GAME NOTES: In Southern Conference action, the Chattanooga Mocs and the Appalachian State Mountaineers bring a pair of four-game winning streaks to the Holmes Center Thursday night. Chattanooga is one of, if not the hottest team in the conference, winning eight of its last nine games and four straight overall. The Mocs have yet to lose in seven conference games, the last of which being a routine 85-55 victory over Western Carolina last weekend. For some, this game is nothing more than a stop gap between a showdown at Davidson on Saturday to see who reigns supreme in the SoCon. Appalachian State will have something to say about it being a tune-up game, however, as they have also rattled off four consecutive victories. The Mountaineers shocked UNC Greensboro with a tremendous offensive effort in a 91-68 victory on Saturday. This is the second of three-straight home games at the Holmes Center ASU, with Georgia Southern closing out the homestand on Saturday. Appalachian State swept the Mocs a season ago and has been victorious in 15 of 26 meetings on its homecourt.

Chattanooga has gotten out to its fast start behind a torrid offense that is averaging 79.1 ppg, ranking second in the conference. The Mocs are hitting a robust 47.5 percent from the floor, while out-rebounding their opponent by eight rebounds a game. Stephen McDowell leads the way for the Mocs with his precision from behind the arc. In hitting a conference-leading 67 three- pointers, he leads the squad with 16.2 ppg. Niccheaus Doaks sets up in the post as the second scoring option in the offensive set, recording 12.2 ppg and leading the team in rebounds with 6.8 rpg. Marcus Watts showed he can light up the scoreboard by logging 18 points in the victory over Western Carolina. While the offense gets most of the accolades, the defense has been exceptional in holding teams to a .398 field goal percentage on the year.

In the past five games, Appalachian State has had a different top scorer in each game. The Mountaineers have taken this all-for-one attitude and turned it into a successful campaign thus far. Donte Minter leads the team in scoring (12.0 ppg) while hitting 54.4 percent from the field. Jeremi Booth paced the Mountaineers with 16 points off the bench on a perfect 4-for-4 effort from behind the arc in the victory over UNC Greensboro. Donald Sims also hit four from three-point range to improve his team-leading percentage to 44.1 percent from behind the arc. The Mountaineers often look for Sims late in the game, as his .915 percentage at the foul line is ideal for holding leads down the stretch.

Both squads come into the ball game on equal high notes. It's tough picking against the home squad, but Chattanooga has a lot of options on both ends of the court to stymie the Mountaineer attack.