Mocs show rust but roll to exhibition win
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team used a strong second half to break open what had been a tight battle against the College of Wooster on Thursday night, with the Mocs’ 20-0 run helping them cruise to a 94-60 exhibition win at McKenzie Arena against the Division III program from Ohio.
The Mocs shot 53% from the field, with 12 of the 13 UTC players who appeared in the game also getting in the scoring column. Malachi Smith led the way with 17 points, while Grant Ledford came off the bench with 16 and Silvio De Sousa added 14.
The Fighting Scots, who trailed 46-34 at halftime, were paced by Jamir
Billings and Elijay Meredith as each finished with 12 points. UTC men’s basketball coach Lamont Paris, who is entering his fifth season at the helm, is a former Wooster player and assistant coach. The Mocs open the regular season Tuesday at Loyola Marymount, with tipoff in Los Angeles coming at 10 p.m. Eastern.
Here are three observations from Thursday’s exhibition.
› Still some post questions:
The Mocs seemed to have done a lot to address some of their interior challenges with the offseason addition of De Sousa, a former Kansas Jayhawk, and University of Central Florida transfer Avery Diggs. While that can be true, there’s still a ways to go there. UTC senior Josh Ayeni, who has been nursing an upper-body injury, was solid as he scored seven points and grabbed three rebounds in nine minutes, and De Sousa was good, posting a plus-25 in the 14:20 he played. However, the 6-foot-11 Diggs struggled, shooting 1-for-6 from the floor and having trouble defensively, with Wooster outscoring UTC 31-16 in his time on the court. Diggs has a skill set that can be useful, including some ability to shoot from range, so his contributions will be needed.
› Lack of discipline on “D”:
The Scots ended up shooting just less than 50% from the field, but that was only after the Mocs locked in on defense in the second half to hold the visitors to 42%. Breakdowns with some of UTC’s new personnel led to some open looks from 3-point range as well as some layups. That’s something that’s going to have to be fixed soon.
› Ledford minutes:
Injuries since his arrival in 2019 have prevented Ledford from getting on the court, and the almost 18 minutes he played Thursday were the most since he got on campus. He will be an important player on offense due to his ability to shoot from 3-point range, and he made a team-high three shots outside the arc Thursday. That’s the sort of production that will be an added bonus this season.