GAME NOTES: Southern Conference foes are set to collide tonight in Chattanooga, as the Mocs welcome the Georgia Southern Eagles to McKenzie Arena. GSU comes into this matchup as the winners of two straight decisions, including a 69-58 road besting at Western Carolina on Monday night. The Eagles now stand at 14-7 on the season and 7-4 in league play. As for Chattanooga, it snapped a brief two-game slide with an 89-77 victory over Appalachian State last Saturday. The win propelled the Mocs into first place in the SoCon North (8-2), and improved their 2007-08 ledger to 13-7. Chattanooga leads the all- time series between these two programs by a 25-13 count.

GSU shot a solid 46.9 percent from the floor during Monday's 11-point victory over Western Carolina while holding the Catamounts to a mere 40.8 percent. The Eagles edged Western Carolina in the battle of the boards by a 32-31 margin, and scored 15 points from forcing a game-high 18 turnovers during the contest. Louis Graham posted a game-high 25 points and collected seven rebounds to lead GSU in the win, while Matthew Fields added 11 points to go with a game-high 10 boards. The Eagles average a solid 73.4 ppg this season, and are led by Graham (15.6 ppg). Graham's 7.1 rpg average is also good enough for the team lead, while Willie Powers checks in as the club's second-leading scorer with 12.4 ppg. Dwayne Forman leads in assists (127) and chips in 8.8 ppg for the Eagles.

The Mocs are currently the second most accurate shooting team in the SoCon (.474), and are led by Stephen McDowell and his 15.8 ppg. Nicchaeus Doaks leads the club in rebounding (6.9 ppg) and is Chattanooga's second-leading scorer with 13.0 ppg. Doaks has been extremely accurate from the floor, and currently sits atop the league with a .594 shooting percentage. The Mocs hit a blazing 56.3 percent of their attempts from the floor during last Saturday's 12-point victory over ASU, and they converted 19-of-26 tries from the charity stripe. Chattanooga turned 14 giveaways into 22 points and won the battle on the boards by a 36-31 margin. The Mocs also dominated the paint to the tune of 36-18 edge, and limited the Mountaineers to a mere 39.0 percent from the field. Six Mocs achieved double digits on the day, led by Kevin Bridgewaters, who paced the club with 20 points to go with seven rebounds. Doaks and McDowell added 18 and 15 points, respectively, while Kevin Goffney netted 12 points off the bench. Marcus Watts tallied 11 points while collecting eight rebounds, and Qavotstaraj Waddell chipped in 10 points to go with 10 boards.

Chattanooga is an accurate shooting club, and manages to get to the foul line often. Add the homecourt advantage, and the Mocs should be able to take care of business here against Georgia Southern.