Lack of depth big problem for Mocs

With only 10 active scholarship players on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball roster this season, depth always was going to be an issue.

Now with injuries gradually mounting, it’s more of a concern.

A second-half shoulder injury to James Lewis in the Mocs’ 71-48 loss to Georgia State last Saturday left the team with only seven active scholarship players for the final 13 minutes of the game. The depleted depth particularly has taken a toll in the interior, as Lewis and fellow freshman forwards Justin Brown and Duane Moss — all of whom stand at least 6-foot-6 — have missed time this season.

The 6-11 Brown has yet to play in a game because of a lingering back issue, and the 6-6 Moss has been out with a ruptured disk in his back suffered in the Nov. 28 loss to Akron. He was off to a solid start, averaging 4.9 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 57 percent from 3-point range in seven games.

Lewis, meanwhile, is averaging 9.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. He averaged 12.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in three games last week prior to the injury.

Add to those the absence of 6-8 senior forward Joshua Phillips, who was averaging 9.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 67 percent from the field, and the Mocs are left with junior Makinde London and freshman walk-on A.J. Bowers as the only available forwards on the roster.

Freshman Jonathan Bryant, who is 6-4 but with a strong physical build, has had more of an inside role the last two games. He played 12 minutes in the second half of Saturday’s loss.

“We just have to keep on pushing through,” London said. “We’re short on guys right now, a little low, but we’re a young team. There are a lot of factors going into it right now, so it’s nothing to get too high or low about, win or lose.

“We just have to stay focused and understand it’s a long season.”

The lack of depth reared its ugly head in the 23-point loss to the Panthers. All five UTC starters had played at least 35 minutes two days earlier in a three-point road win against Jacksonville State and appeared to lack the same intensity they had against the Gamecocks. Bryant tied a season high with

13 minutes, the most he’s played against a Division I opponent.

“We don’t have the deepest bench in the country,” UTC coach Lamont Paris acknowledged. “Guys have to play a lot of minutes and out of position.”

The Mocs never really were in Saturday’s game, with Georgia State using an 18-2 first-half run and a 17-3 second-half spurt to maintain a healthy double-digit lead. UTC shot better in the final 20 minutes — 42 percent compared to 18 percent in the first half — but it didn’t do much to stop the bleeding.

But after the game the Mocs chose not to make excuses — depth, fatigue, whatever — as they’ve refused to do all season. Youth isn’t an issue, nor is depth, they say. They just have to continue to improve.

“I feel like we have to learn to put two games together,” junior Nat Dixon said Saturday. “We came out sluggish and didn’t stick to our assignments. We have to learn and grow as a team. That’ll come. We’re a young team, and that’s not an excuse. A lot of these guys are playing important minutes for the first time in their careers.

“Our effort definitely could have been at a higher level today.”