STAYING LOOSE
Mocs feel prepared for tight matchups in SoCon tournament
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — During a season of inconsistency in most aspects, there has been at least one constant for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team: good effort.
With the Mocs’ season on the line tonight, they’ll need to continue that.
The 10th-seeded Mocs (9-22) play No. 7 Samford (10-21) at 7 in the first round of the Southern Conference tournament at the U.S. Cellular Center. The winner will face second-seeded East Tennessee State in the quarterfinals Saturday.
The Mocs have been short-handed most of the season because of injuries, though they could be at full strength against the Bulldogs. That will depend on sophomore point guard Rodney Chatman, who has missed the past three games with a lower-body injury. He went through Thursday’s walk-through practice but was listed as “day-to-day.”
In their first season under coach Lamont Paris, the Mocs have played on regardless of personnel.
“Our effort has been really good,” Paris said. “You have to realize that games come down to a lot of things. Are you so energized and playing so hard that you lose your mind and can’t pay attention to the details of what was discussed in scouting reports? It comes down to that, and our guys deserve that. We’ll talk about playing as hard as we can, being focused and detail-oriented in what we want to do in terms of our rules.
“But at this point, you have to just play.”
Ten of the Mocs’ 18 conference games this season were decided by single digits, including their 78-71 win over the Bulldogs on Jan. 24 in Chattanooga — so they have experience in tight games, and how to handle such situations has been addressed by Paris. That and the overall looseness of this team has the Mocs entering tonight with confidence.
“No, not really,” sophomore guard Makale Foreman said when asked if UTC players felt any pressure. “We just have to go in, play hard and play together as a team. We’ve been in close games a lot this year. That’s what prepares you for the tournament — last-second games — and you’ve got to fight.”
The Mocs could carry some confidence from their win against Samford more than a month ago, but UTC junior Nat Dixon said the postseason breathes new life into teams and he and his teammates will enter tonight with they mentality that they’re 0-0.
“You never know what could happen,” Dixon said, “so you’ve got to focus on your team and your team only and play the way that can get you some wins.
“With the season we’ve had, we’re prepared to go play at our top level, our peak, and we know if it’s a close game, we’ll be able to handle it and do the right thing.”