Chattanooga tops Charlotte 80-69, spoils Ron Sanchez's debut
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jerry Johnson Jr. scored 18 points and Chattanooga spoiled Ron Sanchez's head coaching debut with an 80-69 victory over Charlotte on Tuesday night.
The 49ers closed within 62-55 after trailing by more than 10 for most of the second half and cut the deficit to seven again at 70-63 with 3:22 left. From there, the Mocs closed the game on a 10-5 run.
Donovann Toatley added 17 points, Thomas Smallwood scored 14 and Kevin Easley had 13 for Chattanooga.
Jon Davis led the 49ers with 31 points and Malik Martin added 13.
Chattanooga took the lead for good at 8-5 and pulled away in the middle of the first half with a 9-1 run to lead 30-17.
Sanchez is the 11th head coach in Charlotte history and joins the program after 12 years as an assistant to Tony Bennett at Washington State and Virginia.
