Mocs find the magic past the arc

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — The Chattanooga Mocs are getting ready for a three-point shooting battle Saturday against Western Carolina. Both teams rank in the top three in the Southern Conference for 3-point percentage.

News 12’s Angela Moryan found out what makes the Mocs so dangerous behind the arc.

For a team that’s all about defense, the Mocs show shocking strength from the three point line.

“That’s a big part of our game,” Stefan Kenic said. “I think after our defense, because we focus our game on our defense, I think that’s the second best thing we can do because we have a lot of guys that can shoot three very well.”

“To be honest with you, we don’t have many guys that I wouldn’t feel comfortable if they shot a 3, or that I’d have my fingers crossed hoping that it’d go in,” Coach Lamont Paris said.

Even bigs Stefan Kenic and Matt Ryan are major three-point threats. That’s been giving some headaches to the opposing defenses.

“Especially when I go to 5 and Matt goes to 4, other teams kind of struggle to guard us because both bigs can shoot, and you don’t see that very often,” Kenic said.

“That’s a match-up problem for other teams. You have to have your big man kind of step out to guard a three point shoot so they’re versatile and it definitely helps a lot,” David Jean-Baptiste said.

Forward Ramon Villa’s dominance in the paint helps open up the outside as well.

“We do a good job feeding to Ramon on the inside and that forces defenses to hone in in the paint,” Jean-Baptiste said.

“It’s kind of like chicken before the egg, or egg before the chicken. I think it’s a result of what we do around the basket. And if we can be efficient around the rim, that allows guys to get better looks around the three-point line,” Paris said.

“He has a saying, ‘Let it rip, not fly.’ It means, if you got one, shoot it. But also if you got one, if someone’s defending it, don’t just let it fly. But be aggressive and still take it,” Jean-Baptiste said.

The Mocs already tied the school record for most made threes with 17 against Samford three weeks ago.

“It would be amazing if we beat the record and made it at least 18. That’d be amazing,” Kenic said.