASU at the free throw line.

The Mountaineers missed the front end of the one-and-bonus and junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) snared the rebound and quickly called timeout to set up the final play. Appalachian State pressed the Lady Mocs and forced a turnover to end the game.

Chattanooga was paced by sophomore Kylie Lambert’s (Etowah, Tenn.) 11 points and nine rebounds, just missing the double-double. Dewart and sophomore Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) each had 10 points for UTC while Hood and Hall each chipped in eight. Hall had a game-high and career-best 11 rebounds. Chattanooga had 15 assists in the game with four from Christopher and Lambert and three from junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.).

Chattanooga scored 12 points off 16 Mountaineer turnovers and gave up eight points on 14 miscues of its own. ASU outscored the Lady Mocs in the paint 32-16 and held a slight 12-11 advantage on bench points.

Anna Freeman, who left the game in the final minutes with five fouls, led all scorers with 14 points and had six boards, four assists, three blocked shots and two steals along with five turnovers. Sam Ramirez had 11 points, four steals and five rebounds. Kelsey Sharkey had a team-high 10 rebounds and six points.

Along with Dewart, Chattanooga bid farewell to senior managers Courtney Berg (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Ross Jolly (Sparta, Tenn.) and graduate assistant manager Michael Scruggs (Knoxville, Tenn.).

The Lady Mocs will be on the road for the remainder of the year with a visit to UNCG this Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at Fleming Gymnasium. Listen to all the action live with the “Voice of the Lady Mocs” Larry Ward at the mic. Live stats will be available at the official website of Chattanooga athletics, GoMocs.com.

Mocs Wrestlers Clinch Tie for SoCon Title

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team wrapped up no worse than a tie for its seventh-straight Southern Conference regular season title with a 41-3 win over Davidson today.  The Mocs improve to 10-9 overall and are 4-0 in the SoCon after their 34th-consecutive league win.

Davidson (5-11, 0-4 SoCon) started off the day in a big hole, forfeiting the first two matches at 157 and 165 as the Mocs jumped out to a 12-0 lead.  Junior Brandon Wright (Germantown, Tenn.) remained undefeated in SoCon action at 4-0 after his 14-7 win over Donald Patrick at 174.

Junior Jason McCroskey (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) increased the lead to 21-0 when he pinned Ike Crews at the 1:10 mark. Another forfeit by the Wildcats at 197 and Chattanooga went up 27-0.

Davidson finally got on the board in the heavyweight match.  Mocs

sophomore Robert Prigmore (Westlake, Texas) has been wrestling up a weight due to an injury to senior Matt Lettner (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.).  He gave up a lot of size to Wildcat Charlie Wolf, but put out an excellent effort.  Prigmore took the match to overtime before falling 4-1.

Sophomore Prescott Garner (West Linn, Ore) put the match away with his 12-1 major decision over Matt Zarth at 125.  The next two contests were tough ones for UTC, beginning with junior Demetrius Johnson's (Memphis, Tenn.) 133 bout with Alex Radsky.  Johnson is just returning to form following an offseason knee injury and was hitting the mat for just the third time this season.  Radsky was tops on the Wildcat squad with a 23-7 record.  Johnson came away with a tough 5-3 win.

Senior Cody Cleveland (Tullahoma, Tenn.), ranked No. 9 at 141, also had a tough battle against Vitaly Radsky.  He needed a late takedown to post a 5-3 decision and move to 10-0 on the year.  Sophomore Dean Pavlou (Cleveland, Tenn.) closed out the afternoon with his 15-6 major decision over Scott Ray.

The Mocs conclude the 2010-11 season next weekend when they host VMI on Senior Day.  Match time is set for 2:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) at Maclellan Gym on Sunday, Feb. 20.

Chattanooga 41 - Davidson 3

Maclellan Gym - Chattanooga, Tenn.

Sunday - Feb. 13, 2011

157:  Josh Condon (UTC) won by forfeit - UTC 6-0

165:  Daniel Waddell (UTC) won by forfeit - UTC 12-0

174:  Brandon Wright (UTC) - Dec. 14-7 - Donald Patrick (Davidson) - 15-0

184:  Jason McCroskey (UTC) - Fall 1:10 - Ike Crews (Davidson) - 21-0

197:  Nikolas Brown (UTC) won by forfeit - UTC 27-0

285:  Charlie Wolf (Davidson) - Dec. 4-1 - Robert Prigmore (UTC) - UTC 27-3

125:  Prescott Garner  (UTC) - MD 12-1 - Matt Zarth (Davidson) - UTC 31-3

133:  Demetrius Johnson (UTC) - Dec. 5-3 - Alex Radsky (Davidson) - UTC 34-3

141:  No. 9 Cody Cleveland (UTC) - Dec. 5-3 - Vitaly Radsky (Davidson) - UTC 37-3

149:  Dean Pavlou (UTC) - MD 15-6 - Scott Ray (Davidson) - UTC 41-3

DEWART’S CAREER NIGHT LEADS LADY MOCS PAST DAVIDSON 91-70 AT HOME

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior Bailey Dewart (Spartanburg, S.C.) put up career numbers Saturday night at the McKenzie Arena to lead the Lady Mocs to a 91-70 win over Davidson in Southern Conference women’s basketball action.

The Lady Mocs top the .500 mark for the first time this season with the win improving to 13-12 overall and 10-6 in league play. The Wildcats fall to 11-14 overall and 6-10 against SoCon opponents.

Chattanooga jumped out quickly to an 11-2 start and went 5-for-5 from the floor that included a pair of 3-pointers from Dewart to take a 15-8 lead getting the 2,204 fans cheering early and often. The Lady Mocs led by as much as nine in the first half, but the Wildcats weren’t going down without a fight and managed to get to within three at the halfway mark of the period.

Chattanooga went 1-for-8 over the next four minutes with Davidson on a 8-2 run to cut the lead to 19-16 with 11:06 remaining in the opening stanza. UTC responded, however, with an 8-2 run of its own to get back on top 27-18 over the next two minutes. Davidson hung in and the Lady Mocs led 37-31 at halftime.

In the second half, the Lady Mocs opened up with a 12-4 advantage to take a 49-35 lead with 16:38 to play. Chattanooga continued to push the Wildcats and expanded its lead to as much as 23 points on a 3-pointer from junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) at the 11:07 mark to give Chattanooga a 70-47 lead.

Moore sat Dewart and junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) with 10:30 to play and the Lady Mocs went on to record their 13th win of the season.

Hood shared the team-high scoring with Dewart putting in 16 points of her own on 7-of-9 shooting and had seven boards. They led five players in double figures for UTC that included 13 points from Townsend who had three 3-pointers and four assists, 12 points from sophomore Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.)  who went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and dished out three assists. They were joined by freshman Taylor Hall (New Tazewell, Tenn.) who went 5-of-7 from the field and had a career-high 11 points, scoring in double-figures for the first time this season.

The Lady Mocs will take on league leader Appalachian State Monday night and bid farewell to senior  managers Courtney Berg and Ross Jolly as well as graduate assistant manager Michael Scruggs. Dewart, who will graduate in the summer, will participate in the festivities as she plays her final regular season home game at the roundhouse.

Senior Night activities will take place prior to the game that is set to tip off at 7 p.m. The Lady Mocs will also be celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness with its annual “Pink Zone” game. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to show their support in the fight against the second leading cause of death among women.

Mocs Drop Second in Back-to-Back Nights 78-68 at Appalachian State

The Chattanooga Mocs dropped its second game in as many nights losing 78-68 at Appalachian State (12-13/8-7) in the Holmes Center Saturday night.  Despite the loss, Chattanooga still leads the Southern Conference North Division at 14-13 overall, 10-5 in league play.

Ricky Taylor  (Brownsville, Tenn.) led the Mocs with 21 points with five rebounds. DeAntre Jefferson (Bloomington, Ill.) added a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Chris Early (Huntington, W. Va.) chipped in 12 points.

Omar Carter and Donald Sims combined for 41 of the Mountaineers 78 points.  Carter had a game-high 22 points, while Sims tossed in 19. Petey Hausley came off the bench to add 12 inside for ASU.

It was a back-and-forth game to start the second half.  App State opened scoring the first nine points for a 40-32 lead at 16:55 as Sims made one of two free throws.

Taylor got the Mocs on the scoreboard with a layup at 16:16.  He and Jefferson combined for a 9-0 run of their own as two Taylor free tosses at 14:43 made it 41-40 Chattanooga.

With the game tied 45-45, the Mountaineers took control of the game with a 14-0 run to go up 59-45 on a Carter jumper at 10:24.  Carter scored seven of the 14 for ASU.

Early ended the run at 10:08.  His jumper got the Mocs back within 12, 59-47.  The two teams traded three-pointers as Taylor's trey at 8:34 made it 62-50.

Carter and Sims got the Mountaineers built the advantage to 16, 66-50, at 7:51.  Keegan Bell 's (Hazel Green, Ala.) layup at 7:37 got the margin back to 14, 66-52. From there, the Mocs got defensive stops, but could not take advantage going nearly three minutes between points.

Chattanooga held ASU to just one field goal over 6:38 and just six points, but it suffered a shooting drought of its own.  The Mocs went without a field goal for nearly four minutes in that stretch, a three-pointer by Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.).

There were 10 ties and 13 lead changes in the game.  The final tie, 45-45, came at 12:25 on an Early layup.  A 21-5 run over the next five-plus minutes gave the Mountaineers lead for good.

The Mocs got off to a good start scoring on five of their first six possessions en route to a 13-7 lead on the third of three straight three-pointers by Taylor at 16:34.  But that hot start did not continue.

Chattanooga allowed App State to go an 11-2 run scoring just one field goal over the next 7:09.  Nathan Healy capped the run with a put-back off an Andre Williamson miss inside to give ASU an 18-15 cushion at 9:25. After Troy Cage (Baton Rouge, La.) scored three points in successive possessions to tie the game at 18-all, Early re-gained the lead, 20-18, for the Mocs with a layup off a nice feed from Bell at 8:25.  The lead jockeyed back and forth the rest of the half as Chattanooga took a 32-31 lead into intermission.

UTC completes four straight on the road Wednesday night outside of league play at Georgia Tech.  Game time with the Yellow Jackets is slated for 7:30 p.m.  Fans can access live audio and stats via Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.  The game will also broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds.

Mocs Drop a Heartbreaker 69-68 at Western Carolina

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team knew it was in for a tough night, traveling to Western Carolina for a matchup between the top two teams in the Southern Conference North Division.  The sickly Mocs put up a heroic effort before falling on 69-68 on the road.

The Mocs (14-12, 10-4 SoCon) left Chattanooga this afternoon with three players getting on the bus carrying IV bags, trying to get fluids before the game.  Chattanooga had four players under quarantine this week, suffering from the flu.  Regular starters Keegan Bell (Hazel Green, Ala.) and Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) were both on the bench for the opening tip, but all nine available players would eventually get in the game.

The Mocs started out sharp early on, jumping out to a 10-2 lead behind a pair of threes from junior Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) and two buckets from sophomore Dontay Hampton (Chattanooga, Tenn.).  Hampton was making just his second career start for Bell.  Senior Troy Cage (Baton Rouge, La.) also got the nod for the second time as a Moc, replacing Wattad. Hampton responded, scoring six points in the first half while Cage would grab a game-high 11 boards in the game.  Despite the early lead, the Mocs could not take control of the game, thanks to 15 turnovers in the opening period.  Western Carolina had a tough time getting back into the game given the fact that they coughed it up 10 times in the first 15 minutes themselves.

UTC went up 25-18 with 5:53 on the clock when senior DeAntre Jefferson (Bloomington, Ind.) scored inside.  That was the last field goal Chattanooga would get for the rest of the half.  WCU took the lead 27-26 two minutes later when Mike Williams put-back a missed fast-break lay-in at the 3:50 mark.  The Catamounts closed the half on a 17-2 run and went into the locker room with a 35-26 lead.  

Western Carolina came out on an 8-2 spurt, opening their lead to 43-29 on another Williams lay-in.  The Mocs responded with a 9-2 run of their own, closing to gap to 45-38 on two Wattad free throws at 13:31.

Wattad was whistled for a technical foul heading back down the court following the foul shots.  WCU responded with seven straight points to push the lead back to 14 at 52-38 at 12:33.

UTC started slowly clawing its way back into the game over the next eight minutes, cutting the lead to seven, 59-52, on a Taylor three with seven minutes left.  Back-to-back baskets by Jefferson and a three by junior Jahmal Burroughs (New Orleans, La.) cut the lead to 62-59 with four minutes left.  Williams, the Catamount's leading scorer, had gone to the bench with four fouls early in the second half.  He came back at the four-minute mark and immediately scored a bucket.  Trailing 66-62, Burroughs scored four straight points, including a pair of clutch foul shots with one minute left to tie the game and set up a dramatic finish.

UTC had been in this situation before and had an 11-1 record in games where they score was within five points with five minutes to play.  The Mocs were also 3-0 in one-point games and 5-1 in three-point contests this season.

After a pair of timeouts, Western Carolina tried to set up its offense, but the Mocs were ready.  Chattanooga played excellent defense and did not allow a clear look.  Catamount Trey Sumler threw up a prayer, but Hampton was whistled for a foul on the play with one second left. Sumler sank one of two to hold on for the win.

The Mocs were led by Taylor's 14 points while Jefferson added 13 and eight boards.  Burroughs had 10 while Hampton had nine points, five assists and four rebounds.  WCU was led by William's 22, including six of their last seven.  Sumler added 15 points and eight assists.

Da Genius Becomes A TV Weasel

THEGENIUSURBANMEYER, former head football coach at the University of Florida, is now officially a member of the Worldwide Order of Weasels (WOW).

After an audition (with Bama coach Nick Saban) at the BCS national championship game, and a second appearance during the WOW’s goofy coverage of college football national signing day, WOW headquarters in Bristol, Ct has announced Meyer will be part of their broadcast package for next year’s college football season.

As even the average football fan knows, Meyer has had “health problems” since losing to Bama in last year’s SEC Championship game, and losing Tim Tebow to the NFL Business.

Last year he was “taking time off to be with his family”, retiring, then returning.

This season, Florida’s first without Tim Tebow in four years, Meyer on the sidelines looked, in rapid succession, like he really had retired, like he was having a stroke, like his face was going to explode, or like he was going to explode during most of the games the Gators played.

The Gators’ offense, which had been Meyer’s claim to fame before Tebow left, was almost a cartoon copy of the real thing. Constant quarterback shuffling, constant snap mistakes and busted plays became the norm as the Gators shuffled their way to an eight-win season, mostly by beating FBS teams and SEC bottom-feeders. The Gators lost to Bama, Mississippi State, LSU and South Carolina, then to hated in state rival Florida State.

Meyer hung it up. Permanently, this time, since before the heads stopped shaking in Gainesville, Florida had hired Texas head-coach-in-waiting Will Muschamp to replace Meyer.

The story, this time, was that Meyer had health problems, and that he wanted to watch his daughter play volleyball at Georgia Tech and so forth, and so on.

The commenting gig at WOW (ESPN) will allow Meyer to keep his name out there should his health problems get better and he wants to go back to coaching, and should allow him enough time to get to see Tech’s volleyball team a time or two, in addition to making him some money. (Although unless he has spent all the money he made coaching the Gators on counseling, he should be set pretty well for money.)

Meyer was actually pretty good during his appearances on the national championship broadcast, although every time Nick Saban waved his hands, Meyer seemed to want to duck.

I only saw Meyer briefly during his national signing day performance, how anybody could watch that drivel all day is amazing.

On a set with “recruiting experts” such as the renowned Tom Luginbill, former Georgia Tech quarterback, Jamie Newberg, and a “moderator” even lamer than Bob Neal of CSS, Meyer looked like he was back on the Gator sidelines without Dan Mullen calling the offense and Charlie Strong working the defense.

But during the next regular season, Meyer will be a welcome addition to the WOW’s roster of failed or retired coaches. 

He has never been caught cheating, which is certainly more than you can say about at least one of the WOW’s luminaries, and he has never meddled in another coach’s business like Craig James, and Meyer, unlike most of his peers on the air, has actually done something lately.

I wonder if Saban is considering leaving Bama for a broadcast career now that Mark Ingram is gone?

Should Phil Fulmer have hung it up after Peyton moved on?  Well, actually, that could be debated.

Anyway, I will miss Meyer’s facial expressions on the sidelines, and he may actually have something to contribute to a broadcast or two, nobody says the guy can't coach with Tim Tebow playing.

 - Scorpio Jones III

HOOD, CHRISTOPHER LEAD LADY MOCS TO 83-65 WIN OVER PALADINS

Junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) and sophomore Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) combined for 47 points to lead the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Lady Mocs to an 83-65 Southern Conference women’s basketball win over Furman Monday night at Timmons Arena.

The Lady Mocs (12-12, 9-6 SoCon) started strong leading 23-5 at the 13:05 mark. Hood had eight points in the run while Christopher drained six points.

Furman (9-14, 5-9 SoCon) was 0-for-9 to start the game before a free throw followed by a jumper put the Paladins on the board trailing 14-3 at the 15:38 mark. Chattanooga went on to outscore Furman 9-2 over the next 2:32 for the 23-5 lead. The Lady Mocs led by as much as 19 points in the first half and put up a season-best 42 first half points to lead 42-29 at the break.

Hood was 6-for-10 with a game high 13 points at the half, while Christopher was 5-for-8 from the field with 10 points.  Junior Bailey Dewart (Spartanburg, S.C.) had six of her career-high-tying 11 rebounds in the first half.

Furman started the second half with five straight points to cut the lead to eight points, 42-34, with 18:45 to play, and would get that close twice more before Chattanooga would put it away. Furman’s Martha Robinson cut the lead to 51-43 with 15:14 to play but Hood and Christopher, with six points apiece, pushed Chattanooga up to a 63-45 lead three minutes later.

The two teams only managed a basket between them over the next 4:11 before Chattanooga got nine points from four different players and take its largest lead of the game, 74-52 on a jumper from sophomore Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.) with 5:39 to play in the game.

Hood was 12-of-18 from the field and led all scorers with 25 points and four assists. Christopher was 9-of-16 from the field including a 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, for 22 points in the game. Her four long-range bombs gives her 107 for her career, tying her with former player and current UTC assistant coach Katie Galloway Burrows for 10th on the Lady Mocs’ all-time charts.

Lambert was 3-for-7 with a 3-pointer and 2-for-2 from the free throw line for nine points and junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) was 3-for-7 from the field with two 3-pointers and a game-high tying five assists. Dewart had a game-high 11 boards and dished out four assists

Furman had four players in double figures led by Kaitlin Murphy’s 17 points. Raegan Thompson had 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds and five assists for the Paladins while Kelly O’Connor chipped in 11 and Kendra Berry had 10.

Chattanooga outscored Furman in the paint 22-16 and had nine points off 11 Paladin turnovers compared to one point off nine UTC miscues for Furman. Both teams managed 43 rebounds with the Paladins pulling in 17 offensive boards. The Lady Mocs shot 47.9 percent from the field making 34-of-71 and was 10-of-27 from beyond the arc.

Chattanooga returns to the McKenzie Arena Saturday, February 12 to host Davidson in a 6 p.m. matchup. Fans can bring three canned goods to the game to redeem for one free ticket at the gate to support the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. The game will be carried live on ESPN 105.1 FM. Live stats, stream video and audio will be available on MocsVision at GoMocs.com.

Mocs Stay Undefeated in SoCon Action With a Win at ASU

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team posted a 27-10 Southern Conference win at Appalachian State today.  The Mocs extend their SoCon unbeaten streak to 33 consecutive matches.  Chattanooga is now 9-9 on the year and 3-0 in the SoCon.  ASU drops to 6-9-1 overall and 0-3 in the league.

Chattanooga got off to a quick start with sophomore Prescott Garner's (West Linn, Ore.) pin at 125.  He defeated Tony Gravely just 24 seconds into the opening match.  That was the first of five straight wins for UTC to open the afternoon.

Junior Demetrius Johnson (Memphis, Tenn.) posted his first win of the season, a 10-5 decision over Brett Boston.  He is now 1-1 on the year after splitting this weekend's matches.  

Senior Cody Cleveland (Tullahoma, Tenn.) put the Mocs up 13-0 with his major decision win over Mike Kessler at 141.  Cleveland is ranked No. 9 in the nation at improves to 9-0 on the year.

Sophomore Dean Pavlou (Cleveland, Tenn.) won 12-7 at 149 while junior Kelly Felix (Franklin, Tenn.) won at 157.  Pavlou improves to 12-10 while Felix moves to 2-0.

Chattanooga was up 19-3 when junior Brandon Wright (Germantown, Tenn.) put the match out of reach with his win at 174.  Sophomore Niko Brown (Kissimmee, Fla.) rounded out the Mocs' scoring with a major decision at 197.

Chattanooga will be back in action on Sunday, Feb.13, hosting Davidson.  Match time is set for 2:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) in Maclellan Gym. Live stats and live video will be available on GoMocs.com.

Chattanooga 27 - Appalachian State 10

Boone, N.C.

Sunday - February 6, 2011

125: Prescott Garner (UTC) - Fall 0:24 - Tony Gravely (ASU) - UTC 6-0

133: Demetrius Johnson (UTC) - Dec. 10-5 - Brett Boston (ASU) - UTC 9-0

141: No. 9 Cody Cleveland (UTC) - MD 12-1 - Mike Kessler - (ASU) - UTC 13-0

149: Dean Pavlou (UTC) - Dec. 12-7 - Savva Kostis (ASU) - UTC 16-0

157: Kelly Felix (UTC) Dec. 14-7 - John Blakley (ASU) - UTC 19-0|

165: Kyle Blevins (ASU) - Dec. 5-2 - Dan Waddell (UTC) - UTC 19-3

174: Brandon Wright (UTC) - MD 14-5 - Carter Downs (ASU) - UTC 23-3

184: Austin Trotman (ASU) - MD 15-6 - No. 19 Jason McCroskey (UTC) - UTC 23-7

197: Niko Brown (UTC) - MD 14-5 - Jon Hartley (ASU) - UTC 27-7

285: Marc Tyson (ASU) - Dec. 2-1 - Robert Prigmore (UTC) - UTC 27-10

Mocs Get First Win, 6-1 Over North Alabama

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team recorded its first win of the season with a 6-1 victory over North Alabama at the Hixson Racquet Club today.  The Mocs improve to 1-5 on the year while the Lions dropped to 0-1 overall.

Chattanooga started the match by taking two out of three doubles matches to go up 1-0.  Freshman Trent Cobb (Melbourne, Australia) and sophomore William Disterdick (Hixson, Tenn.) scored an 8-7 win at No. 1.  They won the tiebreak over Merlin Witt and Mirko Sommerfield 7-4.

Sophomores Roberto Vieira and Chris Smith also scored an 8-5 win at No. 2.  The Mocs duo is now 4-1 on the season.

Chattanooga went on two win five of the six singles matches, beginning with Disterdick's 6-0, 6-4 vicotry at No. 5.  Sophomore Jackson Tresnan (Apopka, Fla.) followed that up with a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 3.  The Mocs secured the match when senior Rick van de Bovenkamp (Oud-Beyerland, The Netherlands) posted a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 4.

Freshman Orlando Lourenco (Hixson, Tenn.) posted his first collegiate win, a 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) victory over T.J. Drake at No. 6.  Smith also won his singles match at No. 2, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3).

The Mocs are back in action on Friday, Feb. 11, when they host Murray State.  Match time is set for 5:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) at the Hixson Racquet Club.  Live scoring will be available on GoMocs.com.

Chattanooga 6, North Alabama 1

Feb 06, 2011 at Hixson, Tennessee (Hixson Racquet Club)

Doubles competition

1. Trent Cobb/William Disterdick (UTC) def. Merlin Witt/Mirko Sommerfield (UNA) 8-7 (7-4)

2. Roberto Vieira/Chris Smith (UTC) def. Matt Feury/Rob Whitsitt (UNA) 8-5

3. T.J. Drake/Arthur Neme (UNA) def. Rick van de Bovenkamp/Gordon Rudell (UTC) 8-4

Singles competition

1. Merlin Witt (UNA) def. Trent Cobb (UTC) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4

2. Chris Smith (UTC) def. Matt Feury (UNA) 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3)

3. Jackson Tresnan (UTC) def. Mirko Sommerfield (UNA) 6-1, 6-0

4. Rick van de Bovenkamp (UTC) def. Rob Whitsitt (UNA) 6-2, 6-2

5. William Disterdick (UTC) def. Arthur Neme (UNA) 6-0, 6-4

6. Orlando Lourenco (UTC) def. T.J. Drake (UNA) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)

Mocs Lose 73-59 at Davidson

Despite 29 points from Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.), the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team dropped a 73-59 decision at Davidson (12-12/6-7) Saturday afternoon.  The Mocs are still ahead in the North Division of the Southern Conference with a 10-3 league mark, 14-11 overall.

Wattad hit 6-13 from three-point range, but his teammates struggled shooting 0-17.  It was a difficult shooting day overall as the Mocs managed 34.5 percent from the field and 20.0 percent from beyond the arc.

J.P. Kuhlman and Nik Cochran scored 16 apiece for the Wildcats.  Cochran came off the bench to hit four treys and add five rebounds and four assists.

Davidson led by one, 39-38, with 13:51 to play after Chris Early (Huntington, W. Va.) hit two free throws for the Mocs.  The Wildcats took control of the game with a 12-1 run capped by a Jake Cohen layup.

Wattad quickly answered with a jumper of his own before another run put the game away.  Nine unanswered points with a Cochran three as an exclamation point put the Wildcats up 19, 63-44, at 7:53.  Chattanooga did not manage to get inside of 14 the rest of the way.

The difference in the physical game came on the boards.  Davidson out-muscled the Mocs 50-38 on the glass.  Cohen and Da'Mon Brooks had game-high honors with nine each.  Five Wildcats recorded five or more boards.  Early had six to lead Chattanooga.

The Mocs led for the majority of the first half.  It was as high as six four different times.  The last was 21-15 at 5:42 on two Taylor free throws.  The two teams went into the break tied at 28-all.

Early and Jeremy Saffore (Nashville, Tenn.) provided highlight reel plays.  Saffore's tip dunk over two Wildcats with 14:00 to go in the first was his best play of the season.  Early's slam came off an excellent no-look pass from junior Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) at 7:29.

Chattanooga held Davidson to just 29.0 percent (9-31) shooting including 5-17 (29.4%) from three-point range in the first half.  The Mocs were a bit cold as well shooting 38.5 percent (10-26) from the field due to a 2-12 (16.7%) performance from beyond the arc.

Tonight was the first of four straight on the road for UTC.  Next up for the Mocs is Western Carolina on Thursday, February 10, at 7 p.m.  Fans can access live audio and stats via Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.  The game will also broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds.

Mocs Men's Tennis Loses to Tennessee Tech 4-3

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team dropped a 4-3 match to Tennessee Tech at the Hixson Racquet Club this afternoon.  The Mocs went up 3-1, but dropped the last three singles contests to fall to 0-5 on the year while TTU improves to 1-3.

Chattanooga started off the day with a win at No. 1 doubles.  Freshman Trent Cobb (Melbourne, Australia) and sophomore William Disterdick (Hixson, Tenn.) posted an 8-4 win but the Mocs lost the doubles point to fall behind 1-0.

UTC mounted a rally in singles action, led by sophomore Jackson Tresnan (Apopka, Fla.).  He scored a 6-0, 6-0 win against James Crawdord at No. 5.  Senior Rick van de Bovenkamp (Oud-Beyerland, The Netherlands) followed that up with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Arturo Santa Ruiz at No. 4.  Cobb rounded out the Mocs scoring with his 6-4, 6-4 win over Justin Kristein at No. 2.

Chattanooga dropped the next three matches, two three-setters and one that went to a tiebreaker in the second set, to lose 4-3.  UTC is back on the court tomorrow at the Hixson Racquet Club.  UTC hosts North Alabama at 10:00 a.m. (E.S.T.).  Live scoring will be available on GoMocs.com.

Tennessee Tech 4, Chattanooga 3

Feb 05, 2011 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Hixson Racquet Club)

Doubles competition

1. Trent Cobb-William Disterdick (UTC) def. HARRIS, Lloyd-CRAWFORD, James (TTU) - 8-4

2. CHEN, Alex-KIRSTEIN, Justin (TTU) def. Chris Smith-Stephen Crofford (UTC) - 8-6

3. EREMEEV, Vasily-OLIVIERA, Murilo (TTU) def. R. van de Bovenkamp-Roberto Vieira (UTC) - 8-3

Singles competition

1. CHEN, Alex (TTU) def. Roberto Vieira (UTC) - 7-6 (10-8), 2-6, 6-3

2. Trent Cobb (UTC) def. KIRSTEIN, Justin (TTU) - 6-4, 6-4

3. EREMEEV, Vasily (TTU) def. Chris Smith (UTC) - 6-4, 7-6 (9-7)

4. Jackson Tresnan (UTC) def. CRAWFORD, James (TTU) - 6-0, 6-0

5. R. van de Bovenkamp (UTC) def. SANTA RUIZ, Arturo (TTU) - 6-2, 6-2

6. OLIVIERA, Murilo (TTU) def. William Disterdick (UTC) - 7-6 (7-4), 6-4

LADY MOCS DOWN WOFFORD WITH 72-45 WIN ON THE ROAD

Sophomore Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.) and Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) along with junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) combined for 37 points to lead the Lady Mocs to a 72-45 win over Wofford Saturday afternoon at the Benjamin Johnson Arena.

Lambert led the Lady Mocs with 15 points going 2-for-2 from the 3-point line and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. She pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Christopher was 5-for-9 on the night with a trey, four rebounds and just missed her career-high with six assists. Townsend was 3-for-5 in the first half from the 3-point line with three boards.

Chattanooga improves to 11-12 overall and 8-6 in Southern Conference action while the Terriers fall to 6-13 overall and 2-10 in league play.

The Lady Mocs led from the start on a jumper from Christopher. After the Terriers knotted it up with a jumper from April Moorehouse, Christopher nailed a 3-pointer to spark a 7-0 run and get the Lady Mocs out front 12-4 with 16:09 to play in the first half.

Townsend connected on her second 3-pointer of the game at the 12:38 mark of the first to give Chattanooga its largest lead of the half at 17-6. Wofford hung around, and with 7:46 to play in the half drained three straight 3-pointers to tie it up 20-20 with 5:09 until half. The Lady Mocs quickly scored seven points to get back out front and led 33-27 at the half.

In the second half, the Lady Mocs broke it open midway through when Lambert and freshman Taylor Hall (New Tazewell, Tenn.)  combined for a 13-5 run against the Terriers to put the Lady Mocs up 62-40 with 6:49 to play. Chattanooga would keep up the pressure and reach its largest lead of the game at 27 points.

Hall went 4-for-7 from the field and had career-highs in both scoring, nine, and rebounding, six, along with two steals. Junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.)  had just seven points, well off her league-leading 20 point average, and had five rebounds. Junior Bailey Dewart, playing in her hometown, started the game strong, grabbing four steals, one off her career-high, and had five points and five rebounds.

Moore was able to get his entire lineup into the game and freshman Lynette Harris (Providence, Ky.) pulled down a career-high three rebounds.

Mahagony Williams had a game-high 17 points and nine rebounds on the night and Kelly Blake connected on 3-of-5 3-pointers for nine points. Wofford was just 5-of-28 from the arc and 6-of-8 from the free throw line.

Chattanooga won the battle of the boards with 48 to the Terriers’ 38 and had 19 points off 14 offensive rebounds compared to Wofford’s four off eight offensive boards. The Lady Mocs outscored Wofford in the paint 22-12 and had 18 points off 20 Terrier miscues. Chattanooga dished out 18 assists and had 13 turnovers and 10 steals.

Chattanooga remains on the road to take on Furman Monday evening at Timmons Arena at 7 p.m. Larry Ward, the “Voice of the Lady Mocs” will have all the action live on ESPN 105.1 FM. Live stats and audio streaming will be available at the official website of Chattanooga Athletics, GoMocs.com.

Mocs Wrestlers Use a Strong Comeback to Defeat UNC Greensboro 20-18

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team scored a hard-fought 20-18 win at UNC Greensboro this afternoon.  The Mocs trailed 15-5 in the match, but a late pin by junior Jason McCroskey (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) capped a 15-0 run that gave Chattanooga its 32nd straight regular season Southern Conference win.

The Mocs improved to 8-9 overall and 2-0 in the SoCon.  The Spartans were the preseason pick to win the league and could have wrapped up no worse than a tie for first with a victory today.  However, UNCG drops to 5-9 on the year and 3-1 in the SoCon.

The Spartans jumped out to a 9-0 lead with wins in each of the first three matches.  The event started with the heavyweights, so senior Cody Cleveland's (Tullahoma, Tenn.) 141 match was fourth on the list.  He made a statement with a 17-2 technical fall against Michael Crowley.  That pulled the score to 9-5.

Eight-ranked Ivan Lopouchanski put the Spartans back up 15-5 with his pin over the Mocs' Alex Hudson (Marietta, Ga.) at 149.  Sophomore Josh Condon (Powder Springs, Ga.) started the turnaround for the Mocs with his 8-6 decision over Justin Rice at 157.

Junior Dan Waddell (Chattanooga, Tenn.) followed that up with a 6-4 win at 165.  Waddell was trailing 4-0 before running off six straight points.  Junior Brandon Wright (Germantown, Tenn.) had his hands full at 174, facing two-time SoCon Champion Bryon Sigmon.  Wright squeaked out a 3-2 win to pull the team score to 15-14 with two matches left.

That pitted the 19th-ranked McCroskey against Elija Adams at 184.  McCroskey put Adams on his back at the 2:45 mark and gave the Mocs a 20-15 lead.  Sophomore Niko Brown (Kissimmee, Fla.) fought off Caylor Williams at 197 before losing 7-3.

Chattanooga continues its two-game road trip tomorrow at Appalachian State.  The Mocs will face the Mountaineers at 2:00 p.m. (E.S.T.).  Be sure to check back to GoMocs.com for a full recap.

Chattanooga 20 - UNC Greensboro 18

Greensboro, N.C.              

285: Peter Sturgeon (UNCG) - Dec. 5-2 - Robert Prigmore (UTC) - UNCG 3-0

125: Manny Ramirez (UNCG) - Dec. 7-6 - Prescott Garner (UTC) - UNCG 6-0

133: Jamel Johnson (UNCG) - Dec. 4-2 - Demetrius Johnson (UTC) - UNCG 9-0

141: No. 9 Cody Cleveland (UTC) - Tech. Fall 17-2 - Michael Crowley (UNCG) - UNCG 9-5

149: No. 8 Ivan Lopouchanski (UNCG) - Fall 4:14 - Alex Hudson (UTC) - UNCG - 15-5

157: Josh Condon (UTC) - Dec. 8-6 - Justin Rice (UNCG) - UNCG 15-8

165: Dan Waddell (UTC) - Dec. 6-4 - Brett Miller (UNCG) - UNCG 15-11

174: Brandon Wright (UTC) - Dec. 3-2 - Byron Sigmon (UNCG) - UNCG 15-14

184: No. 19 Jason McCroskey (UTC) - Fall 2:45 - Elijah Adams (UNCG) - UTC 20-15

197: Caylor Williams (UNCG) - Dec. 7-3 - Niko Brown (UTC) - UTC 20-18

Lady Mocs Drop a 5-2 Match to MTSU

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team dropped a 5-2 match to Middle Tennessee at the Hixson Racquet Club tonight.  The Lady Mocs won the doubles point, but could not get going in singles action as they fall to 1-1 on the year.

UTC took the first two doubles match, beginning with an 8-3 win at No. 3 by seniors Annie Green (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Grace Robinette (Chattanooga, Tenn.).  Sophomore Jenna Nurik (Roswell, Ga.) and junior Shaina Singh (Vancouver, B.C.) secured the 1-0 lead with their 8-4 win at No. 2.

Chattanooga could not keep the momentum as MTSU jumped out to an early lead in singles play.  The Blue Raiders grabbed the first set in five of the six singles matches, forcing UTC to play catch-up the rest of the night.

Robinette fell at No. 6 to Taylor Coffey, despite forcing a tiebreak in the second set.  MTSU followed that up with wins at No. 2 and No. 4 to take a 3-1 lead.

Chattanooga was still battling in the remaining three matches.  Nurik fell behind 3-6 in the first set to Yuri Nomoto at No. 1.  She stormed back to take the second frame 6-1, but fell in the third 3-6.  That loss gave the Blue Raiders the win.

Junior Charlotte Bossy (Koekelare, Belgium) did manage to snap a four-match losing streak with her win at No. 5.  She overcame losing the first set to Alex Dachos to post a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win.

The Lady Mocs hit the road next weekend for a trip to Alabama.  UTC heads to Tuscaloosa for a 2:00 p.m. contest with the Crimson Tide on Sunday, Feb. 13.  Chattanooga is back home on Saturday, Feb. 19, for an 11:00 a.m. match against Coast Carolina at the UTC Tennis Courts.

MTSU 5 - Chattanooga 2

Hixson Racquet Club - Hixson, Tenn.

Friday - Feb. 4, 2011

Doubles

1.  Carla Nava-Yuri Nomoto (MTSU) def. Emily Hangstefer-Alexa Flynn (UTC) - 8-4|

2.  Jenna Nurik-Shaina Singh (UTC) def. Marietta Bigus-Lexi Brand (MTSU) - 8-3

3.  Grace Robinette-Annie Green (UTC) def. Taylor Coffey-Alex Dachos (MTSU) - 8-2

SingleLady Mocs Drop a 5-2 Match to MTSU.

s

1.  Yuri Nomoto (MTSU) def. Jenna Nurik (UTC) - 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 |

2.  Marietta Bigus (MTSU) def. Emily Hangstefer (UTC) - 6-2, 6-3

3.  Carla Nava (MTSU) def. Alexa Flynn (UTC) - 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-2

Mocs Capture 75-66 Win over Georgia Southern

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team out-lasted Georgia Southern (4-20/0-11) 75-66 Thursday night in McKenzie Arena.  Chattanooga improves to 14-10 with a Southern Conference best mark of 10-2.

Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) and Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) scored 19 points apiece for the Mocs.  Taylor (4-4) and Wattad (5-7) combined to shoot 9-11 from three-point range in keying UTC's 12-19 performance from beyond the arc.  The Mocs' 63.2 percent shooting from three-point land ties for the second-best in school history.

The Eagles' Ben Drayton led all scorers with 24 points passing the 1,000-point mark for his career.  He added four rebounds and five assists.

Chattanooga opened the second half with an 11-2 run to jump out to an 18-point lead, 52-34, on a Wattad layup in transition at 15:31.  But Georgia Southern countered.

GSU posted a 21-5 run of its own over the next five-plus minutes to close to within two, 57-55, at 10:19 on a Drayton three-pointer.  The Eagles hit all five threes they attempted during the spurt.

The Mocs battled back with three-pointers by Keegan Bell (Hazel Green, Ala.) and Wattad.  The lead went back to six on the latter's trey at 6:57.  Georgia Southern got within three twice including 69-66 on a Jelanie Hewitt three-pointer at 1:29, but Chattanooga closed with six straight points for the win.

Chris Early (Huntington, W Va.) had 13 points, six rebounds and four assists (tying career high) for UTC.  He was pivotal down the stretch answering each time the Eagles got back to a three-point deficit in the final minutes.

He responded to a Drayton fastbreak layup with a strong three-point play at 1:41 to get the lead back to six.  Early answered Hewitt's three with a jumper in the paint to shut the door on the Eagles.

Bell chipped in 12 points, nine assists and two steals in 39 minutes of game time.  Hewitt had 10 points and four assists for GSU.

There was just one lead change and one tie in the game.  The Eagles opened scoring the game's first five points.  Three straight three-pointers by Taylor (2) and Wattad put the Mocs up 9-5.  Back-to-back Eagles field goals tied it at nine.

Chattanooga led by as many as 11 in the first frame on a Bell layup at 9:30.  The Mocs shot 65.2 percent from the field (15-23) before intermission which is its best shooting start of the season.

The two teams combined for 39 turnovers with 20 for Georgia Southern and 19 for UTC.  The Mocs took better advantage of the Eagles' miscues with 25 points off turnovers to GSU's 14.

It was a strong performance from the field.  Chattanooga hit 59.1 percent (26-44) from the field, while Georgia Southern tickled the twine at 54.9 percent (28-51).  With all the made shots, there were just 46 rebounds between the two schools, 23 apiece.

The Mocs hit the road Saturday to play Davidson at 7 p.m.  Fans can access live audio and stats via Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.  The game will also broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds.

LADY MOCS FALL 60-53 TO SAMFORD IN KEY SOCON MATCHUP

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga fell 60-53 to Samford Wednesday night at the McKenzie Arena in a key Southern Conference women’s basketball contest.

The Bulldogs improve to 17-6 overall and 10-4 in league play while the Lady Mocs drop to 10-12 overall and 7-6 in the SoCon standings.

Junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) led three Chattanooga players in double figures with a team-high 18 points on 6-of-14 from the floor. Junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) and sophomore Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) each had 10 points for the Lady Mocs and dished out three assists each while Townsend grabbed five rebounds. Sophomore Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.) had nine points on a pair of 3-pointers for the Lady Mocs and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

The game was a struggle between the two teams from the start with nine ties and 13 lead changes. The two teams traded baskets throughout the first half with neither able to get out front by much.

With 5:57 to play in the first half, the game was knotted at 18-18 on a layup from Samford’s Paige Anderson. Chattanooga responded with a 3-pointer from freshman Taylor Hall (New Tazewell, Tenn.) who drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key. That sparked a 7-2 run that included four points from Hood to give Chattanooga its largest lead of the game at 25-20.

Samford would knot it back up quickly behind shots from Emily London and Savannah Hill and Samford would go on to outscore the Lady Mocs 10-4 over the final three minutes of the half and lead UTC 30-29 at intermission.

Samford scored four quick points to start the second half and put Chattanooga into a 34-29 hole. At the 13:45 mark of the half, Hill put up a 3-pointer to give Samford its largest lead of the game at 39-32. However, Chattanooga responded with a 10-2 run to take a 42-41 lead, its first of the second half, capping it with a pair of free throws from Hood.

The Lady Mocs were able to get out front by four points, 50-46 on a 3-pointer from Lambert, but a quick trey from Samford brought the Bulldogs back to within one at 50-49. Another 3-pointer from Ruth Ketcham gave Samford a 52-50 lead and they would never trail again.

Chattanooga had an opportunity to tie the game but made just one of two free throw attempts and scored just one basket over the final six minutes. Samford went 6-for-6 from the free throw line over that same time and closed out the game matching its largest lead with a 60-53 victory.

London, who had 14 first half points, was 6-of-12 from the floor including a 4-for-8 effort from beyond the arc for a game-high 20 and six rebounds. Hill had 14 points, a game-high eight rebounds and seven assists while Anderson had 13 points and five boards.

Samford shot a consistent 40.8 percent from the floor on 20-of-49 shooting, was 9-of-29 from the 3-point line and near perfect from the free throw line sinking 11-of-12.

Chattanooga was 18-of-54 (33.3%) from the floor and 7-of-27 from beyond the arc. From the free throw line, the Lady Mocs shot just 58.8 percent, making 10-of-17. In the paint, Chattanooga outscored Samford 16-10 and had a 9-5 advantage on second chance points. The Bulldogs, however, forced a season-low four turnovers from Chattanooga and took advantage scoring eight points to the Lady Mocs’ five on their six miscues.

The Lady Mocs will return to action this weekend with a 3 p.m. Saturday matchup at Wofford followed by a 7 p.m. game at Furman on Monday. Larry Ward “the Voice of the Lady Mocs” will have the call on ESPN 105.1 FM. Live stats and audio streaming will be available on MocsVision at GoMocs.com.

LADY MOCS DOWN COUGARS 65-48; GIVE MOORE 500TH CAREER WIN, 300TH AT CHATTANOOGA

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga defeated the College of Charleston 65-48 Monday night at the McKenzie Arena in Southern Conference women’s basketball action and handed Head Coach Wes Moore his 500th career win.

The win was also Moore’s 300th win at Chattanooga and his 200th Southern Conference regular season win. The Lady Mocs improve to 10-11 overall and 7-5 in SoCon action while the Cougars fall to 6-16 overall and 3-10 in league play.

The College of Charleston opened the game on a 10-2 run behind eight points from Tonia Gerty while Chattanooga struggled making just 1-of-11 from the field including a 0-for-4 effort from beyond the arc. The Cougars built its lead to double digits at 14-4 before the Lady Mocs found its offense and managed to tie it up 14-14 on a 10-0 run capped by a layup from junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) with 6:56 to play in the half.

The Lady Mocs knotted the score twice more but was unable to get past the College of Charleston and trailed 24-22 at the half. Chattanooga shot just 29 percent (9-of-31) in the first half, was 1-for-8 from beyond the arc and 3-of-7 from the free throw line. The Cougars went 10-for-29 from the field making 3-of-11 from the 3-point line and made it only free throw of the stanza.

At the start of the second half, the Lady Mocs gave up a quick basket to Charleston before going on an 18-5 tear capped by a 3-pointer from freshman Destiny Bramblett (Radcliff, Ky.). The run started with a 3-pointer from Townsend and UTC took the lead for good at 27-26 on a pair of free throws from junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.).

Townsend’s second 3-pointer capped off a 10-0 run and the Lady Mocs led 32-26 with 15:02 to play. Another eight points over the next five minutes gave the Lady Mocs their first double-digit lead at 40-29 with 11:28 to play.

The Cougars, however, would not go away and got to within six, 40-34 on five points from Alyssa Frye in less than a minute. Townsend and Hood responded with five points to push the lead back to 11, 45-34 with 9:08 to play.

Chattanooga would continue to push its offense and, on back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.), the Lady Mocs lead jumped 59-42 with less than five minutes remaining. UTC built its lead to 19 twice on shots from freshman Taylor Hall (New Tazewell, Tenn.) who had six points and two steals in 10 minutes of playing time.

Hood led all scorers with 17 points and had a team-high eight boards. Christopher went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc and had 16 point along with a game-high-tying six assists. Townsend had 13 points on a 3-for-4 showing from the 3-point line, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out six assists.

The Lady Mocs had 19 assists on the night to just nine turnovers, both one shy of season bests. Chattanooga scored 23 points off of 13 forced turnovers and gave up just nine to the Cougars. CofC got 25 points from its bench led by Megan Fisher who had 11 points behind a 3-for-5 showing from beyond the arc. Gerty led the Cougars with 14 points, had eight rebounds and four assists with just one steal. Janae Smith dropped in seven points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Frye had nine points and three boards.

Chattanooga will remain at home to host preseason Southern Conference favorite Samford Wednesday night at the Roundhouse in the second women’s basketball installment of the Southern Rail Rivalry Series.

The Bulldogs are 15-6 overall and 8-4 in league play. The two teams tangled just two weeks ago in Birmingham, Ala., with Samford coming out on top 61-49. The game will be carried live on ESPN 105.1 FM and Larry Ward, the “Voice of the Lady Mocs”, will have the call. Live stats, along with video and audio streaming on MocsVision will be available at the official website of Chattanooga Athletics, GoMocs.com.

Game 5 of “Mocs Hoopla” continues Wednesday night and the first 1,000 fans through the gate will receive a Wes Moore bobblehead doll celebrating his 500 career wins. Call the McKenzie Arena box office at 423.266.MOCS (6627) for tickets or online at GoMocs.com.

Call Me In Two Years

On Wednesday grown men, mostly, will take more of an interest in teen-age boys than is probably healthy for either group.

Wednesday is the day the NCAA has decreed for high school seniors to sign letters of intent to play football at a member institution.

This day in early February has not changed in years, but the publicity surrounding it has grown an order of magnitude since explosion of the Internet and social media.

There is a whole sub-industry, the “recruiting expert”, which has grown to the point where it is easy to confuse the point or purpose of the process. It appears, though there is not a shred of evidence to prove it,  these “experts” contribute to the recruiting process by making sure the best schools notice the best athletes.

The real purpose of these recruiting services, Websites and “experts” is to make money for themselves and their sponsors, and, in fact do very little for the kids involved.

All big-time college football-recruiting staffs watch thousands of hours of video of the prospects they are considering, spending hundreds of hours visiting their homes and schools and talking, within the rules, to the prospects.

Most college football recruiters are only vaguely aware of how the prospects they are interested in are rated by one or another of the recruiting services.

The prospects, being kids, are more interested in how they are seen by these recruiting experts, and there is evidence from prospects social media interaction they see the same ratings as the fans, and this produces Web hits for the experts....and money.

All this attention puts tremendous pressure on high school kids. One top-rated running back in Georgia, has so much clamoring from coaches, reporters from the traditional media and from the recruiting experts trying to get inside information to generate hits on their Websites, that the player’s family has had to cut off all outside contact as signing day nears.

What should be a thoughtful process has become a circus, largely because of the recruiting experts and the pressure they, in turn, put on the traditional media.

ESPN, for instance, now has a “national director of recruiting” who just happens to be former Georgia Tech quarterback Tom Luginbill. Luginbill spouts seemingly expert information about hundreds of high school players, most of whom he has never seen play, let alone had any face time with.

 Luginbill’s college playing background  should give him more credibility than say someone like Jamie Newberg, who is one of the founders of the modern recruiting carnival.  Newberg’s only qualification for being an expert is that he has been an expert for 20 years.

Newberg was also one of the seers who anointed a south Florida player, Willie Williams, as the most valuable player coming out of high school in the talent-rich state. Williams, who had been arrested twice while in high school never played a down at the college level because of his constant run-ins with the law.

The experts said about the Williams incident they “did not have time” to evaluate the character of players.

I don’t doubt that their time is limited, as their interest in actually researching players, but if these people were as connected to high school sports as they want you to believe, don’t you think they would have heard something about this particular player?

The recruiting experts also “rank” the country’s recruiting classes, based on the number of recruits with higher rankings (in a “star” system) in their lists of top high school players.

In theory, according to these bozos, a player with five stars is better than a player with three or four, and this is some indication of future performance in college.

And it is all hooey. It is patently obvious the recruiting service star rankings come from the number of high-profile schools who have shown interest in a prospect.

Interestingly, of the players playing in this past weekend’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, which is considered the best of the post-season all-star games, featuring the best players and the most attention from the NFL Business, only three were awarded the vaunted five stars coming out of high school. There were as many two-star athletes as there were five stars.

What this means to me is that the recruiting services don’t know any more, and sometimes a good deal less than the college coaching staffs who recruit the kids, but that grown men are willing to pay significant money to have this  “inside” information on recruits…then wail and moan when the college of their choice does not sign somebody the experts said was a five-star player.

Call me in two years….this should be the mantra of every college football fan on Wednesday. Because no matter how many experts say a running back is the next Herschel, Bo or Mark Ingram, what matters is what happens on the field, and while that is going on the experts are making their house payments with your hard-earned money.

 - Scorpio Jones III

Mocs Defeat The Citadel 26-6

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team put on a dominating performance in front of a big crowd at Maclellan Gym this afternoon.  The Mocs had little trouble defeating The Citadel 26-6 in Southern Conference action, improving to 7-9 on the year and 1-0 in league play.

Over 600 fans showed up to watch the Mocs win their 31st SoCon match in a row.  UTC has won six-straight SoCon regular season titles and 18-straight league contests at home.  Chattanooga has not dropped a SoCon match since 2004 and has not lost in conference action at home since 2003.

"It is an important win for us," stated head coach Heath Eslinger.  "Every win from here on out is super-important.  We've had a grueling schedule and we won every close match today.  That's why we have a tough schedule, to get guys ready to win those matches.  They are as good a team as any in our conference, so it is a big deal."

In a scheduling quirk, this was the last SoCon bout of the season for the Bulldogs and the first for the Mocs.  The Citadel came in with a little swagger, sporting a 3-1 league mark.  The Bulldogs were the last team in the league to defeat UTC back on Feb. 14, 2004, in Charleston, S.C., and were hoping to repeat that performance today.

Action began at 149 where sophomore Alex Hudson (Marietta, Ga.) scored a 10-5 decision over Derek Royster to give the Mocs a 3-0 lead.

It was low-scoring affair between sophomore Josh Condon (Powder Springs, Ga.) and Pierre Frazile at 157.  Both managed just one escape for most of the match.  With time winding down, Frazile seemed to let up and prepare for overtime.  Condon pounced on the opening and scored a winning takedown just before the final horn.  His 3-1 win moved him to 18-6 on the year and gave Chattanooga a 6-0 lead.

The next two matches were going to be tough ones for the Mocs as both opponents had 20+ wins.  At 165, junior Dan Waddell (Chattanooga, Tenn.) took the mat against No. 8 Turotgtokh Luvsandorj.  Luvsandorj was 29-6 on the year and was looking for bonus points.  However, Waddell fought him off for the entire match and kept it close in the 9-4 loss.

Junior Brandon Wright (Germantown, Tenn.) was going for his first win in four matches at 174, facing J.C. Oddo who was 20-7 on the year.  Trailing 2-1 with seconds left, Wright scored a reversal to take a 3-2 lead, sending the big crowd into a frenzy.  Oddo escaped before the horn and the match went into overtime.

With the crowd on their feet, Wright shot out on the opening whistle and tallied the winning takedown seconds into sudden victory time.  Wright's win gave UTC a 9-3 lead and took all of the wind out of the Bulldog's sails.

Junior Jason McCroskey followed that up with an 8-2 decision over Justin Sparrow at 175.  It was McCroskey's team-leading 18th win of the year to go against seven losses.

Sophomore Niko Brown (Kissimmee, Fla.) improved to 15-7 with his 5-3 decision over Kelby Smith at 197.  Sophomore Robert Prigmore (Southlake, Texas) scored the first bonus points with a 10-2 major decision over Luke Johnson at heavyweight.

Sophomore Prescot Garner (West Linn, Ore.) and senior Cody Cleveland (Tullahoma, Tenn.) rounded out the scoring for the Mocs with wins at 125 and 141, respectively.  Cleveland, ranked No. 8 in the nation, posted an 11-1 major decision over Jordan Dix to move to 7-0 on the year.

Chattanooga hits the road next weekend for a pair of huge matches at UNC Greensboro and Appalachian State.  The Mocs hope to get back a pair of starters who were out for the match against The Citadel.  Junior Demetrius Johnson is still trying to get into the lineup at 133 for the first time this year.  He is recovering from offseason knee surgery.  Senior heavyweight Matt Lettner was also out with a foot injury.

UTC visits the Spartans on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 2:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) and travel to Boone, N.C. to take on the Mountaineers on Sunday, Feb. 6 at 2:00 p.m.  The Mocs are back home on Sunday, Feb. 13, hosting Davidson in Maclellan Gym at 2:00 p.m.

Chattanooga 26 - The Citadel 6 -

Maclellan Gym - Chattanooga Tenn.

Sunday - Jan. 30, 2011

149:  Alex Hudson (UTC) - Dec. 10-5 - Derek Royster (The Citadel) - UTC 3-0

157:  Josh Condon (UTC) - Dec. 3-1 - Pierre Frazile (The Citadel) - UTC 6-0

165:  No. 8 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (The Citadel) - Dec. 9-4 - Dan Waddell (UTC) - UTC 6-3

174:  Brandon Wright (UTC) - Dec. 5-3 (OT) - James Oddo - (The Citadel) - UTC 9-3

184:  Jason McCroskey (UTC) - Dec. 8-2 - Justin Sparrow (The Citadel) - UTC 12-3

197:  Niko Brown (UTC) - Dec. 5-3 - Kelby Smith (The Citadel) - UTC 15-3

285:  Robert Prigmore (UTC) - Maj. Dec. 10-2 - Luke Johnson (The Citadel) - UTC 19-3

125:  Prescott Garner (UTC) - Dec. 9-8 - Richard Alarcon (The Citadel) - UTC 22-3

133:  Tyler Sim (The Citadel) - Dec. 7-4 - Adam Wilson (UTC) - UTC 22-6

141:  No. 8 Cody Cleveland (UTC) - Maj. Dec. 11-1 - Jordan Dix (The Citadel) - UTC 26-6

Men's Tennis Falls at No. 58 Memphis 7-0

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team dropped a 7-0 match at Memphis this morning.  The Mocs were swept in all nine matches on the day, dropping to 0-4 on the year.

The Tigers brought a No. 58 national ranking into today's match, along with a 2-1 overall record.  They won all three doubles matches, 8-1, 8-3 and 8-2, respectively.

Memphis swept the singles bouts, winning four in straight sets.  Sophomore Jackson Tresnan (Apopka, Fla.) put up a fight at No. 2.  He pushed David Ohare to three sets before losing 4-6, 7-5, 1-0.  Tresenan dropped the final pro-set 10-6.

Senior Rick van de Bovenkamp also went three sets in his first action at No. 5.  He lost to John Taylor 6-3, 5-7, 1-0, falling in the final pro-set 10-4.

Chattanooga is back in action on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 1:00 p.m., hosting Tennessee Tech at the Hixson Racquet Club.   

No. 58 Memphis 7, Chattanooga 0

Racquet Club of Memphis - Memphis, Tenn.

Doubles competition

1. Joe Salisbury-David O'Hare (MEM) def. Trent Cobb-Tresnan Jackson (UTC) - 8-1

2. David Henry-Jordan Smith (MEM) def. Gordon Rudell-Rick van de Bovenkam (UTC) - 8-3

3. Leon Nasemann-John Taylor (MEM) def. William Disterdick-Jordan Faith (UTC) - 8-2

Singles competition

1. Joe Salisbury (MEM) def. Trent Cobb (UTC) - 6-1, 6-4

2. David O'Hare (MEM) def. Tresnan Jackson (UTC) - 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-6)

3. Leon Nasemann (MEM) def. William Disterdick (UTC) - 6-0, 6-0

4. Johnny Grimal (MEM) def. Stephen Crofford (UTC) - 6-1, 6-1

5. John Taylor (MEM) def. Rick van de Bovenkam (UTC) - 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-4)

6. Cedric De Zutter (MEM) def. Matt Harris (UTC) - 7-6 (7-4), 6-2

Lady Mocs Open Spring Action with a 6-1 Win Over Belmont

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team won its season-opener 6-1 over Belmont at the Hixson Racquet Club today.  The Lady Mocs won two of three doubles and five of six singles matches to score the win.

The Lady Mocs opened the afternoon with an 8-1 victory at No. 1 doubles.  Sophomore Jenna Nurik (Roswell, Ga.) and junior Shaina Singh (Vancouver, B.C.) made quick work of Abby Leatherwood and Fabian Mersan in the opening match.

UTC took the doubles point when junior Emily Hangstefer (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) and freshman Alexa Flynn (Memphis, Tenn.) defeated Lindsey Bennett and Laura State 8-3 at No. 2.

The Lady Mocs took the next four singles matches in straight sets to clinch the win.  Nurik defeated Mersan 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1 while Hangstefer took out Leatherwood 6-2, 6-1 at No. 2.  Flynn had a strong win at No. 3 in her first dual match action.  She defeated Bennett 6-2, 7-5.

Singh won at No. 4 over Catherine Holliday 6-4, 6-2 while senior Grace Robinette (Chattanooga, Tenn.) posted a 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6) win over Stack at No 5.

The Lady Mocs are back in action on Friday, Feb. 4 when they host MTSU at the Hixson Racquet Club.  Match time is set for 6:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) at live scoring will be available on GoMocs.com.

Chattanooga 6 - Belmont 1

Hixson Racquet Club - Hixson, Tenn.

Doubles competition

1. Jenna Nurik-Shaina Singh (UTC) def. Abby Leatherwood-Fabiana Mersan (BEL) - 8-1

2. Emily Hangstefer-Alexa Flynn (UTC) def. Lindsay Bennett-Laura Stack (BEL) - 8-3

3. Natalia Nunes-Catherine Holliday (BEL) def. Annie Green-Grace Robinette (UTC) - 8-6

Singles competition

1. Jenna Nurik (UTC) def. Fabiana Mersan (BEL) - 6-0, 6-2

2. Emily Hangstefer (UTC) def. Abby Leatherwood (BEL) - 6-2, 6-1

3. Alexa Flynn (UTC) def. Lindsay Bennett (BEL) - 6-2, 7-5

4. Shaina Singh (UTC) def. Catherine Holliday (BEL) - 6-4, 6-2

5. Grace Robinette (UTC) def. Laura Stack (BEL) - 4-6, 7-5, 8-6

6. Natalia Nunes (BEL) def. Charlotte Bossy (UTC) - 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8)

Mocs Hold Off Elon 85-76 on Legends Night

The Legends Weekend celebration concluded with an 85-76 Chattanooga win over Elon in the McKenzie Arena.  The 60-plus former players, managers and coaches who came back for reunion were rewarded with the Southern Conference North Division leader moving to 9-2 in league play, 13-10 overall.  The Phoenix drop to 10-12, 4-7 in the SoCon North.

Chris Early (Huntington, W.Va.) scored a career-high 21 points, including a 7-10 performance from the field, 2-3 from three-point range.  He led four double-figure scorers for the Mocs followed closely by Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Elon was paced by Drew Spradlin who tied Early for game-high honors with 21 points while grabbing eight rebounds.  Chris Long added 17 points, eight assists and four steals.

Chattanooga led by as many as 17 points in the first half and lead by 15 at the break, 40-25.  The Phoenix came out strong to open the second with a 15-5 run to close to 45-40 at 17:05 on a Lucas Troutman layup.  Spradlin scored nine of the 15 points on three three-pointers.

Up 48-43 at 15:26, the Mocs scored on four straight possessions to get the lead back into double digits at 13, 58-45, on a Wattad three-pointer at 13:06.  But Elon would not go quietly into the good night.

The Phoenix scored on five straight possessions themselves, propelling a 13-0 run over the next 2:49 to tie the score at 58-all on a Ryley Beaumont layup.  The Mocs turned the ball over three times during the run.

After missing on two chances to take the lead, UTC rattled off six straight points.  An Early layup and a rare four-point play by Wattad gave the Mocs a 64-58 cushion.  Chattanooga eventually got the lead back to eight, 68-60, before Elon made another run.

Scott Grable's jumper at 4:45, made it 68-66 Mocs.  Keegan Bell (Hazel Green, Ala.) answered 14 seconds later with a three-pointer, his fourth of the game, to put Chattanooga back up by five, 71-66.  The margin would get no closer as the Mocs held on for the 85-76 win.

Bell hit four of nine from beyond the arc in scoring 15 points to go with seven assists (just one turnover) and four rebounds.  Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) added 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Elon hit its first three three-pointers to lead by four early, 11-7, on a Long three.  A 12-2 run gave the Mocs control of the game, 19-13, on a Jeremy Saffore (Nashville, Tenn.) free throw.  Up six, 24-18, UTC went on an extended 16-5 run over the next six-plus minutes to push the score to 40-23 on Taylor's layup at 11 seconds.  Sebastian Koch ended the half with a layup at the buzzer to get the Phoenix within 15, 40-25.

DeAntre Jefferson (Bloomington, Ill.) and Jahmal Burroughs (New Orleans, La.) led the Mocs with eight rebounds apiece off the bench.  Burroughs did his damage in the opening half with seven, while Jefferson grabbed five after the break including a stretch of three defensive boards on consecutive possessions.  Chattanooga held a 46-34 advantage on the boards.

The Mocs distributed 23 assists on night, shooting 47.5 percent (29-61) from the floor and 40.7 percent (11-27) from three-point range.  Wattad (4-9) and Bell (4-9) combined for eight of UTC's 11 treys.

Chattanooga picked up the pace offensively in the second half.  It hit 59.1 percent (13-22) from the field and 62.5 percent (5-8) from three-land.  Fourteen of the 16 free throws made came in the second half, nine in the final minutes.

Elon was limited to 41.4 percent (29-70) shooting for the game, 51.3 percent (20-39) in the second half.  It hit 12 of 38 three-point attempts (31.6%).

UTC completes its three-game homestand hosting Georgia Southern Thursday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m.  Fans can access live video, audio and stats via Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.  The game will also broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds.

"Mocs Hoopla" celebrating six games in 13 days between the men's and women's basketball programs concludes with the game against the Eagles.  Students are encouraged to wear gold and there is a Spirit Award for the student with the best sign.

KIRWA, MOORE SET PRs AT KENTUCKY’s McCRAVY MEMORIAL MEET

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior Emmanuel Kirwa (Kapsabet, Kenya) and senior David Moore (Sarnia, Ontario) each ran personal bests in their respective events Saturday afternoon at the Rod McCravy Memorial Indoor Track and Field Meet at the Nutter Field House in Lexington, Ky.

Kirwa placed seventh in the men’s 3000 meter run with a personal record time of 8:24.48 followed immediately by junior Chris Berry’s (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) eighth place finish in the event with a time of 8:25.21. Freshman Nathan Wanuch (Mississauga, Ontario) ran an 8:39.02 in his inaugural indoor meet.

Senior David Moore (Sarnia, Ontario) topped the PR he ran last weekend at the MTSU Blue Raider Invitational by nearly two seconds in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:53.95. Freshman Drew Austell (Eads, Tenn.) ran the event in a time of 1:58.05 and freshman John Gilpin (Nashville, Tenn.)  finished in a time of 2:01.00.

In the women’s events, senior Tara Gietema (Knoxville, Tenn.) ran the 3000 meter in a time of 10:20.46. Freshman Gabby Cader (Cleveland, Tenn.) finished the women’s 400 meter dash in a time of 1:00.30 in just her second meet of her career.

The Running Mocs will return to action Saturday, Feb. 12 at the MTSU Valentine Invitational with the Southern Conference Championships fast approaching at the end of the month.

Men’s

3000 Meter Run

7.        Emmanuel Kirwa            8:24.48

8.        Chris Berry                        8:25.21

20.      Nathan Wanuch            8:39.02

800 Meter Run

12.      David Moore                        1:53.95

26.      Drew Austell                        1:58.05

39.      John Gilpin                        2:01.00

60 Meter Dash - prelims

31.      Chris Lewis-Harris             7.14

Bill Lee Mile Run

27.      Lucas Cotter                        4:17.06

34.      Kyle McLarty                        4:21.44

39.      Joshue Vasquez            4:22.62

400 Meter Dash

36.      Blake Olsen                        52.65

Women’s

3000 Meter Run

22.      Tara Gietema                        10:20.46

Mile Run

46.      Morgan Buchanan            5:36.58

400 Meter Dash

37.      Gabby Cader                        1:00.30

45.      Lauren Anderson            1:01.64

Mocs Fall to Austin Peay 6-1 in Home Opener

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team dropped a 6-1 match to Austin Peay at the Hixson Racquet Club tonight.  Sophomore Jackson Tresnan (Apopka, Fla.) scored the lone point for the Mocs (0-3, 0-0 SoCon) in his win at No. 4 singles.

The doubles point was a spirited affair that needed a tiebreaker in the third match to decide the outcome.  Sophomores Chris Smith (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Stephen Crofford (Franklin, Tenn.) won their No. 3 match over John Storie and Joao Pagan 8-3.  APSU (1-0, 0-0 OVC) evened it up when Sean Bailey and Henrique Norbiato won 8-3 at No. 1 over Tresnan and freshman Trent Cobb (Melbourne, Australia).

That left the No. 2 match between the Govs Jasmin Ademovic and Remi Calleja and sophomores William Disterdick (Hixson, Tenn.) and Roberto Vieira (Bedfordview, South Africa) as the decider.  The match was all square at 4-4 in the tie break when APSU ran off the final three points for the win and the 1-0 lead.

Austin Peay went on the win the first five singles matches, and four in straight sets.  Tresnan scored the lone singles win for the Mocs with a 6-5, 6-4 victory against Calleja at No. 4.  It was his first win in dual action in the spring.

The Mocs travel to Memphis on Sunday to face the No. 58 Tigers.  Match time is set for 1:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) at the Racquet Club of Memphis.  Check back to GoLobos.com for complete scores following the event.

Austin Peay 6 - Chattanooga 1

Hixson Racquet Club - Hixson, Tenn.

Doubles competition

1. Sean Bailey-Henrique Norbiato (APSU) def. Jackson Tresnan-Trent Cobb (UTC) - 8-3

2. Jasmin Ademovic-Remi Calleja (APSU) def. William Disterdick-Roberto Vieira (UTC) - 9-8 (7-4)

3. Stephen Crofford-Chris Smith (UTC) def. John Storie-Joao Pagan (APSU) - 8-3

Singles competition

1. Jasmin Ademovic (APSU) def. Trent Cobb (UTC) - 6-2, 6-3

2. Henrique Norbiato (APSU) def. Roberto Vieira (UTC) - 6-2, 6-0

3. Sean Bailey (APSU) def. Chris Smith (UTC) - 6-5, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6)

4. Jackson Tresnan (UTC) def. Remi Calleja (APSU) - 6-5, 6-4

5. John Storie (APSU) def. William Disterdick (UTC) - 6-3, 6-1

6. Joao Pagan (APSU) def. Stephen Crofford (UTC) - 6-4, 6-2

Chattanooga Captures Come-from-behind 111-110 Double OT Win over UNC Greensboro

Ricky Taylor's (Brownsville, Tenn.) career-high 41 points sparked the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to a pivotal Southern Conference North Division win in dramatic fashion 111-110 over UNC Greensboro.  Chattanooga (12-10/8-2) overcame a seven-point deficit inside two minutes of the second overtime to drop the Spartans to 3-16, 3-6 in the SoCon.

Taylor's night was not only a career high, but it was also the most points scored by a Moc against a Division I opponent inside McKenzie Arena.  He was 12-18 from the field, 4-7 behind the arc and 13-15 from the free throw line in 44 minutes played.

Keegan Bell (Hazel Green, Ala.) added a career-high 24 points on 8-13 shooting making 6-10 from three-point range.  He also chipped in eight assists and three steals while playing 48 of a possible 50 minutes.

UNCG was paced by Korey Van Dussen's 33 points, five rebounds and three assists.  Brandon Evans came off the bench for 28 points, five assists and three steals.  The duo combined to shoot 13 of 20 from beyond the three-point line as the team shot 17 of 43.  The 17 threes made is a UNCG school record.

With the score tied 102-102 with 2:51 in the second overtime, the Spartans went on a 7-0 run with all seven coming from Van Dussen and Evans in just 52 seconds open up seven-point lead, 109-102, at 1:59.

Dontay Hampton (Chattanooga, Tenn.) scored on a three-point play on an offensive rebound at 1:49 to cut the lead to 109-105.  Kyle Randall answered with a free throw at 1:37 to make it five points, 110-105.

Taylor buried a three-pointer just eight seconds later from the right corner to make it a two-point contest, 110-108.  The Mocs followed with a defensive stop, but the Chattanooga got called for a 10-second violation giving the ball back to the Spartans with 40 seconds to play.

But the UTC defense made another play as Hampton was sent back to the line on an Evans foul.  He made the second of two free throws as the Mocs set up a soft press off a 30-second timeout with 32 seconds to play.

Taylor tipped the ball from Randall into Bell's waiting hands.  Bell, the SoCon leader in assists, quickly pitched it forward to a streaking Taylor for a layup and the lead, 111-110, with 15 seconds to go.

Trevis Simpson missed a jump shot and Chris Early (Huntington, W.Va.) grabbed his 11th rebound getting fouled with 1.9 left.  He missed both free throws, but UNCG in the scramble for the rebound had to heave a prayer from the backcourt which was awry giving the Mocs a thrilling, nail-biting win.

Early posted his second double-double of the season, fourth career, with 11 points and 11 boards while adding three assists.  He made 9-12 from the free throw line, both career highs.  DeAntre Jefferson (Bloomington, Ill.) added 10 points and six boards as the Mocs held a 41-35 advantage on the glass, 7-2 in the overtime periods.

Randall had 18 points with five assists of his own in a team-high 44 minutes for UNCG.  Simpson added 13 points off the bench as the Spartans' reserves out-scored the Mocs' 41-26.

The two teams combined to shoot 17-24 (70.8%) from the field in the two overtime periods combining for 55 points in those 10 minutes.

Chattanooga notched new school records with 36 free throws made (tied) and 53 attempted to shoot 67.9 percent.  UTC shot season-bests of 59.3 percent (32-54) from the floor and 47.8 percent (11-23) from three-point range.

UNCG got off to a great start scoring the first six points en route to an 11-2 lead in the opening minutes.  The Mocs' first basket of the game was a three-pointer by Hampton at 16:37.  That bucket sparked a 30-11 run over next 12 minutes to put UTC up 10, 32-22, at 4:37.

The latter half of that was a 10-0 run in which Chattanooga held the Spartans without a field goal for 5:25. UNCG scored just two field goals and seven points in the last 9:41 of the first half to take a 40-29 lead into the break.

Bell and Taylor combined for nine points in the first 1:16 of the second half to give the Mocs a 20-point cushion, 49-29, at 18:36 on a Taylor layup.  At 14:57, the lead was 20 again on a Taylor three-pointer, 59-39.

The Spartans stormed back with a 31-9 run of its own over the next 8:17 to take a two-point advantage on a Simpson layup in transition at 6:18.  The Mocs retook the lead at 5:38, 71-70, on two Taylor free throws.

UNCG scored four straight in a 17-second span for a three-point margin, 74-71 on an Evans trey.  The game kept moving back and forth with neither team leading by more than three when Randall buried a trey from the right wing with 23 seconds to go for an 83-80 Spartan lead.

It was Bell's turn.  Coming off a screen, he hit a three-pointer off a feed from Early inside five seconds to knot the game at 83-all going into the first overtime.

The first overtime matched the final 10 minutes of regulation.  Neither team could mount more than a three-point lead.  Twice UNCG went up three on a layup by Randall (3:08) and three-pointer by Van Dussen (2:26) only for the Mocs to respond.

Bell answered Randall's lay-in with a three-pointer at 2:42 making it 92-92.  Back-to-back layups from Taylor and Jefferson followed Van Dussen's trey as the Mocs went up 96-95 with a minute to play.

Two Taylor free throws with 40 seconds left gave UTC a 98-95 lead.  But Van Dussen was not to be denied.  He hit a three-pointer with 34 seconds to go tying the game at 98.

Early sank two free throws with 5.2 on the clock for a 100-98 lead, but the Spartans' Simpson went coast-to-coast on the inbounds pass laying the ball in at the buzzer to force the second overtime.

It was a McKenzie Arena record 221 points eclipsing 216 on Dec. 29, 1992 against Southern in regulation in the opening round of the Dr Pepper Classic.  Taylor's 41 points was the second most by a UTC player in a SoCon game behind 42 by John Oliver at Georgia Southern on Jan. 21, 1995.

Van Dussen carried the Spartans in the overtime periods.  He scored 15 of his 33 in those periods with 11 coming in the first five minutes.  He fouled out with 1:49 to go on Hampton's offensive rebound and three-point play.

The game featured 16 tie scores and a gut-wrenching 15 lead changes.

Chattanooga remains home to host Elon Saturday night at 6 p.m.  Fans can access live video, audio and stats via Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.  The game will also broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds.

It is also Legends Weekend with a basketball reunion for the storied Mocs tradition.  More than 60 players, coaches and staff returned for a weekend together.  The group will be honored at halftime.

"Mocs Hoopla" celebrating six games in 13 days between the men's and women's basketball programs continues Saturday.  Students are encouraged to wear blue and there is a Spirit Award for the student with the best homemade Mocs shirt.

The NCAA Needs To Get Its Stuff Together....Like Today

“I could make the argument right now there’s not enough money in college athletics,” he said.

That’s a recent quote from NCAA president Mark Emmert.

And it is one of those bald statements that demand immediate clarification.

Because the public perception is the NCAA is diving around in a huge money tub.

Emmert goes on to make the point that of the major college athletic programs in the country, only 14 of them actually make a profit.

And that, according to Emmert and NCAA figures, 96 per cent of the money the NCAA takes in goes to fund scholarships in various sports at member institutions.

What Emmert is saying is that there is significant money in college athletics, but that the NCAA gets a very small portion of it.

Emmert, in his first year as president of the NCAA, just wishes this were the only issue he had to deal with.

Unfortunately, Emmert has had to deal with a series of uncomfortable situations in his first year and has shown a…gently put…lack of skill…in saying things about these situations that could not be interpreted in three or four different ways.

In this part of the country, the apparently ongoing, investigation into the recruitment of Cam Newton from junior college to Awbun and all the tweeks and twirls of Newton’s eligibility, especially at the end of the regular season have done nothing to convince the average college football fan of one of the SEC teams that the NCAA has a clue about anything other than making sure the rich get richer.

Now granted some of this perception depends on where you live. 

In Tennessee, for instance, there is not a great deal of interest in the Newton situation, other than that it provided some welcome relief from a dismal football season.

There is more interest in Newton in Georgia because Newton played high school football there.

But if you want to start a bar-clearing brawl, just bring up the Newton deal anywhere in Alabama, these folks are very interested.

Emmert’s pronouncements about the Newton situation, however, have elicited a good deal of interest in places outside the SEC, because at least one of them, Emmert’s excuse for allowing Newton to play at all, seem to involve the idea that a parent can shop his son to a major college football program for money, and as long as the son says he did not know about the father’s activity, then nothing has happened.

And later, I guess when Emmert realized what he had said; he further clouded the view by saying the rules needed to be tightened and re-jiggered to prevent this from happening again.

People were quick to point out the NCAA rules were pretty clear already on this kind of thing, and all Emmert seemed to be doing was making excuses for a ruling that seemed to be based only on allowing Cam Newton to be available to be on TV during two football games at the end of the season.

That most probably was not the NCAA’s intent, but that is certainly the public perception.

Then there is the case of the group of Ohio State players, who, it was discovered right before the Sugar Bowl, traded jerseys and other Ohio State football memorabilia for tattoos at a parlor in Columbus.

The players were suspended for five games by the NCAA, but astonishingly were allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl if they promised to come back to school next year and sit out the first five games.

This was particularly stunning in light of the way the NCAA dealt with player suspensions for contact with agents and selling of merchandise by SEC players earlier in the year.  None of the SEC schools, Bama, South Carolina and Georgia were given the appealing option of picking the games the players would be suspended for.

The NCAA is the Supreme Court of college athletics; its rulings and pronouncements and its interpretations of its own rules set precedent impacting thousands of coaches, players and potential players all over the country.

In its two most visible rulings during the college football season, the NCAA could easily be accused of bowing to the interests of money and television or both.

And, as somebody way smarter than me or Mark Emmert once said, “perception is reality.”

I don’t know whether Mark Emmert actually understands the way his organization impacts lives all over the country, and I am certainly not alone in that unfortunate perception.

The NCAA, love them or hate them, has been steadfast in its pursuit of the mandate the member schools give it….and it probably still is, but Mark Emmert needs to get a quick course in public perception or the NCAA will go the way of black and white TV…down the tube.

 - Scorpio Jones III

LADY MOCS DOWN CATAMOUNTS 71-55 SATURDAY AT THE ROUNDHOUSE

Junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) socred a game-high 20 points and led the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to a Southern Conference women’s basketball win over Western Carolina Saturday night at the McKenzie Arena.

Hood was one of four Chattanooga (9-11, 6-5 SoCon) players in double figures on the night knocking down her SoCon-leading 11th game with 20 or more points. Sophomore Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.), heeding Chattanooga Head Coach Wes Moore’s instruction to “shoot more”, knocked down her second career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Lambert got the scoring started early bookending a 13-7 scoring run to start the game with a pair of 3-pointers sandwiched around a layup for eight points. Chattanooga continued to shoot more and led 25-15 with less than a quarter of the game gone on a 3-pointer from freshman Destiny Bramblett (Radcliff, Ky.).

The Catamounts (6-12, 4-5 SoCon), with five points from Kaila’Shea Menendez, quickly cut that lead back to 27-25 on a 10-2 run as the Lady Mocs managed just two points over the next five minutes. Junior Bailey Dewart (Spartanburg, S.C.) drained a 3-pointer at the 4:56 mark of the first half and the Lady Mocs jumped on board with its own 10-2 run to expand the lead back to double digits at 37-27 with 1:59 until intermission.

Chattanooga shot 48.4 percent from the floor making 15-of-31 while the Catamounts kept up shooting 43.8 percent of their own on a 14-of-32 performance. The Lady Mocs went 7-of-16 from beyond the arc in the first half and just 1-of-2 from the free throw line.

The Lady Mocs kept up the pressure as the second half started with a 9-2 run to build its lead to its largest at that point, 47-34, with less than two minutes expired in the half. Chattanooga never trailed by more than seven points the remainder of the game went on to give Moore his 499th career win and 299th win as head coach of the Lady Mocs.

Sophomore Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) was 4-for-5 on the night with a pair of 3-pointers for 11 points and dished out five assists. Bramblett was the fourth Chattanooga player in double figures with 10 points, a career-high, a tied her previous best with seven rebounds. Junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) was one shy of her career-best with a game-high seven assists on the night.

Chattanooga reached the 40 rebound plateau for the first time since they pulled down 42 against UNC Greensboro on Jan. 2 and outrebounded the Catamounts 40-36. The Lady Mocs forced 12 turnovers and converted that into 18 points and had 13 second chance points on 11 offensive boards.

The Lady Mocs kept up their hot shooting in the second half making 14-of-31 (45.2%) but slowed down behind the arc making just 2-of-11 for a total of nine in the game. Chattanooga held Western to just 8-of-29 from the field and 0-for-7 from the 3-point line.

Western Carolina Caitlin Hollifield scored a team-high 18 points and posted a double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds. Menendez had 15 points for the Catamounts on 6-of-11 from the field.

The Lady Mocs will not return to action until Jan. 31 when they host the College of Charleston at 7 p.m. at the McKenzie Arena.

THREE RUNNING MOCS SET PERSONAL RECORD MARKS IN OPENER AT BLUE RAIDER INVITATIONAL

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga track teams opened the 2011 Indoor Season at the Blue Raider Invitational with six finishing among the Top 5 Saturday at the Murphy Center.

Senior David Moore (Sarnia, Ontario) set a personal record in the men’s 800 meter run with a time of 1:55.02, placing second in the race. Junior Joshue Vasquez (Kingsport, Tenn.) also topped his personal best with a time of 1:59.45 in the 800 meter run.

Junior Ashley Hall (Memphis, Tenn.) also set a PR running a 58.11 in the women’s 400 meter run and placed fourth overall. Senior Shelley Taylor (Cohutta, Ga.) was fifth in the women’s Mile Run with a time of 5:21.04.

Senior Tara Gietema (Knoxville, Tenn.) and sophomore Kathryn Stuart (Brentwood, Tenn.) finished fourth and fifth respectively in the women’s 3000 meter run. Gietema ran the race in a time of 10:27.73 followed  by Stuart’s 10:36.24. Senior Lauren Anderson (Greeneville, Tenn.) was eighth in the women’s 800 meter run with a time of 2:28.46.

Former Lady Moc Anneli Uys (Somerset, Australia) competed in the women’s Mile Run, finishing second overall with a time of 5:11.41.

The Mocs will return to action Saturday, January 29 in Lexington, Ky., at the Rod McCravy Memorial hosted by the University of Kentucky. Juniors Chris Berry (Mufreesboro, Tenn.) and Emmanuel Kirwa (Kapsabet, Kenya) along with sophomore Lucas Cotter (Collierville, Tenn.) will begin competition at that event.

Women’s 200 meter dash

20.          Gabby Cader                                      27:13

30.          Sarah Washington                           28:72

Women’s 400 meter run

4.            Ashley Hall                                          58.11     PR

Women’s 800 meter run

8.            Lauren Anderson                             2:28.46

Women’s Mile Run

5.            Shelley Taylor                                    5:21.04

Women’s 3000 meter run

4.            Tara Gietema                                     10:27.73

5.            Kathryn Stuart                                   10:36.24

Women’s 4x400 yard relay

6.            Chattanooga                                      4:20.15

Men’s 200 meter dash

26.          Jake Simms                                         23.65

38.          Blake Olson                                        24.42

Men’s 800 meter run

2.            David Moore                                      1:55.02 PR

7.            Joshue Vasquez                               1:59.45 PR

10.          Drew Austell                                      2:00.86

Men’s Mile Run

5.            Kyle McLarty                                      4:24.08

Men’s 4x400 yard relay

8.            Chattanooga                                      3:30.72

Mile Run

2. Anneli Uys

Mocs Men's Tennis Falls at MTSU 7-0

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team dropped a 7-0 match at MTSU today.  The Mocs were back on the court just 12 hours after their season-opening loss at Lipscomb that ended after midnight on Friday.

The Blue Raiders swept the doubles matches, with the only challenge coming at No. 1.  UTC's top duo of freshman Trent Cobb (Melbourne, Australia) and sophomore Jackson Tresnan (Apopka, Fla.) pushed the MTSU team of Ben Davis and Shaun Waters before falling 8-5.

The Mocs lost in straight sets in six of the seven singles matches.  Cobb, also playing No.1 singles, went three sets with Waters before falling (6-4, 2-6, 6-3).

Chattanooga is 0-2 on the year with the loss.  The Mocs host Austin Peay for their home-opener on Friday, Jan. 28.  Action begins at 5:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) at the Hixson Racquet Club.  Live scoring for the match will be available on GoMocs.com.

MTSU 7, Chattanooga 0

Nashboro Village - Nashville, Tenn.  - Jan. 22, 2011

Doubles

1.  Ben Davis-Shaun Waters (MTSU) def. Trent Cobb-Jackson Tresnan (UTC) - 8-5

2.  Elliott Barnwell-Joseph Cohen (MTSU) def. William Disterdick-Chris Smith (UTC) - 8-1

3.  Kyle Wishing-Dimitri Pippos (MTSU) def. Stephen Crofford-Sam Parfitt (UTC) - 8-3

Singles

1.  Shaun Waters (MTSU) def. Trent Cobb (UTC) - 6-4, 2-6, 6-3

2.  Matthew Langley (MTSU) def. Roberto Vieira (UTC) - 6-1, 6-1

3.  Ben Davis (MTSU) def. Jackson Tresnan (UTC) - 6-3, 6-4

4.  Elliott Barnwell (MTSU) def. Chris Smith (UTC) - 6-1, 7-6

5.  Joseph Cohen (MTSU) - Stephen Crofford (UTC) - 7-6, 6-1

6.  Dimitri Pippos (MTSU) def. William Disterdick (UTC) - 6-1, 6-4

Chattanooga Drops Second in Upstate Swing 85-59 at Furman

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga lost its second game on the South Carolina upstate swing falling 85-59 at Furman Saturday afternoon.  Chattanooga, the Southern Conference North Division leader, is now 11-10 and 7-2 in the league, while the Paladins improve to 14-5, 6-2 in the SoCon South.

Jeremy Saffore (Nashville, Tenn.) and DeAntre Jefferson (Bloomington, Ill.) led the Mocs with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Keegan Bell (Hazel Green, Ala.) added to his league-leading assist total with seven despite the cold shooting day for UTC.

Amu Saaka was the Paladins attack with 30 points and eight rebounds.  Colin Reddick came off the bench to chip in 10 points and eight boards.

Furman jumped out early with Noah States scoring its first seven points in pushing to a 7-2 lead.  After a Saffore layup cut the deficit to 10-8 at 15:02, the Paladins went to work.  It built the lead to 10, 21-11, behind Saaka and Reddick, with Saaka's jumper at 7:34.  That basket capped a 13-3 run for the Paladins.

Jeremy Saffore's three-point play at 7:18 gave life to the Mocs cutting the margin to seven, 21-14.  It ended a spurt of nearly eight minutes with just one field goal for UTC.

But it was all Paladins from there.  FU closed the half with a 16-7 run to take a 37-21 lead into the break.  Saaka powered the attack with 15 first half points.

The Mocs tried to get things going with a trapping defense to open the second frame.  After a three-point play by Saaka at 18:26 put the Paladins up 20, 43-23, UTC struck with the press.

It started with an Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) layup off an offensive rebound at 18:14 and subsequent free throw.  That was followed by a Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) steal and layup just 13 seconds later to make 43-28 at 18:01.

Furman responded with a 17-8 run to retake control building the lead to 24, 60-36, with 12:21 to go on a Justin Dehm jumper.  Five different Paladins scored during the outburst.

Chattanooga closed the lead to 17 with seven straight points as a Troy Cage (Baton Rouge, La.) jumper, 60-43, at 10:02.  But it would get no closer as Furman stayed on the gas to claim the 85-59 win.

After a season-best offensive performance Monday night, UTC had its second straight subpar shooting performance.  Chattanooga managed just 33.9 percent (20-59) from the field, 13.6 percent (3-22) from three-point range and 51.6 percent (16-31) from the free throw line.

Furman on the other hand was sharp offensively.  The Paladins shot 49.2 percent (29-59) overall, 41.9 percent (13-31) from behind the arc and 66.7 percent (14-21) at the line.

UTC managed to win the rebounding battle 42-39.  Jefferson had eight, Saffore seven (tying season high) and Burroughs six.

The Mocs return home to host a trio of SoCon games beginning Thursday with UNC Greensboro.  Game time is 7 p.m.  Fans can access live audio and stats via Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.  The game will also broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds.

The three games are part of "Mocs Hoopla" celebrating six games in 13 days between the men's and women's basketball programs.  There are several giveaways and promotions tied into the two-week period.

Fans are encouraged to wear gold for the UNCG game with an award for the most spirited dressed student.  Saturday's game with Elon is Legends Weekend with a basketball reunion for the storied Mocs tradition.

Mocs Fall to Lipscomb 4-3 in Late-Night Marathon

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team opened the 2011 season with a near six-hour marathon at Lipscomb on Friday.  The Mocs battled the Bison well after midnight before falling in a tight 4-3 dual match.

The first ball was served in doubles action at 6:00 p.m. local time at the Richland Country Club in Nashville, Tenn. From there, it would take five hours and 50 minutes to decide the non-conference bout.

Each of the three doubles matches went into extra frames, but Lipscomb was able to sweep the opening point.  LU's Mario Hernandez and David Salazar began the evening with a (9-7) win over UTC sophomore Stephen Crofford (Franklin, Tenn.) and junior Sam Parfitt (Norwich, England) at No. 3 doubles.

The Bison clinched the point when Oliver Strecker and Joe McArdle won the No. 1 match over the Mocs sophomore Roberto Vieira (Bedfordview, South Africa) and freshman Trent Cobb (Melbourne, Australia) (9-8 (4)).  The No. 2 match also needed a tie-break and was won by Lipscomb's Tanner Brown and Colby Shaw over Chattanooga sophomores Jackson Tresnan (Apopka, Fla.) and Chris Smith (Johnson City, Tenn.) (9-8 (2)).

LU took a 2-0 lead when Streck defeated Cobb at No. 1 (7-6 (4), 6-2).  The Bison went up 3-0 with Salazar's (6-4, 6-4) win over Tresnan at No. 3.

The Mocs finally got on the board, taking the next two matches at No. 2 and No. 4.  Vieira, the 2010 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, got off to a good start with his (6-4, 5-7, 6-1) win over Brown at No. 2.  Smith won his match (5-7, 6-3, 6-4) against Shaw at No. 4.

McArdle clinched the team win for Lipscomb with a (6-4, 7-6 (5)) victory over Crofford at No. 5.  Sophomore William Disterdick (Hixson, Tenn.) got a win in the final match at No. 6.  He defeated Hernandez (4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-8)) in a three-set match that included a super-tiebreaker.

Not only was this a one-point contest, but only one of the nine matches did not include extra games, a tie-breaker or three sets.   Despite playing until nearly 1:00 a.m., the Mocs will have to recover quickly.  They face MTSU at the Nashboro Village in Nashville today.  Match time is set for 1:00 p.m. local time and live scoring will be available on GoMocs.com.

Lipscomb 4 - Chattanooga 3

Richland Country Club - Nashville, Tenn.

Doubles

1.  Oliver Strecker-Joe McArdle (LIP) def. Trent Cobb-Roberto Vieira (UTC) - 9-8 (4)

2.  Tanner Brown-Colby Shaw (LIP) def. Jackson Tresnan-Chris Smith (UTC) - 9-8 (2)

3.  Mario Hernandez-David Salazar (LIP) def. Stephen Crofford-Sam Parfitt (UTC) - 9-7

Singles

1.  Oliver Strecker (LIP) def. Trent Cobb (UTC) - 7-6 (4), 6-2

2.  Roberto Vieira (UTC) def. Tanner Brown (LIP) - 6-4,5-7,6-1

3.  David Salazar (LIP) def. Jackson Tresnan (UTC) - 6-4,6-4

4.  Chris Smith (UTC) def. Colby Shaw (LIP) - 5-7, 6-3,6-4

5.  Joe McArdle (LIP) def. Stephen Crofford (UTC) - 6-4, 7-6 (5)

6.  William Disterdick (UTC) def. Mario Hernandez (LIP) - 4-6, 6-1,1-0 (10-8)

Mocs Drop First SoCon Contest of the Season Losing 88-56 at Wofford

A slow start turned into a long night for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team Thursday night losing 88-56 at Wofford (9-9/6-1).  Chattanooga (11-9/7-1) missed its first six shots and 14 of the first 17.

Senior Troy Cage (Baton Rouge, La.) paced the Mocs with a career-high 19 points.  Cage made 6-10 from the field and 4-6 from three-point range.

A trio of Terriers topped 20 points on the night as Noah Dahlman, Jamar Diggs and Cameron Rundles combined for 69 of the 88 points.  Diggs’ 24 led the way, while Rundles and Dahlman added 23 and 22, respectively.

The Terriers scored on their first three possessions en route to a 15-0 start.  That run was stopped by Chris Early’s (Huntington, W.Va.) layup at 15:03.  It began as a rebound on the defensive end for Early as he started and ended the break.

Wofford kept the pressure on hitting six of its first nine shots including four for five from three-point range.  Dahlman, Rundles and Diggs keyed the Terrier attack as they built the lead to 21 twice.  It was 28-7 on a Rundles jumper at 9:30 and 30-9 at 6:20 on another Rundles basket.

The Mocs made it interesting going on a 12-2 run to cut the lead to 11, 32-21, with a Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) layup at 2:09.  Four different UTC players combined to spark the squad and give it a chance to get closer before the break.

Diggs scored the final seven points of the half for the Terriers to extend the lead back to 16, 39-23 at intermission.  The trio of Dahlman, Diggs and Rundles tallied all 39 of Wofford’s points.

The Terriers closed the door on any comeback attempts from the very beginning of the second half with a 10-0 run right out of the gate.  Early once again stopped a run with a free throw at 16:26 followed by a Cage three-pointer at 15:50.

Another Cage trey at 14:10 had the Mocs within 21, 51-30, but Wofford pulled away from there. A Diggs three-pointer at 10:13 made it 65-35 and pretty much ended any UTC hopes for a comeback.

The Terriers out-rebounded Chattanooga, the SoCon’s leading rebounding team, 35-27.  Early, Keegan Bell (Hazel Green, Ala.) and Jahmal Burroughs (New Orleans, La.) each had four to lead the Mocs.  Tim Johnson had a game-high nine for the Terriers.

Wofford shot 57.6 percent from the field (34-59), 57.1 percent from three-point range (12-21) and 72.2 percent (8-11) from the charity stripe.  The Mocs struggled at 36.2 percent (17-47) from the floor, 31.8 percent (7-22) on threes and 57.7 percent (15-26) at the free throw line.

UTC finishes its visit to South Carolina’s upstate region Saturday afternoon at Furman.  Game time is 4 p.m.  Fans can access live audio and stats via Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.  The game will also broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds.

If You Thought This Year Was Strange, Wait Till The Next One.

Most of the punditry has decided that the declaration of 12 SEC players for the NFL Business draft is the official beginning of the off-season.

With the exception of some news on National Signing Day, SEC football fans are officially in the doldrums.

Unless, that is, you are a Awbun fan, which means the National Championship glass football may be coming to a Walmart near you soon.

Fans of other schools in the SEC are poking fun at the choice to display the football in such a pedestrian location.

In Tuscaloosa, for instance, the only sound louder than the Walmart trucks is the sound of grinding teeth as scholars among the Bama faithful scratch away at the Cam Newton story with the hope of somehow proving Newton took money from Awbun, which might cause the NCAA to make the Tigers vacate their championship.

Really, Uncle Roscoe reports his favorite watering hole in Birmingham has become dangerous for anybody wearing blue and orange because of the intense frustration of Bama fans, despite Bama wining the football last year.

“Anybody but Awbun,” Roscoe says is the general attitude among Bama cognescenti, and he says, they mean anybody, anywhere.

Really, you gotta live there to get it.

It has been an interesting year…fo sho.

The SEC has a nice video that is making the rounds on the Web….I have noted the only time we see Georgia and Tennessee is while they are losing, with the exception of one brief glimpse of Georgia’s Aaron Murray celebrating after a touchdown pass.

The rest of the time other teams are running past or over or around Georgia or Tennessee players, or, in the case of LSU, in delirium as the Vol coaching staff looks shocked.

There is a lot of footage of Cam Newton.

Les Miles, who at the end of last season could not get a beer served to him anywhere in Baton Rouge, turned down the voice of “momma” in Michigan to stay at LSU.

Urban Meyer will take his genius to, apparently, the Worldwide Order of Weasels (WOW), instead of coaching Florida anymore.

Meyer’s job at Florida was taken by Will Muschamp, which means that Ray Goff has more former players as head coaches in the SEC than Vince Dooley, and when Kirby Smart takes a head job somewhere soon, Goff and Jim Donnan will have two former players as head coaches, while Dooley has none.   Derek does not really count.

(One could argue the best of Dooley’s players became multi-millionaires in the NFL Business and have no particular need to subject themselves to the vicissitudes of college football coaching.)

Mark Richt, who has won more games in ten years than any other coach in Georgia football history, has discovered nobody really cares about what you did a couple of years ago.

Richt even began wearing his hair shorter to prepare for Gatorade baths to no avail.

There is no truth; apparently, to the rumor Richt and Phil Fulmer are seeing the same counselor in Atlanta.

The new president of the NCAA has made one thing very clear….nothing is very clear in the NCAA rules anymore. Just because on rule says one thing does not mean there is not a new, fresher interpretation just lying there waiting to be used to explain away apparent inconsistencies.

I have never been a big fan of the NCAA, but their handling of off-field issues this year has reached a new low.

Cam Newton is the best athlete I have ever seen play quarterback, and thank God he is going to the NFL Business a year early, or I have no doubt Awbun would be in the title hunt next year and there would be a large number of suicides by Bama fans.

It has been a long, strange football season. But you know what?   I have a suspicion next year may be even stranger.

I could, for instance, have to deal with a Georgia cast off leading LSU to the crystal football party.

I am saving a lot of long, soul-felt sighs for next year.

 - Scorpio Jones III

Mocs Win Battle of SoCon Unbeatens 91-88 over College of Charleston

Omar Wattad’s (Johnson City, Tenn.) game-high 27 points led the Chattanooga Mocs to a 91-88 win over College of Charleston in McKenzie Arena Monday night.  The all-around team effort propelled Chattanooga to 7-0 in the Southern Conference North Division, 11-8 overall.  The Cougars fall to 12-6, 5-1 in the SoCon South.

Wattad nailed 6-10 from three-point range while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out three assists.  He also hit 7-7 from the free throw line.  Bob Cousy Award candidate Keegan Bell (Hazel Green, Ala.) nearly recorded a triple-double with 12 points, eight assists and a career-high-tying eight rebounds.

Andrew Goudelock paced Charleston with 26 points and eight assists.  Jeremy Simmons posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

The Cougars set the tempo early scoring the first eight points of the game en route to a 33-21 lead at 11:22 on a Goudelock three-pointer. CofC hit 10 of its first 14 shots, including eight of its 11 shots from 3-pt. range.

Six straight points from Wattad cut the lead to six, 33-27, but Antwaine Wiggins hit a trey at 10:31 to put the Cougars back up nine, 36-27.

It was all Chattanooga from there.  The Mocs closed the half on a 26-10 run (10-0 over final 4:21) to take a 53-46 lead into the break.  Wattad scored 19 of his 27 in the opening frame.

UTC built its lead to nine out of intermission first on a layup by Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) at 19:32 and later on Chris Early’s (Huntington, W.Va.) jumper in the paint making it 57-48 with 18:12 to play.

Wiggins hit threes on back-to-back possessions to cut the lead to three, 57-54, at 17:23.  Seven seconds later a Taylor jumper gave the Mocs another five-point cushion which extended to eight at 12:19 on a Wattad three.

The Cougars scored seven straight to cut the lead to one, 69-68, on Willis Hall’s third three-pointer of the game.  The Mocs clung to the lead until Goudelock’s three-pointer at 6:38 gave CofC a 76-75 advantage.

Chattanooga had a quick answer.  Saffore’s three-point play 16 seconds later put the Mocs up two, 78-76, with 6:22 left.

Defense controlled play for the next few possessions when Goudelock scored on a layup in transition to knot the score at 78 with 4:34 to go.  A Wattad three-pointer, followed by a back-door cut by Bell on a great feed from DeAntre Jefferson (Bloomington, Ill.), pushed Chattanooga back up five, 83-78, at 3:27.

From there, the lead was never less than three.  The Mocs hit all six free throws in the final minute to hold the Cougars at bay for the 91-88 triumph.

Jefferson came off the bench for 15 points, five rebounds and two assists at the five for UTC.  He had 13 of his 15 in the first half as his post play keyed the Mocs surge.  Taylor added 16 points, five rebounds and three assists shooting 7-12 from the floor.

Hall had 15 points for the Cougars, while Donovan Monroe chipped in 14 points and tied Bell and Goudelock for game-high honors with eight assists.

Chattanooga shot season bests of 53.4 percent (31-58) from the field, 45.5 percent (10-22) from three-point range and 86.4 percent (19-22) from the free throw line.  The Mocs out-scored CofC in the paint, 38-24, and beat the Cougars on the glass, 36-30, led by Bell’s eight.

UTC hits the road for its next two with a weekend trip to South Carolina.  It starts Thursday night, meeting Wofford at 7 p.m., followed by a Saturday date at Furman (4 p.m.).  Fans can access live audio and stats via Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.  The game will also broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds.

LADY MOCS FALL 70-54 TO MOUNTAINEERS IN CRUCIAL SOCON MATCHUP

Sophomore Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.) tallied her first career double-double, but it wasn’t enough as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga fell 70-54 to Appalachian State Sunday afternoon at the Holmes Center in Southern Conference women’s basketball action.

The win puts the Mountaineers in a tie with UNC Greensboro for first place in the league standings with a 6-2 SoCon record and a 12-4 overall mark. The Lady Mocs drop to 8-10 overall and 5-4 in the SoCon.

Lambert had 15 points and had a career-high 11 rebounds, five off the offensive glass. She added three assists and two steals in a career-best 37 minutes of play. Junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) had a team-high 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting and pulled down six boards. Freshman Taylor was 3-for-3 from the floor, including a 3-pointer, and tied her career-high with seven points.

In the first half, the Lady Mocs got a couple of quick scores to get out to a 5-2 lead, but Appalachian State put up eight unanswered points to take a 10-5 lead with just 4:08 gone in the game. Chattanooga would fight back to take an 11-10 lead with 14:01 to play in the first and the two would battle back and forth over the next 10 minutes with UTC getting up 24-21 with 4:37 to play.

ASU’s Ashlen Dewart, sister of Chattanooga junior Bailey Dewart (Spartanburg, S.C.) had 12 points in the first half when she drew her third foul and had to sit the remaining 4:37. However, it wouldn’t matter for the Mountaineers who went on an 11-0 run to close out the half with their leading scorer on the bench and lead Chattanooga 32-24 at intermission.

In the second half, the Dewart sisters each started the scoring with Bailey hitting a layup just 11 seconds in followed quickly by a short jumper from Ashlen. A jumper from Anna Freeman would give ASU a 10-point lead, 36-26 with 18:24 to play.

Appalachian State outscored the Lady Mocs 11-3 over the next 5:14 and led the Lady Mocs 47-31 with 12:32 to play. Lambert and Hall combined to score 14 of the Lady Mocs remaining 23 points but Chattanooga had no answer for the Mountaineers who put up 23 of their own with 12 from Courtney Freeman.

Chattanooga shot just 29 percent in the first half and was 19-of-59 for the game (32.2) and was 60f-26 from the 3-point line. UTC dished out 12 assists and recorded eight steals but had 18 turnovers.  The Lady Mocs had 15 points off ASU’s 18 turnovers and had 13 second chance points on 17 offensive boards. After leading the Mountaineers 21-17 on the boards in the first half, App State outrebounded Chattanooga 47-37 for the game.

Chattanooga remains on the road with a mid-week matchup at Samford University on Wednesday at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, Ala. The game is set to tip off at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. The game will be carried live on ESPN 105.1 FM with the “Voice of the Lady Mocs” Larry Ward. Live stats as well as streaming audio and video will be available at GoMocs.com.

Chattanooga Remains Undefeated in SoCon Play with 65-60 Win over Samford

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga out-lasted Samford 65-60 to remain undefeated in the Southern Conference Saturday night in McKenzie Arena.  Chattanooga is 10-8 overall, 6-0 atop the SoCon North Division, while Samford falls to 10-7, 2-3 in league play.

A trio of double-digit scorers paced the Mocs as juniors Chris Early (Huntington, W. Va.) and Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) had 17 points each.  Junior Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) posted his first career double-double with 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.

Samford’s Josh Bedwell led all scorers with 21 points including a 5-10 effort from three-point range.  Jeffrey Merritt added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Mocs got off to a 13-0 start behind deep threes from Wattad and Early.  The defense held the Bulldogs without a field goal for the first 7:59 of the game when a Merritt jumper helped spur a 9-0 run for Samford.

The lead was extended back to 12 points, 26-14, on another Early three-pointer at 3:23.  Samford chipped away and cut it to five at the half, 30-25, on a layup by Bermudez.

The Bulldogs came out strong with back-to-back threes to start the second half. Bedwell and Josh Davis drained three-pointers in the opening two possessions to give Samford its first lead, 31-30 at 19:29.

Early’s free throws at 17:09 capped an 8-2 run for the Mocs to go back up five, 38-33.  Samford continued to battle re-taking the lead with an Andy King three-pointer, 46-45, at 8:59.

As he has done time and again this season, Wattad answered quickly.  Just 16 seconds later, he drained a three-pointer from the left front to give Chattanooga the lead for good, 48-46.

Three times the Bulldogs cut the lead to one, only to see the Mocs respond.  Two Bedwell free throws at 4:02 led to another Wattad three at 3:42.  A three by King with 2:50 remaining was followed by Early’s third trey of the game at 2:26.

Early’s two free throws with 37 seconds remaining gave UTC an eight-point cushion, 63-55.  But that’s when it got a little interesting.

King hit a three-pointer with 28 seconds to play which was followed by two Wattad misses at the charity stripe.  Davis cut the Chattanooga lead to three with two free throws, 63-60, with 18 seconds to play.

Taylor ended the scoring with two free throws of his own just a second later giving the Mocs a five-point win and their first 6-0 start in league play since 2007-08.

It was a cold shooting night for Chattanooga who hit just 32.8 percent (20-61) from the field and 36.7 percent (11-30) from three-point range.  It was the Mocs’ lowest FG% in a win this season.  UTC did hit 14 of 17 from the free throw line, 82.4 percent.

Samford was limited to 38.8 percent (19-49) from the floor and 31.6 percent (12-38) from behind the arc.  The Bulldogs went 0-13 from 3-pt. range to start the game, but made 12 of their last 25 from behind the arc.  A key for the Mocs was forcing 15 Bulldog turnovers leading to 25 points.

Chattanooga out-rebounded its 11th opponent in 12 games 39-34.  Along with Taylor’s 11, Early grabbed eight.  Wattad hit five three-pointers on the game, while Early added three.  The duo combined for 8-17 from three-point range, while the rest of the team shot 3-13.

Mocs Split a Pair of Matches on Missouri Trip

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team split a pair of matches at Missouri today.  The Mocs scored a 35-10 win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and dropped a 29-9 bout with No. 20 Missouri in the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo. 

Sophomore Dean Pavlou (Cleveland, Tenn.) led the Mocs with two wins at 149 as Chattanooga moves to 6-9 overall.  Against the Cougars, sophomore Prescott Garner (West Linn, Ore.) opened with a win at 125.  He pinned Kris Treat at the 1:46 mark in the match to score his sixth fall and improve to 15-9 on the year.

SIUE's John Petrov came back with a major decision over freshman Adam Wilson (Atlanta, Ga.) at 133.  That made the team score 6-4 and was as close as the Cougars would get the rest of the way.

Freshman Shawn Greevy (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) continued his strong season with a technical fall against Nick Capozzoli at 141, upping the team margin to 11-4.  Pavlou continued the Mocs' run with a 5-3 decision over Derrick Pousson at 149.

Head coach Heath Eslinger switched his lineup at 157, giving senior Kelly Felix (Franklin, Tenn.) his first action of the year.  Felix responded with a technical fall against Kyle Lowman.  Junior Dan Waddell (Chattanooga, Tenn.) followed that up with a pin against Gabe Hocum at 165.  Waddell's win was his first pin of the season and gave Chattanooga a 25-4 advantage.

The Cougars rounded out their scoring when Michael Dace pinned freshman Levi Clemons (Kissimmee, Fla.) at 174.  Junior Jason McCroskey (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) won his 184 match by major decision while sophomore Robert Prigmore (Southlake, Texas) and Matt Lettner (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) won by decision at 197 and 285, respectively.

The Mocs knew they would have to put up a near-perfect match to take down the Tigers, but fell behind early with losses in the first three matches.  Pavlou got UTC on the board with his 8-6 decision over Kyle Bradley.

Bradley jumped out to a 5-0 lead with a takedown and a near fall less than two minutes into the first period.  Pavlou battled back with an escape and a takedown before the end of the period.  The score moved to 6-5 after the second period and Pavlou tied it up early in the third with an escape.  He scored the winning takedown with 27 second left on the clock, improving to 11-10 on the year.   

Sophomore Josh Condon (Powder Springs, Ga.) was well rested at 157 after sitting out the SIUE match.  He was leading Missouri's Nick Gregoris 3-2 in the third period when he scored his second takedown of the match.  From there he pinned Gregoris at the 5:24 mark, closing the team gap to 13-9 in favor of the Tigers.   

Unfortunately for Chattanooga, that was all of the scoring they could muster on the afternoon.  McCroskey nearly scored an upset at 184, but 15th-ranked Mike Larsen escaped with 1:46 left on the clock for a 3-2 decision.

Chattanooga returns home on Jan. 30 to open its Southern Conference schedule.  UTC hosts The Citadel at 2:00 p.m. in Maclellan Gym.  The Mocs have won six consecutive SoCon regular season titles and own a 30-match unbeaten streak in league action.

Chattanooga 35 - Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 10

Hearnes Center - Columbia, Mo. - Jan. 15, 2011

125:  Prescott Garner (UTC) - Fall 1:46 - Kris Treat (SIUE) - UTC 6-0

133:  John Petrov (SIUE) - MD 12-3 - Adam Wilson (UTC) - UTC 6-4

141:  Shawn Greevy (UTC) - TF 16-1 - Nick Capozzoli (SIUE) - UTC 11-4

149:  Dean Pavlou (UTC) - Dec. 5-3 - Derrick Pousson (SIUE) - UTC 14-4

157:  Kelly Felix (UTC) - TF 18-3 - Kyle Lowman (SIUE) - UTC 19-4

165:  Dan Waddell (UTC) - Fall 4:26 - Gabe Hocum (SIUE) - UTC 25-4

174:  Michael Dace (SIUE) - Fall 2:02 - Levi Clemons (SIUE) - UTC 25-10

184:  Jason McCroskey (UTC) - MD 17-4 - Deshoun White (SIUE) - UTC 29-10

197:  Robert Prigmore (UTC) - Dec. 7-2 - Robert Cooney (SIUE) - UTC 32-10

285:  Matt Lettner (UTC) - Dec. 3-1 - David Devine (SIUE) - UTC 35-10

No. 20 Missouri - Chattanooga

Hearnes Center - Columbia, Mo. - Jan. 15, 2011

125:  No. 9 Alan Waters (MU) - Dec. 7-1 - Prescott Garner (UTC) - MU 3-0

133:  Nathan McCromick (MU) - TF 19-3 - Joe DeAngelo (UTC) - MU 8-0

141:  No. 12 Todd Schavrein (MU) - TF 17-2 - Shawn Greevy (UTC) - MU 13-0

149:  Dean Pavlou (UTC) - Dec. 8-6 - Kyle Bradley (MU) - MU 13-3

157:  Josh Condon (UTC) - Fall 5:24 - Nick Gregoris (MU) - MU 13-9

165:  No. 12 Zach Toal (MU) - Dec. 5-2 - Dan Waddell (UTC) - MU 16-9

174:  No. 20 Dorian Henderson - Dec. 5-2 - Brandon Wright (UTC) - MU 19-9

184:  No. 15 Mike Larseon (MU) - Dec. 3-2 - Jason McCroskey (UTC) - MU 22-9

197:  No. 12 Brent Haynes (MU) - Dec. 6-0 - Robert Prigmore (UTC) - MU 25-9

285:  No. 6 Dom Bradley (MU) - MD 10-2 - Matt Lettner (UTC) - MU 29-9

DEWART’S BUZZER BEATER LIFTS LADY MOCS PAST DAVIDSON ON THE ROAD

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior Bailey Dewart (Spartanburg, S.C.) nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key with time running out to give the Lady Mocs a 54-51 win over Davidson in Southern Conference women’s basketball action Friday night at Belk Arena.

With 6.6 seconds on the clock, UTC Head Coach Wes Moore called a time-out to set up a final play for the Lady Mocs. Sophomore Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) was called upon to get the ball on the inbounds, but the Wildcats had her smothered much like she was throughout the game. Dewart, standing just a few feet away, called for the ball and squared up to drain the 3-pointer from just to the left side at the top of the key. The ball snapped the net with the buzzer sounding to give the Lady Mocs the win.

Chattanooga (8-9, 5-3 SoCon) trailed from the start of the game with the Wildcats getting out front 20-8 with 11:15 to play in the first half. Freshman Meghan Downes (Fairburn, Ga.) drained a 3-pointer to cut into the lead and Chattanooga would get as close as three by halftime with the Wildcats leading 27-24 at the break.

The second half started slow with Davidson (5-9, 1-5 SoCon) grabbing the first bucket of the stanza on a layup from Laura Murray to put the Wildcats up 29-24 with 17:31 to play. Sophia Aleksandravicius hit just the second of two free throws to give Davidson its largest lead of the second half at 30-24.

The Lady Mocs cut the lead to 32-31 on a 3-pointer from Christopher followed by a layup from junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) with 14:29 to play. The Wildcats would get its lead back up to five, 40-35 and Hood hit a layup to cut it to 40-37. On a missed 3-point attempt by UTC, Downes crashed the boards for the rebound and was fouled on the way down. That set up a jumper in the lane by freshman Destiny Bramblett (Radcliff, Ky.) who was fouled. She drained the free throw to tie the game for the first time since early in the first half.

Davidson got the lead back, but Chattanooga continued to fight back and took the lead on a layup from Hood. Sophomore Kiara Smith (Rome, Ga.) drained a career-high tying third 3-pointer to give Chattanooga a 47-43 lead with 6:49 to play. The Lady Mocs held on to the tenuous lead over the next four minutes before Davidson got back out front, 50-49 on a jumper in the lane from Sophia Aleksandravicius with 2:36 to play.

Davidson’s final point of the game would be on a free throw from Chloe Woodington who hit the front end of a two free throws to give her team a 51-49 lead. Christopher drove in to hit a jumper from the right side and tie it up 51-51 with 49 ticks on the clock.

The Wildcats’ Aleksandravicius missed a short jumper and sophomore Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.) came up with the rebound with 19 seconds to play. The Lady Mocs drove the court and with 6.6 seconds to play, Moore called the time out to set up the final play for the win.

Davidson edged the Lady Mocs on the boards 36-35, but Chattanooga got more production from its bench 15-6. Hood had a game-high 17 points and four rebounds while Smith, with three huge 3-pointers, had nine points and one steal. Junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) had seven points for the Lady Mocs along with three assists and two steals.

Davidson was led by Murray’s 17 points and 16 from Aleksandravicius who added eight rebounds. Woodington had five assists and Barbara Sitton had four assists.

The Lady Mocs head to Boone, N.C., to take on Appalachian State at the Holmes Convocation Center Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Live stats will be available at GoMocs.com and Larry Ward, the “Voice of the Lady Mocs” will have the call on ESPN 105.1 FM.

Wattad’s 30 Points Leads Mocs to 69-68 Win at The Citadel

Omar Wattad’s (Johnson City, Tenn.) career-high 30 points propelled Chattanooga to a 69-68 Southern Conference road win at The Citadel Thursday night.  The Mocs improved to 9-8, 5-0 leading the SoCon’s North Division, while the Bulldogs drop to 5-12, 1-4 in the South.

Wattad’s 30 came on career highs of 11 field goals made (19 att) and eight three-pointers (14).  It’s the Mocs first 30-point effort since Stephen McDowell’s 32 against Samford in the 2009 SoCon Tournament semifinals (3/8/09).

DeAntre Jefferson (Bloomington, Ill.) had 10 points and eight rebounds to help key the win.  All eight boards for Jefferson came in the second half.  Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) added 10 points, five rebounds and a season-high four assists.

Cameron Wells led the Bulldogs with 17 points, four rebounds and six assists.  Zach Urbanus and Austin Dahn had 15 apiece.

The Mocs opened the second half with a Keegan Bell (Hazel Green, Ala.) three-pointer for its largest lead of five, 38-33.  It marked 10 unanswered points for UTC carrying over a 7-0 run to end the first half.

The Citadel answered with an 8-0 run of its own to re-take the lead 41-38 on an Urbanus trey at 18:25.  The lead was extended to seven, 47-40, on a Wells jumper at 15:34.

Chattanooga battled back with a 10-0 run on another Bell three-pointer at 13:28 for a three-point advantage, 50-47.  Urbanus was up to the task with the three-ball of his own just 23 seconds later to knot the game at 50-all.

The game continued its ebb and flow as back-to-back jumpers from Troy Cage (Baton Rouge, La.) and Chris Early (Huntington, W. Va.) gave the Mocs a 56-52 lead. But there was another response from the Bulldogs.

Brian Streeter and Mike Groselle scored on three of four possessions to give The Citadel a 58-56 lead with 5:46 to go. It was Wattad’s turn.

The junior wing hit his seventh trey on the Mocs next trip down the floor to regain the lead 59-58 at 5:15.  Then, it was Wells’ time.

Honored as The Citadel’s all-time leading scorer prior to the game, Wells gave the Bulldogs a one-point advantage, 60-59 with 4:49 remaining.  On the ensuing possession, Wattad and Jefferson combined for heroics.

After what seemed like a rare three-point miss by Wattad, Jefferson grabbed one of his five offensive rebounds which set up Wattad’s eighth downtown basket and a 62-60 Mocs lead at 4:10.

Matt Clark’s two free throws at 3:55 tied the game at 62-all only to see Taylor drill a three-pointer 13 seconds later for a 65-62 UTC lead.  Two Jefferson free throws pushed the margin to five, 67-62, at 3:15, but Clark was on task nailing a trey of his own from the left corner at 2:43 to make the lead a perilous two points, 67-65.

Wattad scored the Mocs final two with a runner in the lane with 2:05 to go, 69-65.  A Wells free throw at 1:53 and layup at 1:10 provided a lot of drama as the Mocs clung to a 69-68 lead going into the final minute.

Dahn’s three-pointer from the right corner was off the mark and Jefferson was once again big on the boards with 4.3 to play.  Jefferson missed the front end of a one-and-bonus giving the Bulldogs the ball after a timeout with 3.5 to go and nearly the length of the floor to play with.

The ball was inbounded to Urbanus who hoisted a long trey under pressure from Bell and Wattad which was just off the mark into Jefferson’s waiting arms for the one-point win.

It marked the second one-point win of the year for the Mocs with both coming on the defensive end (Marshall 69-68).  Both games saw the Mocs comeback from significant second half deficits with seven tonight and eight at Marshall.

Bell overcame strong flu-like symptoms from Wednesday to play tonight.  He scored nine points with five rebounds managing to play 36 minutes.

Groselle added 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Bulldogs.  It was a clean game as the two teams combined for just 15 turnovers (7 for Chattanooga).

The Bulldogs led by as many as nine points in the opening frame.  They led by eight, 25-17, when the Mocs went on a 16-6 run to close the half, seven unanswered.

The key play came with 23 seconds left in the half and the score tied at 33-all.  The Citadel called timeout to set up a final shot, but Mocs head coach John Shulman had other ideas.  He devised a half-court trap which shocked the Bulldogs and led to a steal by Taylor.

Taylor then found Jefferson underneath the basket for the lay-in and a 35-33 halftime lead for Chattanooga.  Wattad scored 20 of his 30 in the first half including six threes.

Tonight is the start of a busy weekend for the Mocs with three games in five days.  Chattanooga returns home Saturday to host Samford before South Division leader College of Charleston invades on Monday.  Game times are slated for 7 p.m., and fans can access live video, audio and stats via Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.  The game will also be broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds.

- Scorpio Jones III

ELON SNAPS LADY MOCS WIN STREAK WITH 74-61 WIN AT McKENZIE

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team fell 74-61 to Elon on a snowy Monday afternoon at the McKenzie Arena snapping a four-game win streak.

Chattanooga falls to 7-9 overall and 4-3 in Southern Conference action while the Phoenix improve to 9-5 overall and 4-2 in league play.

The Lady Mocs jumped out to an early 15-4 lead capped by a pair of layups from junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) with 14:17 to play in the half. However, it would dissipate over the next eight minutes as the Phoenix held Chattanooga to just two free throws and cut the lead to 17-13 after a turnover followed by a fast break layup from Ali Ford with 6:54 in the half.

Chattanooga pushed its lead back up to eight points behind freshmen Meghan Downes (Fairburn, Ga.)O and Taylor Hall (New Tazewell, Tenn.) over the next 1:17 to 21-15, but Elon would make it a two-point game at the half.

Hall scored five more points over the final 4:25 of the first half for a career-high seven points in just her sixth game with Chattanooga.

In the second half, the Phoenix took the lead on a jumper from Ford and never gave it back. Chattanooga tied it up twice more with points from Hood, but the Phoenix turned it up and outscored the Lady Mocs 46-31 in the second half and had a 30-12 advantage in the latter period on the boards.

Hood, held to eight points in the first half, led all scorers with 21 points on 10-of-16 from the floor and had six rebounds. Junior Bailey Dewart scored 10 points in the game, pulled down a team-best seven rebounds and had a career-high five steals.

Dewart, sophomore Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) and junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) each knocked down two 3’s apiece. Christopher put in eight points and dished out three assists. Sophomore Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.) had seven points, three assists and a career-high tying three blocked shots.

Kelsey Evans posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Shon Redmond led the Phoenix with 17 points and five steals. Ford had 11 points and had a game-high four assists. The league’s leading 3-point shooting shot a dismal 0-for-5 from beyond the arc. Aiesha Harper was 6-for-7 from the field with 16 points and had two blocks.

Elon outscored Chattanooga 38-24 in the paint and was outscored 25-9 in bench points. The Phoenix outrebounded the Lady Mocs 48-26 and went 19-for-26 from the free throw line.

Despite a significant snowfall and the cancellation of many events around the Chattanooga area, the game carried on with a moved up start time by three hours.

Chattanooga will hit the road for a three-game SoCon road trip beginning Friday evening at Davidson. The game will be carried live on ESPN 105.1 and Larry Ward, the “Voice of the Lady Mocs” will have the call. Live stats will be available at GoMocs.com.

LADY MOCS KNOCK OFF LEAGUE-LEADER UNCG, 72-63; EXTEND WIN STREAK TO FOUR GAMES

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team extended its win streak to four games, its longest of the year, and knocked off league-leading UNC Greensboro 72-63 Saturday night in Southern Conference action at the McKenzie Arena.

The win moves the Lady Mocs to 7-8 overall and and into a tie for third in the SoCon at 4-2 with Samford. UNCG remains atop the standings at 8-6 overall and 5-1 in SoCon action followed by Appalachian State with a 4-1 league mark.

Junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) led four Chattanooga players in double figures with a game-high 18 points and snared a career-high tying 13 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the year. Sophomore Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.) added 14 points and eight rebounds while sophomore Kayla Christopher and junior Tenisha Townsend each contributed 12 points. Townsend had career-highs on the night with four 3-pointers and eight assists. Christopher had 10 first half points and dished out a season-high six assists. Junior Bailey Dewart (Spartanburg, S.C.) just missed a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds.

The Spartans fired first hitting a 3-pointer to start the game, but the Lady Mocs put together a14-1 run to jump out to its largest lead of the first half at 14-4 with 14:22 until halftime. UNCG cut the lead down to five points three times in the period but Chattanooga would twice more build its lead to double digits and carry a 37-31 lead into intermission.

The Lady Mocs shot 51.9 percent (14-of-27) in the first half including five 3-pointers and closed out the game making 11-of-23 from beyond the arc.

In the second half, Chattanooga got a short jumper from Lambert followed by a trey from Dewart to get out to a 42-31 lead with less than two minutes elapsed in the stanza. The Spartans fought back getting a pair of layups form Janae’ Stevenson and Dayshaun Richbow to cut the lead back to 42-35 at the 16:03 mark. Chattanooga stretched its lead back to 12 points on a jumper from freshman Taylor Hall (New Tazewell, Tenn.) and a 3-pointer from Townsend form the left side, going up 47-35 with 15:22 to play.

The Spartans held Chattanooga scoreless over the next four minutes and cut into the lead, but the Lady Mocs responded with eight straight points, including a pair of treys from Townsend, to grab its largest lead of the game at 54-41 lead with 9:45 to play. The game continued to bounce back-and-forth over the final 9:45 with the Spartans getting no closer than five but the Lady Mocs hung on for the win.

UNCG outscored Chattanooga in the paint 32-26 and had a 13-7 advantage on bench points. The Lady Mocs outrebounded the Spartans 42-38 and had 18 assists. The Spartans had just seven turnovers on the night, a season-low for any SoCon team.

Amanda Leigh, with a pair of 3-pointers, led the Spartans with 12 points while Monique Floyd had 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Dayshaun Richbow had 11 points as well and dished out a team-high five assists. Kendra Smith was the fourth Spartan in double figures with 10 points.

Chattanooga will be back in action Monday, Jan. 10 at 6 p.m. at the McKenzie Arena when they host Elon. The Phoenix outlasted Samford 47-42 in Birmingham, Ala., Saturday afternoon and are 3-2 in SoCon play. Live stats will be available along with live audio and video at Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com. Larry Ward, the “Voice of the Lady Mocs”, will have all the action live on 106.9 FM.

Chattanooga Captures 70-65 Win at UNC Greensboro

Junior guard Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) scored a career-high 26 points in leading the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to a 70-65 win at UNC Greensboro (0-14/0-4) Saturday afternoon.  Chattanooga is now 4-0 in the Southern Conference, 8-8 overall.

Wattad’s 26 paced three Mocs in double digits.  Keegan Bell (Hazel Green, Ala.) had 13 points and a season-high seven rebounds, while Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) had 19 points and five boards.

Chattanooga out-rebounded the Spartans 45-31 for the game led by Jahmal Burroughs (New Orleans, La.) with a career-high eight.  Wattad tied his career best with seven boards of his own.

UNCG was led by Aloysius Henry’s 17 points and 11 rebounds.  Kyle Randall chipped in 13 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Brian Cole added 10 points off the bench.

Taylor put the Mocs up 15, 42-27, with 18:40 to play as UTC scored the first four points after intermission.  The Spartans began to chip away at the lead cutting it to nine, 42-33, on two Randall free throws.  Wattad’s three at 14:54 pushed the lead back to 12, 47-35.

UNCG went on a 9-0 run to get within three, 47-44, on Cole’s layup with 12:29 left.  Wattad had an immediate answer knocking down yet another three nine seconds later giving the Mocs a 50-44 lead.

That started a mini-run (8-2) for Chattanooga as it built the lead back to nine, 55-46 on another Wattad three-pointer at 10:13.  The Spartans would not wilt.

Aaron Brackett’s jumper following an offensive board of his own missed free throw diced the lead to four, 57-53.  Taylor and Wattad scored layups to double the cushion to eight, 61-53 at 7:01.

UNCG continued to battle.  Henry’s dunk with 5:03 to go made it a three-point contest, 61-58,  Korey Van Dussen hit a jumper at 2:19 to get the Spartans within two, 63-61,  Henry tied it at 63-all on the Spartans next possession, but the Mocs made the plays down the stretch.

After Henry’s basket tied the score, Chattanooga got the ball in quick and Bell found Taylor streaking upcourt.  Seven seconds after the score was tied, Taylor calmly sank two free throws to give UTC the lead for good.  Wattad made three of four free throws in the final 10 seconds to cement the five-point win.

Wattad made five three-pointers on eight attempts.  He and Bell (4-6) combined to shoot nine of 14 from three-point range, while the rest of the team shot one for 13.

Both teams played strong defensively.  While the Mocs managed to shoot just 37.9 percent (22-58) from the floor, they also limited the Spartans to 35.2 percent (19-54), 25.0 percent (5-20) from three-point range.

UNCG scored the first eight points of the game, but the Mocs turned it around with a phenomenal defensive run.  Chattanooga limited the Spartans to just one field goal for 10:17 to go on a 27-4 run.

The Mocs led by as many as 15 points in the first half.  Bell and Wattad scored 12 apiece as they combined for 24 of the team’s 38 points before the break.

Chattanooga returns to the hardcourt on Thursday, Jan. 13, at The Citadel for the first of three games in five nights.  Game time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., and fans can access live video, audio and stats via Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.  The game will also be broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds.

Mocs Drop Two Matches at the Virginia Duals

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team dropped two matches at the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va., today.  The Mocs lost to No. 19 Arizona State 22-18 in the opening round of the 16-team tournament.  Chattanooga then fell to Rider 33-10 in the consolation bracket.  With the losses, UTC is now 5-8 on the year.

The Mocs looked like they might match-up well against the 19th-ranked Sun Devils but injuries and illnesses kept UTC from putting its full lineup of starters on the mat.  Head Coach Heath Eslinger knew he would not have his top guys at 133 and 141.  Senior Cody Cleveland (Tullahoma, Tenn.), ranked No. 8 in the nation at 141 this week, is still recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered at the Reno Tournament of Champions in December.  Junior Demetrius Johnson (Memphis, Tenn.) has not seen the mat at 133 this year due to offseason knee surgery.

Chattanooga also lost starters at three other weights in the days leading up to the Virginia Duals.  At 149, sophomore Alex Hudson (Marietta, Ga.) was out with a leg injury he suffered in practice this week and sophomore Dean Pavlou (Cleveland, Tenn.) was out with the flu.  At 197, sophomore Niko Brown (Kissimmee, Fla.) is nursing a rib injury and was also unable to go.  The surprise omission was at 125, where sophomore Prescott Garner (West Linn, Ore.) made his weight, but then fell ill prior to the match.

That took five starters out of the fold against a top-25 opponent.  Regardless, the Mocs battled hard and nearly pulled off the upset.  Chattanooga gave up bonus points in the first two matches and found itself down 9-0.

Freshman Shawn Greevy (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) continued his strong season with a pin over ASU's Kailin Goodsite at 141, pulling the score back to 9-6.  Goodsite came into the match with a 15-9 record, but Greevy was able to improve to 6-3 with his third pin of the year.

"Shawn did a great job," stated Eslinger.  "Every time he competes we miss less and less of Cody because he gets better.  Now Cody doesn't have to rush back and can be rested and at 100% when the conference season starts.  Regardless, Shawn continues to make improvements and is showing that he can wrestle at the highest level."

Freshman Trevor Herron (Cleveland, Tenn.) was forced to wrestle up a class since Hudson and Pavlou were out.  He posted an impressive 5-4 decision to tie the team score at 9-9.  The Sun Devils went back up 12-9 after No. 4 Bubba Jenkins defeated sophomore Josh Condon (Powder Springs, Ga.) 9-3, but Chattanooga took a 15-12 lead following a forfeit at 165.  The score was tied again when ASU's Eric Starks defeated junior Brandon Wright (Germantown, Tenn.) at 174.

Junior Jason McCroskey (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) gave the Mocs their last lead of the day when he won his 184 match 5-2 over Jake Meredith.  Arizona State took the last two matches to secure the win.

"We had five starters out of our lineup and gave ourselves a chance to win," added Eslinger.  "It shows that we have kids in the room who can step up and help us win.  It is a long year and everyone is dealing with injuries.  We have to find a way to work around it and it can't be an excuse.  We want to win every match, but it is most important that our guys are healthy when the conference season rolls around."

No. 19 Arizona State 22, Chattanooga 18

Virginia Duals First Round - Hampton Coliseum - Hampton, Va.

Friday - Jan. 7, 2011

125: No. 3 Anthony Robles (ASU) - Tech Fall 17-0 - Joe DeAngelo (UTC) - ASU 5-0

133: David Prado (ASU) - MD 14-4 - Adam Wilson (UTC) - ASU 9-0

141: Shawn Greevy (UTC) - Fall 5:58 - Kalin Goodsite (ASU) - ASU 9-6

149: Trevor Herron (UTC) - Dec. 5-4 - Tai Fukumoto (ASU) - Tied 9-9

157: No. 4 Bubba Jenkins (ASU) - Dec. 9-3 - Josh Condon (UTC) - ASU 12-9

165: Dan Waddell (UTC) - won by forfeit - UTC 15-12

174: Eric Starks (ASU) - Dec. 8-3 - Brandon Wright (UTC) - Tied 15-15

184: Jason McCroskey (UTC) - dec. 5-2 - Jake Meredith (ASU) - UTC 18-15

197: Luke Macchiaroli (ASU) - Dec. 8-3 - Robert Prigmore (UTC) - Tied 18-18

285: Levi Cooper (ASU) - MD 10-1 - Matt Lettner (UTC) - ASU 22-18

UTC then took on Rider in the consolation round.  The Mocs never could get things going against the Broncs, dropping each of the first seven matches.  McCroskey and sophomore Robert Prigmore (Southlake, Texas) won at 184 and 197, respectively, to give Chattanooga its 10 points.  McCroskey won a major decision while Prigmore scored his second pin of the year.

"We just matched up horribly with them," explained Eslinger.  "They came out and took it to us right from the start.  We could not get any advantage and they wrestled very well."

Rider 33, Chattanooga 10

Virginia Duals Consolations - Hampton Coliseum - Hampton, Va.

Friday - Jan. 7, 2011

125: Chuck Zeisloft (Rider) - Dec. 9-7 - Joe DeAngelo (UTC) - Rider 3-0

133: Jimmy Kirchner (Rider) - Fall 4:31 - Adam Wilson (UTC) - Rider 9-0

141: Aaron Nestor (Rider) - Dec. 8-2 - Shawn Greevy (UTC) - Rider 12-0

149: Zac Cibula (Rider) - Fall 7:31 - Trevor Herron (UTC) - Rider 18-0

157: Ramon Santiago (Rider) - Dec. 8-5 - Josh Condon (UTC) - Rider 21-0

165: No. 20 Jim Resnick (Rider) - Dec. 9-3 - Dan Waddell (UTC) - Rider 24-0

174: Rob Morrison (Rider) - Fall 4:49 - Brandon Wright (UTC) - Rider 30-0

184: Jason McCroskey (UTC) - MD 11-2 - James Brundage (Rider) - Rider 30-4

197: Robert Prigmore (UTC) - Fall 4:47 - Joe Ferber (Rider) - Rider 30-10

285: Evan Craig (Rider) - Dec. 6-4 - Matt Lettner (UTC) - Rider 33-10

Chattanooga will be back in action Jan. 15 when they travel to No. 18 Missouri for a 7:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) tilt with the Tigers.  UTC returns home for the first time in over two months when it hosts The Citadel on Jan. 30.  The Southern Conference opener for Chattanooga is set to begin at 2:00 p.m. in Maclellan Gym.

CHRISTOPHER’S CAREER-HIGH LEADS LADY MOCS TO WIN OVER FURMAN, 85-69

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team cruised to an 85-69 win over Furman Tuesday night at the Roundhouse.  It was the 200th Lady Mocs basketball game in the McKenzie Arena and ended up the biggest win of the year for UTC.

Chattanooga (6-8, 3-2 SoCon) got 54 combined points from sophomore Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) and junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.).  Christopher tied a Lady Mocs' McKenzie Arena record with six three-pointers on her way to a career-high 30 points.  Hood, the leading scorer in the Southern Conference at 22.8 points per game, increased her average with 24 of her own.

The win was the 19th-straight for UTC in the series with Furman (6-7, 2-2) as Chattanooga won its third in a row for the first time this season.  The Lady Mocs are now 161-39 (.805) all-time in the Roundhouse and 137-26 (.840) in the 13-year tenure of head coach Wes Moore.

Christopher torched the Paladins, shooting 11-for-15 from the field, 6-of-8 from 3-point range and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.  She also added four assists, four rebounds and two steals in 31 minutes of action, the fewest she has seen this season.  Chattanooga has now had a 30-point scorer in three of the its last four games.

Junior Bailey Dewart (Spartanburg, S.C.) was active early, crashing the boards for five rebounds in the first 10 minutes of play and eight by halftime.  She hit three of her first four shots from the field before finishing with eight points and a career-high tying 11 boards.

Since rejoining the starting lineup over the last four games, Dewart has nearly doubled her production. She is averaging 7.0 ppg and 8.3 rebounds per game over that time.  She also added four assists and a career-high four steals tonight.

Typical of her play of late, Dewart grabbed one of Hood's misses early in the game and kicked it out to junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) who nailed a three.  That gave UTC an 18-10 lead with 13:10 on the clock as part of a 16-2 Chattanooga run.

Christopher kept it going moments later when she nailed one of her career-high six three-pointers, pushing the lead to 21-10 with less than 11 minutes left in the opening period.  Chattanooga went on to take a 34-23 lead into the locker room.

After the break, the Lady Mocs used a quick 9-0 run to open up a 49-30 advantage just over four minutes into the latter period.  Sophomore Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.) capped the spurt with a three-point play with 15:38 on the clock.

Furman outscored UTC 10-4 over the next two minutes and cut the lead to 53-40 on a jumper from Kendra Berry.  However, that would be the last time the Paladins would threaten the lead in the game.

Hood and Christopher took over, scoring the Lady Mocs's next 12 points while pushing the lead up to 65-44 at the 11-minute mark.  Christopher nailed two threes and a jumper from the elbow in that run.

Hood only tallied four points on 2-of-9 shooting in the first half, but was unstoppable down low in the second.  She shot 8-of-9 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line to score 20 points in the final 20 minutes.

Lambert added 12 points and seven rebounds while tying a career-high with six assists.  She was 3-for-6 from the field and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe.  Furman was led by Kelly O'Connor's 19 points.  Kaitin Murphy added 17 and a team-high four assists.

Chattanooga will put its first three-game winning streak of the year on the line on Saturday, Jan. 8, hosting UNC Greensboro.  This is the third of a four-game homestand for the Lady Mocs.  Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. (E.D.T.) and tickets are available at the UTC Ticket Office by calling (423) 266-MOCS (6627) or online at GoMocs.com.

Saturday is Youth and Autograph Night. All children, 12 and under, wearing a sports uniform will receive free admission to the game. Stick around after the game and get autographs from your favorite Lady Mocs along with Coach Moore and the rest of his staff.

Chattanooga Falls on the Road at Austin Peay 89-57

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga suffered through a cold shooting night in dropping an 89-57 decision at Austin Peay (10-6/4-0 OVC) Monday night.  Chattanooga (7-8/3-0 SoCon) shot 23.7 percent (14-59) from the floor, its worst shooting performance since making 21.7 percent (15-69) against North Carolina on Dec. 5, 1997 in Charlotte, N.C.

Troy Cage (Baton Rouge, La.) led the Mocs with 13 points and nine rebounds.  Chris Early (Huntington, W. Va.) added 12 points and nine boards, while Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) chipped in 12 points as well.

Tyshwan Edmondson led all scorers with 23 points while making four steals for the Govs.  Josh Terry added 16 points and seven rebounds, while John Fraley posted 11 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and three steals.

It was all Govs from the beginning.  Early scored a three-point play the old-fashioned way to cut an early deficit to 11-7 with 15:38 left in the half.  Austin Peay went on 26-6 run capped by a Justin Blake trey at 6:51 to give it a 37-13 advantage.  Trailing 41-17, the Mocs scored the final six points to go into halftime down 41-23.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Early cut the lead to 17, 48-31, with 17:47 left, but the Mocs would get no closer.  A 16-2 Govs run put the game away as Terry’s three-point play made it 64-33 with 13:18 left in the game.

Chattanooga shot 19.2 percent (5-26) from the field in the first half and 27.3 percent (9-33) in the second.  The Mocs managed just five three-pointers in 26 attempts shooting just 19.2 percent, the team’s worst effort from beyond the arc since 15 percent (3-20) at Missouri last season.

Two bright notes came on the glass and at the foul line.  UTC out-rebounded the Govs 44-42 including 17 offensive boards, its best total against a DI program this season.  Chattanooga hit a 24 of 28 free throws, an 85.7 percent effort, its’ best since making 86.4 percent (19-22) against Holy Cross in Puerto Rico on Dec. 19, 2005.

The Mocs remain on the road heading back into Southern Conference play at UNC Greensboro on Saturday, Dec. 8.  Game time is slated for 2 p.m., and fans can access live audio and stats via Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.  The game will also be broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds.

Mocs Defeat Ohio 20-18

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team posted a 20-18 win at Ohio tonight.  UTC (5-6) led for most of the match, but needed to come from behind in the final bout to get the victory.

The Mocs were cruising along with a 16-3 lead with just four matches to go before the Bobcats (3-3) came roaring back.  Ohio posted back-to-back pins at 285 and 125 to get right back in the match.

Sophomore Prescott Garner (West Linn, Ore.) was dominating the 125 match with a 9-0 lead.  He was caught in an awkward position on top of Ohio's Gabriel Ramos and Ramos was given the defensive pin.  That loss shocked Chattanooga, as they would have to rely on true freshmen in each of the last two matches to get the win.

Holding on to a 16-15 lead, UTC frosh Adam Wilson (Atlanta, Ga.) stepped on the mat for his collegiate debut at 133.  He fought hard and avoided costly bonus points, but went down to Gavin Moore 7-1. Ohio took the lead for the first time on the night, 18-16 with one match left.

The 141 contest looked like it might feature two ranked opponents in Chattanooga senior Cody Cleveland (Tullahoma, Tenn.) and the Bobcats' Germane Lindsay.  Cleveland is No. 7 in the nation but is still recovering from a hamstring injury.  Lindsay is ranked 14th but was also out of action.

That left the deciding match up to true freshman Shawn Greevy (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) for UTC and Bobcat junior Heath Allen.  Greevy controlled the action from the opening whistle and scored the game-winning 13-0 major decision.

"We wrestled hard tonight," stated UTC Head Coach Heath Eslinger.  "I was proud of the way Adam and Shawn responded.  It is a road win against a tough opponent and I will take it."

Chattanooga opened the evening with three straight decisions from sophomores Alex Hudson (Marietta, Ga.) and Josh Condon (Powder Springs, Ga.) and junior Dan Waddell (Chattanooga, Tenn.).  Hudson saw his first action of the season, starting at 149.  Condon scored his team-leading 16th win of the year at 157, improving to 16-4 overall.

Junior Jason McCroskey (Soddy Daisy., Tenn.) and sophomore Niko Brown (Kissimmee, Fla.) also posted wins at 184 and 197, respectively.

The Mocs are back in action this weekend when they travel to the Virginia Duals.  Action will take place Jan. 7-8 in Virginia Beach, Va.  Chattanooga is back at home on Jan. 29, hosting the Citadel in Maclellan Gym at 2:00 p.m. (E.S.T.).

Chattanooga 20 - Ohio 18 -

149: Alex Hudson (UTC) - Dec. 6-0 - Darrin Boing (Ohio) - UTC 3-0

157: Josh Condon (UTC) - Dec. 6-1 - Casey Gordon (Ohio) - UTC 6-0

165: Dan Waddell (UTC) - Dec. 6-3 - Kyle Dilley (Ohio) - UTC 9-0

174: Nick Purdue (Ohio) - Dec. 7-2 - Brandon Wright (UTC) - UTC 9-3

184: Jason McCroskey (UTC) - Dec. 11-5 - Ryan Garringer (Ohio) - UTC 12-3

197: Niko Brown (UTC) - MD 13-5 - Kyle Sanders (Ohio) - UTC 16-3

285: Jeremy Johnson (Ohio) - Fall 2:21 - Matt Lettner (UTC) - UTC 16-9

125: Gabriel Ramos (Ohio) - Fall 2:58 - Prescott Garner (UTC) - UTC 16-15

133: Gavin Moore (Ohio) - Dec. 7-1 - Adam Wilson (UTC) - Ohio 18-16

141: Shawn Greevy (UTC) - MD 13-0 - Heath Allen (Ohio) - UTC 20-18

Bowl Results And Some Thoughts

There is some preamble that may be required for my observations about the bowl games.

Losing your last game to your archrival is a bad thing for any team.

Unless you are Bama.

At Bama, losing to Awbun in the final game of the year is like falling out of a second-story window onto a pavement covered with broken glass.

The fall does not kill you, but it hurts in every conceivable way….over every square inch of your body.

And to lose to Awbun in the most humiliating way possible….blowing a four-touchdown lead... brings agony nobody outside the Bama family can even begin to understand.

The only thing you have to cling to following that loss is that somewhere in time the NCAA will rip all the hardware out of Awbun’s trophy case.

But even that is only a vague hope.

If you carefully consider all this background, what would you assume would happen when Bama lined up against Michigan State in a bowl game.

Big, powerful, bang you in your nose Michigan State, them of the miracle win on a fake field goal?

For most of us fans, whose coaches are lesser beings, we would expect a vague disinterest in the outcome of the game, and maybe come back at the end to eak out a win with a field goal.

But Bama is not coached by a lesser being. Bama is coached by the dude who is, in fact, the best football coach in college today.

Nick Saban has obviously had all the desultory bowl games he ever wants to be involved with on any level.

Michigan State is a good football team with real talent, they are not, for instance, a Conference USA pretender, nor are they an ACC also-ran.

But it was obvious seconds after toe met leather that Bama was going to eat Sparty for lunch and there would be no leftovers….none.

Bowl games are funny things; it is hard for most teams to get ready to play big-boy football with all the distractions, and the pain of a big loss and all that.

But Nick Saban’s process has apparently found the cure for what ails any normal football team.

Bama flexed every muscle in its considerable arsenal on both sides of the ball, and in doing so made a good Michigan State team look undermanned, inept and forlorn.

My hat, in case you have not noticed, is off to Czar Nicky and his coaching underlings.   They are running out of room for coach statues in Tuscaloosa, but Saban probably deserves a new one after this game.

Unfortunately, and there is always a downside to things, Bama’s casting asunder of all the Spartans’ dreams makes uh oh….Awbun look even better.

Trudging back to the rusty Chevy to get ready for the long drive back to Michigan, Ma turns to Pa and says….”God, Pa, can you even begin to imagine how good Awbun must be?”

One of the ways a new coach gets some grace time with a football program that needs major work is to win a game or two that nobody expected you to win.

Derek Dooley’s Vols have been in a position to do that twice, once against LSU, and we all know how that turned out, and once against North Carolina in the Whatchamacallit Bowl in Nash Vegas.

Unfortunately, the Vols lost both games. Derek’s daddy, Vince, had two or three pretty amazing wins in his very early years at Georgia, beating defending national champion Alabama on a trick play at the end of the game, traveling to Ann Arbor Michigan to beat Michigan in the Big House 7-0 and a couple of others that solidified Vince Dooley’s relationship with the Georgia fan base.

Interestingly, both Dooley’s are in similar situations, Georgia was way down when Vince arrived in Athens, Tennessee was lost in the wilderness when Derek got the job.

The situations were despite some similarities, different in one way. Georgia had been mediocre so long it was still possible for Vince’s team to sneak up on people. Derek does not have that luxury….nobody takes Tennessee lightly, no matter what their record may be.

Derek Dooley will get the Vols back on track; the question is, whether he will be around in Knoxville to see all the hard work come to fruition?

No matter how you may feel about Mark Richt as a football coach, losing to a Conference USA team in the Liberty Bowl has placed Richt very precisely on the hottest seat in the SEC for the next year.

First year athletic directors, and Richt works for one, are notoriously short-tempered when they enter the picture in the midst of a downturn on the field. New Georgia AD Greg McGarity has already pretty much guaranteed Richt at least one year to get things turned around. 

But that was before losing to Central Florida in a game where Georgia’s offense could manage only two field goals.   Against Central Florida.

Frankly I don’t think anything would shock me about a coaching situation anymore, but I suspect Richt will get at least one more season to prove to his new boss and other interested parties he can turn things around. But the loss in Memphis means the folks in Richt’s corner could probably fit in his office in Athens.

 - Scorpio Jones  III

HOOD’S RECORD 40-POINTS LEADS LADY MOCS PAST WOFFORD 93-88

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team posted a 93-88 comeback win over Wofford in McKenzie Arena Sunday afternoon. The Lady Mocs overcame a 14-point second half deficit to post their 26th straight win over the visiting Terriers.

Junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) scored a McKenzie Arena record 40 points to lead Chattanooga (5-8, 2-2 SoCon) to the win.  It was a career-high for Hood who is leading the SoCon and ranks in the top-15 nationally with 22.7 points-per-game.  It was also just the third 40-point game in school history and the first since Regina Kirk had a school-record 45 against North Alabama on Dec. 18, 1987.

Despite being outscored 36-28 in the paint, the Lady Mocs killed Wofford (5-6, 1-2 SoCon) on the offensive glass.  UTC grabbed 25 offensive rebounds, including nine from Hood who recorded her fourth double-double of the year with 12 boards overall.  Chattanooga outscored Wofford 36-7 in second chance points.

Wofford came out on fire, scoring the first nine points of the game.  The Terriers led by as many as 13 in the early minutes and went up 26-14 on a 3-pointer from Logan Morris at the 13:07 mark.  Wofford was 11-15 from the field and 4-4 from behind the line at that point.

Every time Chattanooga tried to start a run, the Terriers made a big basket.  Chattanooga cut the lead to 32-22 on a pair of foul shots from Hood, but Wofford scored the next eight points, including back-to-back three pointers from Rachel Brittenham and Maddie Helms.  Helms' connection gave the Terriers their biggest lead at 40-22 with 6:15 left in the first.

Wofford made eight of its first nine shots from behind the three-point line on the way to shooting a torrid 21-for-31 (66.7%) from the field and 9-of-11 (81.8%) from long range in the first period.  Junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) hit a three at the buzzer to close the gap to 52-41 at intermission.  It was the most points the Lady Mocs had allowed in the first half this season and tied for the most allowed in any half all year.

Chattanooga was not able to key its defense on any one player.  Wofford had nine score at least three points in the first half and no Terrier hit double figures.  Hood kept the lady Mocs in the game with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line.

Despite only shooting 34.4% (11-for-32) from the field, Chattanooga was only down 11 at the break.  UTC kept attacking inside and drew two quick fouls on Wofford's Mahagony Williams to start the second half, sending the Terriers' best post defender to the bench with four fouls. That opened up the inside for Hood who finished with 24 points after intermission.  

Townsend hit a three to pull the Lady Mocs to within eight, 56-48 at the 18:32 mark.  Wofford scored three straight baskets inside to go back up 62-48. They took another 14-point lead - 66-52 - moments later when Jessica Escorza laid one in at 15:54.

Chattanooga then went on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to cut the lead to 66-60.  Townsend capped the spurt with an elbow jumper with 14:19 left.

Helms swished another three for the Terriers to go up nine - 71-62 - with 12:57 left.  The Lady Mocs put together another 8-0 run, again ending with a layup from Townsend to cut the lead to 71-70 with 9:52 left.

Sophomore Kylie Lambert (Athens, Tenn.) gave UTC its first lead of the game - 74-73 - when she nailed a three pointer with 7:29 on the clock.  The game went back and forth over the next four minutes as Wofford rebuilt a four point-lead, 85-81, on an April Moorhouse jumper at the 3:26 mark.

Hood then took over inside, scoring five straight points to give Chattanooga and 86-85 advantage they would not let slip away.  Her foul shot on a three-point play was her 40th and final point of the game.   

The adjustments made by Lady Mocs Head Coach Wes Moore at halftime held Wofford to just 3-13 shooting from behind the arc in the final 20 minutes.  Chattanooga also put up 52 points in the second, its highest total in a half this season.  Moore is now five wins away from 500 for his career and 300 in his 13-year tenure at UTC.

Hood's 40 points came on 15-of-32 shooting and 10-of-13 from the free throw line. She set a school record for field goal attempts, the second-most shots in a game in Southern Conference history. Her 40 points were the most in the league this season and the most ever by a Lady Moc in a conference game.

Townsend and sophomore Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) both added 16 points each.  Christopher had four assists and two steals while Townsend added three assists and three steals.  Lambert also reached double-figures with 13 points and seven boards.

Wofford was led by Moorhouse's 17 points.  The Terriers got 37 points off the bench, compared to just three from the UTC reserves.  Helms added 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from behind the arc while Brittenham chipped in 14.

The Lady Mocs will be back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 4, when they host Furman for the 200th UTC women’s basketball game in the McKenzie Arena.  Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. (EST). Tickets are available on GoMOcs.com or by calling (423) 266-MOCS (6627).  If you can't make it to the game, catch all of the action on the Mocs Sports Network's flagship station, ESPN Radio 105.1 FM or on All Access on GoMocs.com.

Chattanooga’s Rally Falls Short Losing 81-76 to Georgia State in Dr Pepper Classic Finals

The Chattanooga Mocs’ comeback from an 11-point second half deficit fell shy of the mark as it dropped an 81-76 decision to Georgia State (6-5/1-0 CAA) in the Championship game of the 21st Dr Pepper Classic Thursday night.  Chattanooga (7-7/3-0 SoCon) cut the lead to three late, but could not get over the hump.

After starting the game 0-13 from three-point range, the Mocs missed its last seven field goal attempts in the final two minutes.  The missed opportunities coupled with defensive lapses led to the early deficit.

The Panthers shot 54.5 percent (30-55) from the field and 41.7 percent (10-24) from three-point range in the win.  GSU shot 69.6 percent (16-23) in the second half alone, and it also held a slim 36-34 advantage on the boards for the game.

DeAntre Jefferson (Bloomington, Ill.) led the Mocs with a career-high 19 points on five for five from the field and nine of 10 from the free throw line.  He also grabbed eight rebounds.

Dante Curry and Eric Buckner combined for 44 points for the Panthers.  Curry’s 21 was aided by a seven of 12 performance from three-point range as he hit 13 treys over two tourney games in McKenzie Arena.  Buckner had 23 points and eight rebounds making 10 of his 11 shot attempts.

A Brandon McGee layup gave Georgia State a 73-62 lead with 7:55 to play, but that’s when it got interesting.  The Mocs answered with a 9-2 run capped by a Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) free throw at 2:34.

After Buckner hit two free throws, Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) made a huge three-pointer to cut the margin in half, 77-74, with 2:04 remaining.  But that’s the last field goal the Mocs would make.  Despite a two for eight free throw performance for the Panthers in the final 1:13, GSU held on for the win.

Wattad tied Jefferson for team-high honors with 19 points including four treys.  Taylor had 16 points, while Keegan Bell (Hazel Green, Ala.) added 15 points and six assists.

Devonta White had 10 points for Georgia State.  Josh Micheaux came off the bench with a fine all-around performance scoring eight points with six rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

After starting the game 0-13 from beyond the arc, Chattanooga made eight of its last 21 (38.1%).  Inside three-point-land, the Mocs shot 70.8 percent (17-24) for the game.

GSU got off to an excellent start leading by as many as 15, 39-24, on two McGee free throws.  Bell scored six points in leading the Mocs on a 7-0 run to end the half down eight, 39-31.

After allowing 12 second chance points to the Panthers in the first half, the Mocs did not allow another such point the rest of the game.  GSU did score 34 points in the paint to 28 for Chattanooga.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi out-lasted Montreat, coached by former Mocs guard Lincoln Walters, 84-77 in the consolation game.  Demon Watt had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Islanders, while Justin Reynolds added 13 points and seven boards.  Cameron Hayes led the Cavaliers with 16 on four for four shooting from three-point range.

Dante Curry was named most valuable player.  The all-tournament team also included DeAntre Jefferson (Chattanooga), Omar Wattad (Chattanooga), Eric Buckner (Georgia State), Cameron Hayes (Montreat) and Justin Reynolds (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi).

TOWNSEND LEADS LADY MOCS PAST BELMONT WITH CAREER-HIGH

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team brought a halt to a four-game losing skid with a 66-61 win over Belmont at the Curb Event Center Thursday afternoon.

Chattanooga improves to 4-8 overall with the win in the first meeting between the two teams since 1981. The Lady Mocs are 6-3 against the Bruins and have won each of the last four games. Belmont drops to 4-7 overall.

Junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) dropped in 10 points in the first half and closed out the game with 5-of-6 free throws in the final 30 seconds for a game and career-high 18 points.

After leading by as much as seven in the first half, the Lady Mocs carried a tenuous 29-28 lead into halftime. Through midway of the second half, the Lady Mocs maintained a narrow lead, never getting out front by more than five points.

However, Belmont connected on a pair of free throws at the 11:47 mark then tied it up 45-45 on a 3-pointer from Kristin Nash with 10:37 to play. A trey from Shaunda Strayhorn gave Belmont its first lead since early in the first half at 48-46 at the 8:47 mark. Hood would knot it up with a pair of free throws, but the Bruins retook the lead on a pair of shots from the charity stripe from Nash.

The lead went back and forth with one more tie before Chattanooga took control on a short jumper from sophomore Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) and never trailed again grabbing it largest lead of the game at 63-54 on a pair of free throws from Townsend with 30 seconds to play.

Dewart dropped in 11 points with three 3-pointers and eight rebounds. Hood had 15 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Freshman Destiny Bramblett (Radcliff, Ky.) matched her career-high with seven points.

After shooting  31.1 percent (10-of-32) in the first half, the Lady Mocs went 11-of-24 (45.8) in the second half. Chattanooga edged Belmont on the boards 36-34 and scored 13 points off 16 Bruin turnovers. UTC was held to a season-low eight turnovers and dished out 12 assists.

Chattanooga returns to Southern Conference action this Sunday with a 3 p.m. matchup against Wofford at the McKenzie Arena as the Lady Mocs march toward its 200th game at the Roundhouse on Jan. 4. The game will be carried live on ESPN 105.1 FM with the “Voice of the Lady Mocs” Larry Ward. Live audio and video streaming will be available at Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.

Chattanooga Dominates Montreat 89-51 in First Round of Dr Pepper Classic

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga won for the fifth time in six games cruising to an 89-51 win over Montreat (4-7) Wednesday night.  The win propels UTC (7-6/3-0 SoCon) into the title game of the 21st Dr Pepper Classic.

Five Mocs scored in double digits, led by Troy Cage (Baton Rouge, La.) with a career-high 16 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists.  Jeff Smith (Chattanooga, Tenn.) also posted a new career high with 15 as the duo combined for 31 points off the bench.

Terrell Mosley and Giles Mack paced the Cavaliers with 11 points apiece.  Steve McBorrough grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for Montreat.

The Mocs took control early jumping out to a 14-4 lead on a jumper by Chris Early (Huntington, W. Va.) with 16:47 to go in the first half.  Montreat scored five of the next seven points to cut the lead to 16-9 on a Cameron Hayes three-pointer at 13:22.

Chattanooga answered the trey with a 19-2 run over the next five minutes capped by two DeAntre Jefferson (Bloomington, Ill.) free throws at 8:04.  The lead rose to as many as 27 in the first half, 48-21, on two Dontay Hampton (Chattanooga, Tenn.) free throws at 2:51.  The Mocs settled for a 22-point cushion at the break, 51-29.

Leading by 20 (55-35), UTC rattled off 12-2 run to take a 30-point lead, 67-37, on a Smith three at 12:13. A 23-4 run soon followed capped by a Cage trey at 3:55 to go up 40, 84-44.  That led to the final of 89-51.

The Mocs won the battle of the boards for the seventh straight game out-rebounding the Cavaliers 50-45.  Jefferson had 10 for UTC, his third double-digit board game of the season.  All-in-all, five Mocs grabbed five or more rebounds for the third consecutive contest as Sam Watson (Knoxville, Tenn.) had six, while Early and Jahmal Burroughs (New Orleans, La.) had five each.

Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) had 15 points, making four of six from three-point range.  Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.) chipped in 13 for the Mocs, while Hampton recorded a career-best 11 points to go with three assists and two steals.

Bob Cousy Award candidate Keegan Bell (Hazel Green, Ala.) continued his strong play at the point with eight assists and three steals.  Jeremy Saffore (Nashville, Tenn.) tied a career high of his own with three blocks.

Chattanooga limited the Cavaliers to 25 percent (17-68) shooting from the floor and 23.5 percent (8-34) from three-point range.  It's the fifth time in the last six games the Mocs have held their opponent under 40 percent from the field.

In the first game of the night, Georgia State claimed a 30-point win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 72-42.  The Panthers jumped out to a 20-2 lead and never looked back.

Dante Curry came off the bench to hit six three-pointers in scoring a game-high 18 points for GSU.  Devonta White added 14 points and five assists.  The Islanders were paced by Demond Watt's nine points.  Justin Reynolds chipped in eight points and nine rebounds.

The Dr Pepper Classic continues Thursday night.  The consolation game features Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Montreat at 4:30 p.m. (E.S.T.), followed by Georgia State against the Mocs in the Championship contest at 7 p.m.  UTC has won 13 Dr Pepper Classic crowns including the last two.

Tickets can be purchased online at GoMocs.com ($4 with TRADITION promo code) or by calling 266-MOCS (6627).  Fans can access live video, audio and stats via Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.  The game will also be broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds.

- Scorpio Jones III

HOOD SCORES 32 IN OVERTIME LOSS TO KENNESAW STATE; LADY MOCS FALL 65-63 IN OVERTIME AT KENNESAW STATE

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) scored a career-high 32 points but it wouldn’t be enough as Kennesaw State prevailed 65-63 in overtime at the KSU Convocation Center.

Hood had seven points through the first six minutes of the game, but two quick fouls sent her to the bench for the remainder of the half. She would make up lost ground quickly in the second stanza scoring 16 points making 7-of-9 from the floor and a pair of free throws and adding nine more points in overtime.

The Lady Mocs fall to 3-8 on the year with four straight losses. This marks the first time the Lady Mocs have lost four consecutive games since Wes Moore’s first season as head coach at Chattanooga.

With 1.7 seconds remaining in regulation, it was Kennesaw State’s ball out of bounds under the basket and Chattanooga held a tenuous 53-51 lead. The Owls inbounded the ball to Tamasha Bolden in the lane and she dropped in a short jumper with time expiring to send the game into overtime.

In the extra period, the game remained tight. Kennesaw State won the tip and immediately darted down the court for a layup by Chelcy Farrar to go up 55-53. Hood put in a layup to tie the game at 55-55 with 3:52 to play.

Kennesaw State went up 59-57 on a jumper by Bolden to take a 59-57 lead, but Hood was fouled as she made a layup to tie the game and gave UTC a 60-59 lead at the 2:33 mark. Freshman Meghan Downes (Fairburn, Ga.) made the second of her two free throw attempts with 2:12 to play to give the Lady Mocs a two-point lead, but it would vanish on four straight KSU points, putting the Owls up 63-61 with 57 seconds to play.

Hood’s free throws with 31 seconds remaining tied the contest for the 13th time, but luck would not be on UTC’s side as KSU’s Angie Smith hit a jumper with four seconds on the clock to give the Owls the win. The Lady Mocs had 2.7 seconds to attempt one shot, but it fell short to end the game.

Junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) had seven points for UTC and dished out six assists. Freshman Destiny Bramblett (Radcliff, Ky.) had a career-high seven points and seven boards for the Lady Mocs along with a pair of steals and a blocked shot. Downes had seven points and a career-high five rebounds in the game.

Chattanooga will take the next several days off for the holiday break before closing out a four-game road stretch on Dec. 30 at Belmont in a 5 p.m. Eastern Time tip in Nashville.

Mocs Roll to 107-48 Win Over Reinhardt

The Chattanooga Mocs used a strong surge to close out the first half and run away with a 107-48 win over visiting Reinhardt Tuesday afternoon.  Chattanooga (6-6/3-0 SoCon) had five double digit scorers led by a season-high 21 points from Ricky Taylor (Brownsville, Tenn.).

Chris Early (Huntington, W. Va.) posted his first double-double of the year scoring a career-high 17 points, while tying his top mark of 12 rebounds.  He led a dominant show of force on the glass for the Mocs out-rebounding the Eagle by 34, 60-26 in front of a festive crowd in a rare midweek afternoon game in McKenzie Arena.

It was a close game early with seven lead changes in the opening seven minutes of the game.  Reinhardt led 15-14 on a Tony Foster three-pointer at 13:27.  It was all Mocs from there.

Chattanooga took control over the final 13 minutes out-scoring the Eagles 41-13 to take a 55-27 advantage into intermission.  It was more of the same coming out of the break as UTC scored the first seven points to go up 62-27 on a Taylor fast break layup at 18:27.

The lead topped the 40-point mark, 75-34, at 14:58 on a layup by Jeremy Saffore (Nashville, Tenn.).  Troy Cage (Baton Rouge, La.) made it a 50-point margin, 86-36, with a jumper less than four minutes later.  It was two of Cage’s career-best 14 points off the bench.

After seven unanswered points by Reinhardt, the Mocs went on a 21-10 run to take their biggest lead, 107-46, on a Jahmal Burroughs (New Orleans, La.) layup at 1:51.  David Sasser provided the final tally at the buzzer for the Eagles in the 107-48 UTC triumph.

Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Burroughs each had 11 points.  Six different Mocs had more than five rebounds.  DeAntre Jefferson (Bloomington, Ill.) had eight boards, while Saffore added seven.  Cage also posted career highs with three steals and three assists.

Bob Cousy Award candidate Keegan Bell (Hazel Green, Ala.) played a season-low 24 minutes but still dished out eight assists.  It marks eight games this season with five or more for Bell.

Ismael John led Reinhardt with a strong overall performance of 14 points, five rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals.  Steven Jenkins had 11 points for the Eagles.

The Mocs take a few days off for a holiday break before returning to McKenzie Arena for the annual Dr Pepper Classic Dec. 29-30.  The opening game pits Georgia State against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 4:30 p.m., followed by Chattanooga hosting former Mocs guard Lincoln Walters and Montreat College at 7.  The game times are the same on the 30th with the consolation game at 4:30 and championship game at 7.

Tickets can be purchased online at GoMocs.com ($4 with TRADITION promo code) or by calling 266-MOCS (6627).  Fans can access live video, audio and stats via Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.  The game will also be broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the “Voice of the Mocs” Jim Reynolds.

Lady Mocs Volleyball Head Coach Lisa Rhodes Announces Her Retirement

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga volleyball coach Lisa Rhodes announced her decision to retire as head of the Lady Mocs program today.  Chattanooga's all-time winningest volleyball coach just finished her 17th year at UTC.  The two-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year ends her career with 280 wins for the Lady Mocs.

Statement from Lisa Rhodes:

"I am thankful that I have had the opportunity to coach a sport that I love for the past 27 years.  Everyone in the coaching profession understands fully the time and commitment it takes to perform this job.  After much thought and deliberation, I am announcing my retirement.  My family has been my biggest supporter throughout my career and now it is time for me to focus all my energy and time back into my family.  While at UTC, the volleyball program has enjoyed many victories and successes, both on and off the court.  I can step away knowing that I am leaving not only a volleyball team, but also a successful program.  I would like to thank all the coaches and staff at UTC, along with all of my student-athletes, both past and present, for all of the memories."

Rhodes took over the Lady Mocs' program in 1994, inheriting a team that had won just nine matches the previous two seasons.  In two quick years of rebuilding, she guided Chattanooga to the 1996 Southern Conference title and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.  That was the first of three-straight SoCon Championships and three trips to the postseason.

In 1997, the Lady Mocs became the first team in conference history to post a perfect league record. UTC was 16-0 in conference play en route to winning the school's first-ever regular-season conference crown. Chattanooga also won a school-record 26 matches for the second consecutive season.

UTC made it back to the NCAAs in 1998, repeating as the SoCon regular season and tournament champions.  Rhodes also took home the first of back-to-back SoCon Coach of the Year honors that season.

"I would like to thank Coach Rhodes for her years of service to our volleyball program, the University and the Chattanooga community," stated Director of Athletics Rick Hart.  "Thanks to her hard work and dedication, Chattanooga Volleyball has a strong reputation in the region and will attract some very qualified candidates for her replacement."

Rhodes finishes her career with a 280-284 (.496) overall mark at UTC.  However, if you remove her first two rebuilding seasons at Chattanooga, her record is 269-225 (.545) over the last 15 years.  On top of her three SoCon titles, she also finished second in the league an additional three times with 10 winning seasons overall.

Rhodes coached three SoCon Players/Liberos of the Year, including two-time National Libero of the Year Lara Newberry.  Newberry (2005-08) holds the NCAA career record for digs with 3,176 and is one of three SoCon Freshmen of the Year honorees during Rhodes tenure.

Off the court, Rhodes was a firm believer in working hard in the classroom.  The Lady Mocs were recognized in 2010 with the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for posting a 3.53 grade-point-average. Seven student-athletes earned a perfect 4.0 g.p.a. in the spring of 2010, setting a new UTC record for one semester.

Prior to taking over the Lady Mocs, Rhodes began her coaching career at UNC Asheville.  In five seasons (1989-93), she led the Lady Bulldogs to a 97-79 (.551) record and three Big South Conference titles.  In 1991, she guided UNC Asheville to the NIVC National Championships in Dayton, Ohio.  She finishes her 22-year career as a collegiate head coach with a record of 377-363 (.509) and six conference titles.

Rhodes earned a bachelor's of science in Physical Education and graduated cum laude from Appalachian State in 1983.  In 1989, Rhodes earned a Master's degree in Education from Gardner-Webb.  A member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, Rhodes represented the Southern Conference on the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll.  She and her husband, Jim, have two children, Trent and Courtney.

Mocs Finish Sixth at the Reno TOC

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team competed in the Reno Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nev., on today.  The Mocs finished sixth overall among the 30 collegiate teams participating.  Junior Jason McCroskey's (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) fourth place finish at 184 led four Mocs who advanced to the medal rounds.

Ranked No. 20 in the nation and seeded No. 5 in the tournament, McCroskey won his first three matches, all by decisions, as he advanced to the semifinals of the main bracket.  There he took on Wyoming's Joe LeBlanc, ranked No. 1 in the nation at 184.  McCroskey lost that match when he was pinned at 1:29.

In the wrestleback, McCroskey pinned Cal State Fullerton's Todd Noel to advance to the third place match.  There he fell to Buffalo's Jimmy Hamel in a 5-3 decision.  McCroskey improves to 14-6 on the year with five of his losses coming against ranked opponents.

Senior Cody Cleveland (Tullahoma, Tenn.), ranked No. 7 in the nation and seeded No. 3 in the tournament, was cruising through the 141 bracket before he was sideline with a hamstring injury.  He posted three-straight pins to improve to 5-0 on the year before pulling out of the semifinals of the main draw.  He managed a sixth place showing by default.

Sophomore Prescott Garner (West Linn, Ore.) earned a No. 6 seed at 125.  He advanced to the quarters of the main draw before falling to No. 3 seed Trent Sprenkle in a tight 7-6 decision.  He went 2-2 in the wrestleback to finish in sixth place and improve to 14-7 on the year.

Sophomore Niko Brown (Kissimmee, Fla.) fought his way through the consolation brackets to finish sixth at 197.  He lost his second match of the day to Buffalo's Josh Peter 7-6 to put him in the wrestleback.  He posted back-to-back wins to put himself in position for the strong finish.

Other Mocs who competed in the event include freshman Joe DeAngelo (Mebane, N.C.) at 125, sophomore Dean Pavlou (Cleveland, Tenn.) at 149, sophomore Josh Condon (Powder Springs, Ga.) and junior Dan Waddell (Chattanooga, Tenn.) at 157, junior Brandon Wright (Germantown, Tenn.) at 165, freshman Levi Clemons (Kissimmee, Fla.) at 174 and sophomore Robert Prigmore (Southlake, Texas) at 285.

For complete results from the Reno Tournament of Champions, see a .pdf of the brackets at the top of the page.

UTC will take few weeks off from competition for the Christmas Break.  The Mocs are back on the mat on Jan. 3 when they travel to Ohio University for a 6:00 p.m. (E.D.T.) match with the Bobcats.

LADY MOCS FALL 77-69 TO EAGLES IN OVERTIME ON THE ROAD

Sophomore Kylie Lambert (Etowah, Tenn.) nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key with time winding down to send the game into overtime Saturday afternoon at the Hanner Fieldhouse, but the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team couldn’t hold on in the extra period, falling 77-69 to Georgia Southern.

The loss drops the Lady Mocs to 3-7 overall and 1-2 in Southern Conference action and the Eagles are 3-8 overall and earn their first league win with a 1-2 mark.

In overtime, the Lady Mocs went 1-for-8 from the field missing both 3-point attempts and were 4-for-4 from the free throw line after missing seven of 12 attempts in the game. The Eagles were 3-for-3 from the floor, including a 3-point try, and drained all seven free throws to pull out the win.

The Lady Mocs shot 51.9 percent in the first half making 14-of-27 from the field with a 3-of-11 effort from long range. Georgia Southern shot 14-for-31 in the opening stanza and was hot from beyond the arc as MiMi DuBose led the Eagles in the first half making five of the team’s eight. GSU shot a stunning 61.5 percent from the arc in the first half and was 11-of-19 (57.9%) for the game.

In the first half, the Lady Mocs went 6-for-10 to push out to a five-point lead with 14:14 until halftime. The Eagles would make a push and the lead would trade back-and-forth for the remainder of the half with neither team gaining more than a four-point lead until intermission. Georgia Southern led 38-36 at halftime.

In the second half, Chattanooga immediately tied the game on a layup from Lambert and three minutes later took the lead on a layup from junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) who paced the Lady Mocs with her second straight double-double of the year and the third of her career.

GSU hit back-to-back 3-pointers to retake the lead, but Hood put in three straight shots to give UTC back the lead 46-44 with 12:46 to play.

After a scoring drought by both teams of more than two minutes, freshman Meghan Downes (Fairburn, Ga.) hit back-to-back 3-pointers and capped off a 10-0 run with a jumper to give Chattanooga its largest lead of the game, 56-50 with 6:29 to play.

Georgia Southern scored the next six points, including a 4-for-4 performance at the free throw line, to tie the game, but Chattanooga wouldn’t go away, keeping the game close.

With 16 seconds remaining and Georgia Southern holding on to a 63-60 lead, Chattanooga held the ball for the final possession. The Eagles held Chattanooga off, not letting UTC’s top 3-pointer shooters sophomore Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) or junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) get a good look at the basketball. Lambert picked up the ball, dribbled slightly to her left and let it fly from the top of the key and drained the game-tying shot with just .2 seconds left in regulation.

Four Chattanooga players scored in double figures led by Hood with 22 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, her sixth game of the year with more than 20 points. Christopher had 14 points and six boards, Lambert scored 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds and Downes scored a career-high 10 points, going 2-for-2 from 3-point range. Townsend dished out a career-high tying seven assists and had a team-high three steals.

Georgia Southern was led by DuBose’s 19 points and had four other players in double figures including Jamie Navarro who had 13. Navarro had to sit out in the game played on Dec. 4 in Chattanooga after suffering a concussion. Meredith Frye had 12 points, while Krista Tate and Logan Youngblood each chipped in 11.

The Lady Mocs outrebounded the Eagles 44-38 but turned the ball over 20 times resulting in 25 GSU points.

Chattanooga remains on the road, but will step out of conference play for the next two games heading first to Kennesaw State on Dec. 21 in a 7 p.m. tip. After the holidays, UTC will travel to Nashville to take on Belmont before the New Year. The Lady Mocs’ next home game will be on Jan, 2 against Wofford.

Mocs Fall at Stanford, 20-17

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team dropped a hard-fought match at Stanford 20-17 tonight.  The Mocs fell behind early and could not complete the comeback in the loss.  UTC drops to 4-6 on the year while the Cardinal improves to 3-5 overall.

Chattanooga got in an early 9-0 hole after giving up a decision and a fall in the first two matches.  Action began at 165 with junior Brandon Wright (Germantown, Tenn.) falling to Lucas Espericueta 9-6.  Freshman Levi Clemons (Kissimmee, Fla.) was pinned less than two minutes into his 174 match with fourth-ranked Nick Amuchastegui.

The Mocs then reeled off three straight wins, starting with junior Jason McCroskey (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) at 184.  The 20th-ranked McCroskey posted a 2-0 decision over Spence Patrick to close the gap in the team score to 9-3.  He scored an escape and riding time to get the low-scoring win, improving to 10-4 on the year.  

Sophomore Niko Brown (Kissimmee, Fla.) scored bonus points with his 15-3 major decision at 197.  That made the team score 9-7 for the Cardinal.  Brown is now 9-4, with wins in five of his last six matches.

Sophomore Robert Prigmore (Southlake, Texas) was the surprise of the event.  He competes a 197, but moved up to heavyweight to replace injured starting senior Matt Lettner (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.).  Prigmore gave the Mocs the lead at 11-9 with his 11-0 major decision shutout against Stanford's Alan Yen.

Stanford took the next two matches, beginning with No. 10 Ryan Mango's 15-8 win over sophomore Prescott Garner (West Linn, Ore.) at 125.  Garner actually trailed just 8-7 before he was outscored 7-1 down the stretch.  The Cardinal regained the lead, 12-11, and did not let it go the rest of the way.

UTC's final win came at 141 when senior Cody Cleveland (Tullahoma, Tenn.) posted a 9-2 decision.  Ranked No. 7 in the nation, Cleveland improved to 3-0 on the year, closing the team gap to 16-14 in favor of Stanford.

With two matches left, sophomore Dean Pavlou (Cleveland, Tenn.) needed to post some points in his 149 match.  However, he gave up a major decision to Timmy Boone, giving the Cardinal a 20-14 lead with one match left.

Sophomore Josh Condon (Powder Springs, Ga.) needed to pin Mike Kent at 157 to give UTC a tie.  He did post a 7-4 decision, but that could not make up the difference.   The final score stood 20-17 in favor of Stanford.  It was Condon's team-leading 11th win of the year against just two losses.

The Mocs will now travel to Reno, Nev., for the Reno Tournament of Champions.  The all day event is set for Sunday, Dec. 19.  Be sure to check back to GoMocs.com for updates.  Fans can also follow the Mocs on the wrestling Twitter page, www.twitter.com/utcwrestling, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/utcwrestling.

Stanford 20, UT-Chattanooga 17

165: Lucas Espericueta (Stanford) - Dec. 9-6 - Brandon Wright (UTC) - Stanford 3-0

174: No. 4 Nick Amuchastegui (Stanford) - Fall 1:27 - Levi Clemons (UTC) - Stanford 9-0

184: Jason McCroskey (UTC) - Dec. 2-0 - Spence Patrick (Stanford) - Stanford 9-3

197: Niko Brown (UTC) - MD 15-3 - Dan Scherer (Stanford) - Stanford 9-7

HWT: Robert Prigmore (UTC) - MD 11-0 - Alan Yen (Stanford) - UTC 11-9

125: No. 10 Ryan Mango (Stanford) - Dec. 15-8 - Prescott Garner (UTC) - Stanford 12-11

133: Justin Paulsen (Stanford) - MD 13-5 - Joe DeAngelo (UTC) - Stanford 16-11

141: No. 7 Cody Cleveland (UTC) - Dec. 9-2 - Jordan Gray (Stanford) - Stanford 16-14

149: Timmy Boone (Stanford) - MD 11-3 - Dean Pavlou (UTC) - Stanford 20-14

157: Josh Condon (UTC) - Dec 7-4 - Mike Kent (Stanford) - Stanford 20-17

Mocs Move to 3-0 in SoCon with 71-65 Win at Elon

Keegan Bell (Hazel Green, Ala.) tied a career high with 23 points, while DeAntre Jefferson (Bloomington, Ill.) posted his first double-double of the season in leading the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to a 71-65 win over Elon in Alumni Gym Friday evening.  Chattanooga improves to 3-0 in the Southern Conference, 5-6 overall, while the Phoenix falls to 4-6, 0-3 in league play.

Jefferson had 10 points and 10 rebounds as the Mocs dominated the glass 48-31.  Bell also tied his season high of five rebounds.

Elon was led by Jack Isenbarger’s 22 points off the bench.  He was the lone double-digit scorer for the Phoenix.  Isenbarger made 8-16 from the field and 6-11 from three-point range, but his teammates managed just 15 of 43 from the floor, 34.9 percent, and five for 22 (2.7%) from three-point range.

The Phoenix went up by five, 51-46, on a Ryley Beaumont basket in the paint with 12:15 left in the game.  The Mocs defense took over limiting Elon to just one field goal over the next nine minutes to take a 61-55 lead on a layup by Bell at 3:41.

Chris Long hit a three-pointer at 3:12 to break the Chattanooga defensive spell and make it a one-possession game, 61-58.  But that’s as close as the Phoenix would get.

With 29 seconds remaining, Bell found Chris Early (Huntington, W. Va.) in the lane for an exclamation point dunk and subsequent free throw to give the Mocs a 69-62 lead.  Chattanooga made eight of 10 free throws in the final two minutes to cement the win and its first 3-0 start in SoCon play since 2007-08.

Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) scored 16 points, 10 in the second half, along with a career high seven rebounds.  Early also had seven rebounds as the Mocs featured six players with five or more boards in controlling the glass.

The Mocs shot 43.4 percent (23-53) from the field, 52 percent (13-25) in the second half.  It overcame a slow shooting start by holding the Phoenix to 39 percent shooting (23-59), 37 percent (10-27) after intermission.

Elon led by as many as 10 in the first half taking a 26-16 lead on a Brett Ervin layup with 7:24 to go.  The Mocs answered with seven unanswered points to close to within three, 26-23, on two Bell free throws with 5:24 to play in the half.

Bell hit three-pointers in two late possessions pulling the Mocs to within one twice, while Wattad also sliced the margin to one with a jumper with a minute prior to the break, 34-33.  Ervin made one of two free throws with 53 seconds remaining in the half to give the Phoenix a 35-33 halftime lead.

Chattanooga was strong in the post scoring and rebounding.  Sixteen of its 24 points in the paint came in the second half as the Mocs held a 24-10 advantage in the physical area.  UTC also led in second chance points, 15-6, allowing Elon just seven offensive rebounds.

The Mocs are home on Tuesday, Dec. 21, for a Noon tipoff against Reinhardt.  UTC faculty and staff will be admitted free with valid ID and there are group rates for businesses to treat their employees to an early holiday gift.  Tickets can be purchased online at GoMocs.com ($4 with TRADITION promo code) or by calling 266-MOCS (6627).

Fans can access live video, audio and stats via Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.  The game will also be broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the “Voice of the Mocs” Jim Reynolds.

LADY MOCS’ RALLY FALLS SHORT WITH 56-50 LOSS TO COUGARS

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team fell 56-50 to the College of Charleston in Southern Conference action Thursday night at the Carolina First Arena.

The Lady Mocs fall to 3-6 overall matching their record over the first nine games of the 1995-96 season. Chattanooga evens out its SoCon record at 1-1 while the Cougars move to 4-5 overall and 1-1 in league play.

Junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.) led the Lady Mocs with her second career double-double, dropping in 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Freshman Alex Black (Memphis, Tenn.) posted her second double-digit game of the year with 11 points, going 2-of-4 from long range.

The Cougars got out to a quick start, holding off Chattanooga with a 7-0 run to take a 9-3 lead with 15:06 to play in the first half. Chattanooga quickly reeled off a pair of 3-pointers from Black and sophomore Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) to tie it up 9-9 at 13:20.

The game would stay close the remainder of the half with Chattanooga grabbing a 23-22 lead on a 3-pointer from Christopher with 4:30 until half. After briefly relinquishing the lead, the Lady Mocs would get back out on top on a layup and one from Hood for UTC’s largest lead of the game, 26-24 with 2:46 in the first half. Charleston regained the advantage and led 30-28 at intermission.

The Lady Mocs managed to tie the game twice in the second half with the second coming at 14:17. College of Charleston then outscored Chattanooga 19-6 over the next eight minutes to grab its largest lead of the game at 53-40 with 6:19 to play in the game.

Chattanooga reeled off seven straight points, capped off by a 3-pointer from freshman Taylor Hall (New Tazewell, Tenn.) who saw action tonight after becoming eligible on Wednesday. Her long ranger got the Lady Mocs to within six with 4:48 to play. However, a trey from Black would be all the scoring left for Chattanooga the remainder of the game.

The Lady Mocs shot just 33.3 percent from the floor and were 8-of-23 from beyond the arc and were 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. The Cougars outscored UTC 24-10 in the paint and 18-5 off turnovers despite being held to just 39.7 percent shooting.

Janae Smith led three Cougars in double figures with 16 points and had eight rebounds. Alyssa Frye scored all 12 of her points in the first half and Tonia Gerty had 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists with no turnovers on the night.

Chattanooga will travel to Georgia Southern for a mid-day matchup against the Eagles in Statesboro, Ga. The Lady Mocs defeated GSU 87-80 on Dec. 4 at the Roundhouse in a regionally televised game. UTC set a SoCon record with 16 3-pointers against the Eagles.

The game will be carried live on ESPN 105.1 “The Zone” and Nick Bonsanto, filling in for the “Voice of the Lady Mocs” Larry Ward, will have the call. An campus-wide internet black-out will disable the video feed, but an effort to have live stats will be made by the Eagles’ staff.

Vandy Gets A Turndown, But At Least They Tried

Numerous media outlets are reporting Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn has turned down a very lucrative offer to become head coach at Vandy.

There are reports out there Vandy offered Malzahn a seven-year package worth over $21 million.

That Malzahn decided not to take the Vandy job is not shocking, although the money, if true, would sure make him rich.

What is shocking to me is that Vandy may actually be tired of being the moral high ground standard-bearer and perennial doormat of the SEC.

For at least the last decade the Commodores have appeared to reluctantly field a football team at all.  With the exception of a brief period when Jay Cutler was in Nashville, the Dores have been woeful.

It appeared Vanderbilt lacked the institutional will, certainly not the money, to actually try to compete in the SEC.

So, Gus Malzahn turning them down is one thing, but the idea Vanderbilt was willing to spend real money hiring a head coach is surprising, and I, for one, hope this is an indication Vandy will be more competitive in the future which is a good thing for the whole SEC.

In other news of some import this week, Urban Meyer called it quits at Florida, for the second time in slightly more than a year, and this time Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley did not give Meyer a mulligan.

Almost before Meyer had begun cleaning his office in Gainesville, word got out Foley had hired Texas head coach-in-waiting Will Muschamp to replace Meyer.

In other words, Urban does not have the opportunity to change his mind, again.

That Foley hired a coach with no experience as a head coach is a little unusual, but Texas must have thought Muschamp was head coaching material or they would not have been paying him a boatload of money to hang around as Mack Brown’s understudy.

There are rumors Muschamp and Brown were not on the best of terms, which may have encouraged Muschamp to listen to what Florida had to say.  But when your team is having its first losing season since the end of World War II or something, rumors are rampant.

Muschamp played, as a walk-on, for Ray Goff at Georgia, then followed Nick Saban around before becoming defensive coordinator at Awbun, from where he went to Texas.

Florida is rated, by people who do those sorts of things as one of the top four or five head coaching jobs in the country (slightly behind Texas, so these folks say.)

Jeremy Foley is the guy, you may remember, who hired Ron Zook to replace Steve Spurrier at Florida, which turned out to be like replacing a really fast computer with a pencil and a piece of lined paper.

So, naturally, everybody but the Gator fans, and even some of them are a little surprised Florida did not at least appear to go after a big name coach….like, for instance Chip Kelley at Oregon, but Foley has said Muschamp was his only choice…which is what he should say since Muschamp is the guy he hired.

Muschamp certainly has the credentials needed to be a success at Florida, and he did work for Nick Saban, which has become a key ingredient to indicate future head coaching success to the experts at the Worldwide Order of Weasels.

It was crystal clear from watching the Gators this season that they were not short on athletes, but that certainly on offense there were severe emotional problems.  In fact, against Florida State the Gators changed quarterbacks the way some women change their hairstyles.  It was not pretty to watch, and to me, was an indication Urban Meyer had his mind somewhere else.

Florida is hardly a rebuilding job for Muschamp, more like a re-organization following a bankruptcy, which is how the Gator Nation viewed this football season, but fans are the same everywhere.

The trickiest aspect of hiring Muschamp is that Florida has, since Meyer has been there, been recruiting to run a spread offense, so the Gators roster is now three or four deep with players for that system. If Muschamp has any ideas about changing the offense much it may be a couple of years before the fan base has the kind of team they think they deserve.

Muschamp was high on the list of Georgia fans who are bored with Mark Richt at Georgia, and it is interesting Derek Dooley and Muschamp, head coaches at two of the SEC’s premier programs have strong ties to Georgia.

Cam Newton won the HypeMan trophy, and Awbun plays Oregon for the BCS National Championship.  Bama fans are blogging away at the idea the NCAA will drive through Awbun like a bush-hog through a corn field, but to the average Awbun fan all that matters is beating Oregon.

That way, no matter what happens down the road with the powers-that-be, Awbun will have won the national championship on the field…something that has not happened to Awbun since 1957….when they were on probation.

 - Scorpio Jones III

LADY MOCS FALL TO NO. 14 KENTUCKY AT THE ROUNDHOUSE

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team continued its run through arguably one of the toughest early season schedules in the country when it hosted No. 14 Kentucky Saturday night. The Lady Mocs put up a solid effort in front of a big crowd at McKenzie Arena before falling 79-64.

This was the third ranked opponent from the Southeastern Conference for the Lady Mocs this season.  Chattanooga (3-5, 1-0 SoCon) had already traveled to No. 4 Tennessee and No. 18 Georgia.  Coming off an appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight, Kentucky (7-1, 0-0 SEC) was the sixth team on Chattanooga's schedule that advanced to the postseason in 2009-10.

Kentucky came into the game leading the SEC with 13.4 steals per game and was No. 5 in the country with a +10/game turnover margin.  They used their speed to frustrate the Lady Mocs all night.  The Wildcats extended their defense well beyond the three-point line and made it tough for UTC to get into an offensive rhythm.

Despite the tough defense, Chattanooga only trailed 15-11 midway through the first half.  However, Kentucky went on a 12-2 run over the next three minutes to temporarily take control.  The Wildcats got back-to-back 3-pointers from Samantha Drake and Bernisha Pinkett to grab a 27-13 lead at the 7:40 mark.

That was Kentucky's biggest advantage in the half as they hit 4-of-9 from deep in the first 20 minutes.  The Lady Mocs were able to cut into the deficit thanks to three straight baskets by junior Whitney Hood (Meridian, Miss.).  Her strong move inside with 1:05 left in the first closed the gap to 33-26.  Hood put up 14 points in the first frame to keep the Lady Mocs close.

The Wildcats shot 15-of-31 (48.4%) from the field in the opening stanza. Chattanooga was forced into eight turnovers and shot just 13-of-31 (41.9%) in the opening half.

Kentucky's Victoria Dunlap was relatively quiet in the first 20 minutes, scoring eight points and grabbing two boards after getting two quick fouls early and making a brief exit.  The reigning SEC Player of the Year came into the game leading the league in both categories with 18.2 ppg and 11.8 ppg.

Chattanooga head coach Wes Moore, who was looking for his 494th career win, made some adjustments at the break and started throwing the ball over the top to beat the Wildcat pressure. That led to some breakaway chances for the Lady Mocs and got them back in the game.

Chattanooga came out on fire to start the second, hitting their first six shots from the field.  Most of the 3,139 fans who made it out for the Mocs Basketball Doubleheader stuck around for the women's game and made their presence heard during that stretch.

UTC took the lead on back-to-back baskets from sophomore Kayla Christopher (Oliver Springs, Tenn.).  Her three-pointer from the left wing gave Chattanooga a 42-41 advantage with 17:40 on the clock and sent the Lady Moc faithful into a frenzy.

After a score inside by Dunlap, Christopher nailed another three for a 45-43 Chattanooga advantage with 15:35 left in the game.  That basket was the highlight of the night as UTC went cold for the rest of the game. The Wildcats to put together a 17-4 run, capped by Dunlap's inside score for a 60-49 cushion with 10 minutes left.

That was as close as Chattanooga would get for the remainder of the game as Kentucky cruised to the win.  Dunlap finished with a game-high 26 points, 18 in the second half, to go with nine rebounds and three steals.

Hood, the leading scorer in the Southern Conference, held her own against another tough team.  She finished with 19 points on 9-of-15 shooting and a team-high eight boards.  Christopher added 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting, 2-for-5 from 3-point range. Junior Tenisha Townsend (Antioch, Tenn.) was also in double-figure for Chattanooga, adding 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting, 3-for-6 from behind the arc.

Chattanooga actually handled the Wildcat pressure relatively well. UTC's 16 turnovers were the fewest Kentucky has forced all season.  Kentucky's eight steals were its second-lowest total on the year.

The Lady Mocs will hit the road for the rest of the calendar year, starting a four-game trip away from McKenzie Arena at the College of Charleston on Dec. 16.  UTC's next home game is set for Jan. 2 when it hosts Wofford at 3:00 p.m. (EST).

Mocs Comeback Falls Short in 73-65 Loss to Murray State

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team came up a little short in its comeback bid losing 73-65 to Murray State Saturday afternoon in McKenzie Arena.  Chattanooga (4-6/2-0 SoCon) trailed by as many as 19 before storming back to within four late.

Omar Wattad (Johnson City, Tenn.) led the Mocs with 23 points and six assists.  Murray State (5-4), had four players in double figures with Ivan Aksa’s 17 points and 12 rebounds leading the way.

It was all Murray State early as the Racers made 14 of their first 20 shots jumping out to a 19-point first half cushion, 40-21, with 3:57 left in the half.  Wattad scored seven of his 12 first half points in the final 3:48, but the Mocs still trailed by 15 at intermission, 45-30.

The Racers went back up by 17, 50-33, at 16:09 on an Ivan Aska dunk on the fast break.  But that’s when it got interesting.

Chattanooga scored seven straight to whittle the lead to 10, 50-40, on a Wattad layup in transition at 13:11.  Down 12, 54-42, the Mocs scored eight unanswered  to dice the lead to four after back-to-back layups by Josh Odem (Johnson City, Tenn.) the latter coming at 8:15.

After a DeAntre Jefferson (Bloomington, Ill.) free throw cut the lead back to four, 57-53, at 7:03, the Racers responded with a 9-2 run.  B.J. Jenkins capped the run with two free throws to make it 66-55 at 3:34.

Down 10, 70-60, with 2:57 remaining, the Mocs still had some fight left.  A Chris Early (Huntington, W. Va.) three-pointer and Jefferson layup cut the margin to five, 70-65, with 51 seconds to play.  But UTC would get no closer as Murray State hit three of four free throws down the stretch to cement the win.

The Racers were rock solid from the charity stripe throughout the contest making 18 of 21 attempts, 85.7 percent.  After allowing Murray State to shoot 61.3 percent (19-31) from the field in the opening frame, the Mocs limited the patient Racers to 31.6 percent (6-19) after the break.  Fourteen of MSU’s 28 second-half points came at the foul line (16 att.).

Early and Jefferson scored 10 points apiece for Chattanooga and the duo tied Wattad with a team-high six rebounds.  UTC out-rebound MSU 33-31, 22-14 in the second half.

Murray State’s starting trio of guards combined for 33 points.  Isaiah Cannon had 12 points and Isacc Miles added 11, while Jenkins had 10, 7-8 from the free throw line, and six assists.

The Mocs return to Southern Conference play next Friday, Nov. 17, at Elon.  Tipoff is at 6 p.m., and fans can access live audio and stats via Chattanooga All-Access on GoMocs.com.  The game will also be broadcast on the Mocs Sports Network on ESPN 105.1 FM in the Chattanooga area with the “Voice of the Mocs” Jim Reynolds.

Where Is Wikileaks When You Really Need Them?

I don’t normally talk about high school ball, but winning a state championship in just your second year of varsity football is a pretty amazing accomplishment for the Signal Mountain Eagles.

Watching them play on TV, Bill Price’s offense kinda reminds me of Florida in the 90’s….run, run, run….throw it deep, score, run, run, run, throw it deep, score.

Signal Mountain got behind, but went to another kind of throwback offense, the wing tee, and just kept pounding away.

Surprising number of athletes for a small school.

Almost every time I have thought about the mess formerly known as Cam Newton I have changed my mind about how I feel.

Here’s the latest version.  

While I am glad I got to see Newton eat South Carolina for lunch in Atlanta, and will probably get to see him play Oregon in the Bowl Cash Series national championship game, the behind-the-scenes shenanigans between Auburn and the NCAA and the SEC in the run-up to the SEC Championship game makes me a little more uncomfortable than I already was.

On Wednesday before the game, the NCAA issued a statement saying Newton was eligible for the game and the foreseeable future.

Auburn had declared Newton ineligible, secretly, on Monday night, but applied to the NCAA for re-instatement on Tuesday morning, and in a record-setting time frame for the NCAA, was approved for re-instatement on Wednesday to a blaring of trumpets from the NCAA offices and Auburn, Al., and a huge sigh of relief from the SEC offices in Birmingham.

The statements issued by the SEC and NCAA purporting to explain the situation did nothing but apparently open a can of worms the size of Texas.

Essentially, the NCAA said Newton’s father had, indeed, shopped Newton to Mississippi State, asking for money to have his son play in Starkville. But, and this is a key and very essential “but” in this soap opera….Cam Newton did not know his father was asking State for money.

In their ruling, the NCAA also said the investigation into Newton’s recruitment was still going on, and left the impression they were declaring Newton able to play because they could not prove money had changed hands or that Auburn had been involved… yet.

Unfortunately, the ruling also seems to render null and void all the NCAA verbiage about a player’s “representatives” asking for money being a violation. One would assume a player’s father would be considered a representative of the player.

And, the ruling is clearly in spite of several pages of rules in the NCAA book which address situations like Newton’s.

Within an hour or so of the ruling’s being made public, the NCAA began to go to great lengths to point out that their rules would have to be adjusted to cover the new loophole the NCAA had opened in its own rules.

Naturally, the reaction from anybody in the football world not an Auburn fan was disbelief, shock, giggles and “told you so’s”.

The questions left unanswered by the NCAA are legion, but here are a few of the highlights:

If Newton was ineligible on Monday, how could he eligible on Friday (for the Iron Bowl)?

There was no real explanation for his super secret ineligibility, but the most popular assumption is that it was because of his father’s efforts to get money from Missy State.

If, as the NCAA wants us to believe Cam Newton knew nothing about any deals his father was involved in, why was he declared ineligible at all?

As part of the deal with the NCAA, the former State player who was at the center of the deal with State has been sent to NCAA Siberia and disassociated with the State program.  Newton’s father is also ruled to have limited access to the Auburn program while his son is in school.

(Nobody actually knows whether the Senior Newton was at the SEC Championship game, but if he was, he was not sitting with Newton’s mother.)

Now, everything the NCAA says indicates the investigation into Newton’s recruitment is still going on, and there were numerous “at this time’s” in the full statements.

This would indicate the sheriff is still looking for evidence of money changing hands, and as we know, despite all rumor, innuendo and so fort