CHATTANOOGA, TENN. – Reigning Southern Conference Player of the Week Nicholas Robinson scored a game-high 16 points, but Chattanooga used a run during the middle stages of the second half to gain separation in a 65-47 win over the Catamounts inside McKenzie Arena on Wednesday night.
 
WCU closed to within four points in the opening stages of the second half of the low-scoring affair, but the Mocs responded with a run to build a lead the Catamounts were unable to overcome.
 
Chattanooga improves to 21-5 overall and 11-2 in the SoCon while WCU drops to 9-17 and 3-10.
 
Robinson narrowly missed a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds. Tyler Harris tallied eight points and corralled a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Malachi Smith led Chattanooga with 16 points with David Jean-Baptiste adding 14 points. Grant Ledford tallied nine points and pulled down a team-best seven rebounds.
 
The Mocs won the opening tip and got on the board with a Smith 3-pointer 15 seconds into the game before Cam Bacote evened the score at 5 as his 3-pointer just beat the shot clock at the 16:14 mark.  A 3-pointer by Marcus Banks at the 15-minute mark sparked an 8-2 spurt as the hosts led 13-7 after a Smith bucket with just over 12 minutes left.
 
Banks hit a 3-pointer at the midpoint of the half to cut the Catamount deficit to three, but the Mocs quickly pushed their lead back to eight, 20-12 at the 7:16 mark. Banks' 3-pointer at the 4:45 mark made the score 20-15 but the Catamounts wouldn't score for 4:30 as a pair of Harris free throws sent WCU into halftime trailing 26-17. Both teams struggled shooting in the opening stanza, combining to go 16-for-57 from the field.
 
WCU opened the second half on a 7-1 run, trimming the deficit to 27-24 on a Robinson bucket with 16:02 remaining. The Mocs answered with an 11-0 run, taking a 38-24 lead thanks to a Smith layup at the 13:06 mark. WCU tallied six of the next seven points with a Marlow Gilmore basket trimming the Chattanooga run to nine, 39-30 with 10:43 remaining. Ledford hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing Chattanooga possession to push the Moc lead back to double digits as they led by as many as 21 points down the stretch.
 
Chattanooga was 21-for-57 (36.8 percent) from the field, 10-for-32 (31.3 percent) behind the 3-point line, and 13-for-16 (81.3 percent) at the free throw line. WCU finished 17-for-62 (27.4 percent) from the field, 3-for-30 (10 percent) behind the arc, and 10-for-14 (71.4 percent) at the free throw line.  The Catamounts held a 42-39 edge in rebounds.
 
The Catamounts remain on the road Saturday, heading to Wofford for a 7 p.m. contest inside Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.

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