GAME NOTES: The Chattanooga Mocs will try to salvage the final leg of a three- game road trip on Saturday night, as they visit the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles in a non-conference showdown at the Eblen Center.

The Mocs can't really be blamed for dropping their first two tests of the season, as they were handed losses of 89-45 and 70-48 by Wisconsin and Butler, respectively, to start the road trip. UTC at least won its first game of the season, running past Hiwassee College. They will return home to host Robert Morris as part of the Battle 4 Atlantic next.

Tennessee Tech has split its first two games of the season, routing Piedmont International (83-29) before falling on the road against USC (70-58). The Golden Eagles will be at home once again on Monday when they host Southeastern Louisiana.

The Golden Eagles have a long track record of success against Chattanooga, having won 40 of 56 previous meetings with the Mocs. However, the teams split a pair of encounters during the 2000-01 season. Those were the two most recent games between them.

It was a real struggle for UTC to get the lid off the basket against Butler. The Mocs only had 16 field goals in the 22-point loss, while shooting a paltry 34 percent from the floor. They also suffered a 38-31 deficit on the boards, while turning the ball over 19 times. Casey Jones managed to finish with 14 points, but he did so on just 3-of-9 shooting from the field.

Jones (12.7 ppg) is the only player averaging in double figures through three games for UTC, which has really had trouble scoring, especially in the last two games. They have made only 41.5 percent of their total shots from the field, including a 30.4 percent effort from 3-point range. They have failed to take advantage of their chances at the foul line as well, with only 59.7 percent of their free throws finding the bottom of the net. Justin Tuoyo (9 ppg, 7.3 rpg) is the next-best scorer on the team and the leading rebounder. Eric Robertson (7.7 ppg) has been solid off the bench, which includes his 12- point performance against Butler.

Tennessee Tech had trouble on offense in its last game as well. The Golden Eagles only connected on 33.8 percent of their shots from the field against USC, including a miserable 1-of-18 showing from 3-point range. They also were outscored, 24-11, at the free-throw line, which negated a solid 42-33 advantage on the boards. Dwan Caldwell scored 19 points to lead the way, while Charles Jackson (12 points, 10 rebounds) produced a double-double.

Caldwell has jumped to the top of the scorer's sheet in the first two games, netting 33 total points in the first three games. He also has 10 rebounds in that time, for a squad that has produced a total of 103 boards, compared to 61 for the opposition. Jackson (11.0 ppg, 11.5 rpg) has had a double-double in each of the first two games and blocked three shots as well. Mason Ramsey (8.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg) has provided solid play in scoring and rebounding off the bench, while Josiah Moore (9 ppg) has the third-best scoring average on the team.

UTC deserves credit for really challenging itself in the early going. After facing such difficult teams already, the Mocs are battle-tested. However, they didn't put up much of a fight against Wisconsin or Butler. They will be closer in this one, but still wind up on the losing end.