Makale Foreman scored a career-high 30 points, but it wasn’t enough in the Chattanooga Mocs 110-101 overtime loss at The Citadel Saturday afternoon. The Mocs led for a majority of the contest, but not when it mattered most.
"We made some mistakes defensively,” Coach Lamont Paris stated. “Mental mistakes that'll come back and haunt you. We have to compete better. We have to dig better. You also have to hold your ground.
“You need to make that point early in the game and then move on from there."
Nat Dixon scored 20, his third straight 20-point effort, while Rodney Chatman just missed a triple-double with 19 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
David Jean-Baptiste added 16.The Bulldogs duo of Zane Najdawi (37) and Matt Frierson (31) combined for 68 points making 24 of 35 shooting, 10 of 19 from 3pt range.
Chattanooga led by as many as 15 in the first half. The lead was 11, 76-65, on Chatman’s layup with 10:35 to play.
The Citadel went on a 15-4 run tying it 80-all with 4:32 to go on a Frierson three. The Bulldogs took their first lead since mid-way through the opening frame with a Rob Johnson three-point play 20 seconds later.
The lead reached five, 87-82, on Najdawi’s dunk with 3:00 remaining. It was a still a four-point advantage, 93-89, heading into the final minute.
Dixon converted two free throws with 46.9 to go. The Mocs sat down on D forcing a Frierson miss. Chatman rebounded and brought it into the frontcourt. He answered a hard foul with two free throws with 9.1 to play to knot the score at 93-all.
The ball ended up under the Bulldog basket with 2.4 on the clock. They worked it in to Najdawi. A strong defensive effort by Dixon sent the game into overtime. It was all The Citadel from there.
The Bulldogs scored on eight of nine possessions in the extra frame. The first five came in the paint or the free throw stripe as the Mocs lone healthy true post player Joshua Phillips fouled out in regulation. The depleted Mocs could not keep pace in the loss.
"They did have an advantage down low and exploited it on us,” Foreman shared. “They played a great game today too. We have to move on and get ready for Mercer on Monday. It can hurt for a little bit, then we'll learn from the mistakes and try to fix them."
The Mocs remain on the road Monday at Mercer. The contest is slated to begin at 7 p.m., in Hawkins Arena broadcasting on Stadium.