CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team looks to start the New Year off right as it heads to Statesboro, Ga., to square off with Georgia Southern (3-6/1-0) at 5:30 p.m., on Saturday, Jan. 3. Chattanooga (4-8/0-1) has won its last two games and three of its last four.
The Mocs are coming off their 13th Dr Pepper Classic title with wins over Tennessee Wesleyan (102-70) and Niagara (99-84). Niagara was ranked No. 21 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll at the time of the contest.
The remainder of the schedule is Southern Conference play for the Mocs. The lone SoCon contest to date for Chattanooga was a 100-95 Dec. 13 loss to Davidson in a shootout.
Chattanooga leads the all-time series with Georgia Southern 25-14, but trail 7-8 in games played at Hanner Fieldhouse. The two teams split their contests last year. UTC Head Coach John Shulman is 3-3 against the Eagles, 1-2 in Statesboro.
Seniors Stephen McDowell and Nicchaeus Doaks continue to lead the Mocs. McDowell is averaging 20.8 points per game, while Doaks chips in with 14.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest. McDowell (MVP) and Doaks were named to the Dr Pepper Classic All-Tournament team along with teammate Khalil Hartwell.
Hartwell appears to be rounding into form after a slow start to the 2008-09 campaign. Hartwell has seven or more rebounds in six of the last seven games and is coming off a career-high 20-point performance in the win over Niagara.
The schedule gets hectic following the matchup with the Eagles. Chattanooga returns to the court on Jan. 8 hosting Wofford at 7 p.m. To that point, the Mocs will have played three games in 16 days. Beginning with the Terriers, Chattanooga plays five games in 10 days.
WHO: Stephen McDowell. Stephen was on fire throughout the month of December. In six December contests, McDowell averaged 25.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He shot 50 percent (50-100) from the field and 46.5 percent (33-71) from three-point range making an average of 5.5 treys per game.
WHAT: Chattanooga (4-8/0-1) at Georgia Southern (3-6/1-0)
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 3, 2009 ? 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Hanner Fieldhouse; Statesboro, Ga. ? Live on GoMocs.com
HOW: The Mocs are 3-3 against Georgia Southern under Shulman, 1-2 in Statesboro.
