Mocs trying to be positive for SoCon tourney

Having put together a patchwork lineup for Monday’s game at The Citadel, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball coach Matt McCall was pleased by the contributions of some players off the bench.

He still needed to get more from the players he expected to contribute.

With two starters out, opportunities opened for players to step up, and sophomore Peyton Woods and freshman Makale Foreman did. Each scored 12 points in the Mocs’ 85-76 loss in the regular-season finale.

Rodney Chatman, who started in place of the injured Greg Pryor, had six points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 31 minutes despite battling foul trouble for much of the second half.

UTC needed shooters on the floor to combat the Bulldogs’ full-court pressure. When Chatman and Johnathan Burroughs-Cook were able to beat the press, 3-point opportunities were there. Woods and Foreman each hit four 3s, but McCall said afterward that the team needed more out of some of the others.

Makinde London, who started in place of Tre’ McLean, and Nat Dixon combined to miss all four of their shots. London did block two shots and grab three rebounds, but he had foul trouble, while Dixon had issues when the Bulldogs played primarily zone defense in the first half. That led to Woods’, Foreman’s and freshman Dylan Brewster’s chances to play.

“I thought a lot of guys played hard,” McCall said postgame. “But evaluating the team right now, we have to get some things corrected. In Asheville (in the Southern Conference tournament), anything can happen with three games in three days.

“It’s going to be a battle, but we have to get everyone on the same page headed there. We need more production from some guys if we want any chance to win it. We have time to prepare and we’ll get prepared. We have to become hungrier and we’ve been through a lot as a program the last 48 hours, (but) we’ll go back and evaluate and get ready for Asheville.”

Somebody was needed to take some of pressure off senior Justin Tuoyo. He was unstoppable inside against the smaller Bulldogs, making eight of his nine fieldgoal tries, so The Citadel just paraded the 6-foot-9 center to the free-throw line, where he was 8-for-15.

“It was tough for him,” Chatman said of Tuoyo. “Everybody was surrounding him. Everyone knows what he is capable of, but other guys have to step up, including myself. It is easier said than done, but we have to step up and play a bigger role.”

They have a few days to figure things out. The Mocs won’t play again until the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament, where they’ll face Wofford at 2:30 on Saturday. There’s a chance that McLean could play in that game, but it’s unclear as of now.

His return definitely would be a big addition to a team searching for answers, having dropped seven of its last 11 games and four straight.

The Mocs certainly could use a few positive things — mainly a win — but if Chatman’s words Monday night were any indication, the team feels good about what it could do in Asheville.

“We beat everyone in the league except ETSU,” he said. “I feel like anything can happen in three days.

“Everything is in the past and the future is yet to come.”