Mocs 70, UNCG 65

Whew. Escape.

The Mocs fell behind 8-0 early in the game. Things looked bad. They had not scored at the first timeout.

Ouch.

But then the Mocs got rolling. They were so dominant that just after halftime, the Mocs had gone on a 42-19 run since falling behind 8-0. The Mocs were up by fifteen. The twelve first half turnovers.

Then UNCG started making a comeback. How did it happen? It's really pretty simple. The Mocs started fouling (or having fouls called on them) on nearly every offensive possession. UNCG was in the double bonus by the twelve minute mark of the second half. Eventually, Jahmal Burroughs, Jeremy Saffore, and DeAntre Jefferson all fouled out. Chris Early finished with four fouls in only 17 minutes of action. And the Spartans eeked back into the game.

They tied it up at 63. Then, Taylor made two huge free throws, Early made a big shot, Wattad made two big free throws, Wattad came up with a big defensive rebound, made one more free throw, and the game was over. The Mocs had won by five.

Let's start by giving Ricky Taylor some MAJOR props. He was battling a stomach bug, and still finished with 19 points, including some of the most important baskets of the second half, and some clutch free throws. Major credit goes to Taylor for a gutsy performance. He also collected five rebounds.

Omar Wattad was the leading scorer, having one of his biggest games of the year. He finished with 26 and seven rebounds. He made 5 of 8 from three point range. He also made just 5 of 8 free throws.

Keegan Bell deserves a lot of credit as well. He got the team going with twelve first half points when the team was not shooting well. He ended with just thirteen points, but they were huge points. He had just one assist, but helped the team out with seven rebounds, second on the team.

Who was first on the team tonight in rebounds? Not Chris Early, who finished with four. Not DeAntre Jefferson, who finished with four. Rather, it was Jahmal Burroughs, who had five points, and eight rebounds, despite fouling out. He played just fourteen minutes to collect those eight rebounds. Everyone who thinks that Burroughs has not played well, and has not seemed interested, this was a game that shows exactly what Burroughs is capable of. He can get rebounds. He can score when he is close to the basket. He's not going to be a starter- but he can play an integral part as a role player.

The biggest disappointment of the day? Jefferson and Jeremy Saffore combined for 0 points, six rebounds, three turnovers, 0 blocks, 0 steals, 0 assists, and ten personal fouls, in a combined 37 minutes. Ouch. Jefferson, who had been playing so well before New Year's, has suddenly reverted to really average (at best) play. Has he gotten complacent? It's hard to know at this point. We'll have to wait and see.

The Mocs completely dominated the boards. They won the battle of the boards 43-28. This is not overly surprising- the Mocs are the better rebounding team. They had 15 offensive rebounds, which is a big number.

The Mocs still did not shoot well. They shot 38% from the floor, 37% from three point range, and 53% from the free throw line. Taylor, Bell, and Wattad combined to shoot 12 of 20 from the free throw line. That is 60%. The Mocs need those three to shoot better from the line than that. And it really did hurt the Mocs, because there were some front ends of the one and one missed.

This was not a great performance by the Mocs. They could have blown out the Spartans when they were up by 15 points. To the Spartans credit they did not fold.

To the Mocs credit, neither did they. They went through a period where they could not stop the referees whistles, and they were frustrated, and they kept their heads together and they won the game. That has to be taken as a positive. That has to be taken as mental toughness.

Other critical notes: the Mocs won their second conference road game. They won just one last year. The Mocs won their third overall road game of the year. They won just two last year. So this Mocs team has already surpassed last year's team.

The Mocs are in good position for a first round bye at this point. They are up two games on Samford and Western Carolina for the second spot. They are up one game on Appalachian State for the top spot. They have beaten four North teams already. If they beat Samford next Saturday night, they will have beaten every North team. Beating The Citadel and Samford would make the Mocs 6-0.

Huge week coming up for the Mocs. They are trying to get to where they need to be before the toughest stretch of the schedule- a home date with College of Charleston, and road dates to Furman and Wofford. Next five games are key here.

GO MOCS!