UTC can’t keep pace in road loss
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team struggled on both ends of the court Wednesday night, closing a four-game road swing by trailing almost wire to wire in a 73-61 loss at UNC Greensboro.
The Mocs (9-7, 1-2 Southern Conference) return to competition when they host Virginia Military Institute (5-11, 0-3) at 2 p.m. Saturday at McKenzie Arena.
Although the Mocs’ shooting numbers (37% from the field, 8-for-33 from 3-point range) were more pronounced, they had trouble in multiple aspects at UNCG. The Spartans (9-7, 3-0) shot 48% from the field, including a 50% mark in a second half when they made seven consecutive baskets, the last for their largest lead at 57-44 with 10:08 to play.
UTC made more than two shots in a row just once, in the first half, and had two phases of five or more straight misses. The Mocs also turned the ball over 15 times, which led to 15 UNCG points.
“Physically tonight, both offensively and defensively, they took it to us,” said UTC coach Dan Earl, whose team was coming off a lopsided win Saturday at Mercer. “I did think we got some good looks, they just didn’t drop, but we can’t let that affect different parts of the game.”
Keyshaun Langley scored 19 points for UNCG, which led 37-30 at halftime.
UTC’s Jamal Johnson matched Langley for the game high in points and was 5-for-11 from 3-point range with six rebounds and three steals, but only five of his points came in the second half. Jake Stephens had a solid statistical game for the Mocs with 17 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, while East Hamilton alum Jamaal Walker had 10 points and was 6-for-8 from the free-throw line.
The rest of the team combined to shoot just 6-for-24 from the field as UTC shooters not named Johnson were 3-for-22 from long range.
“When we kind of threw a punch in the second half, they came back and threw one back at us,” Earl said. “We weren’t able to make enough plays in a row. We had a couple of times where we could have got even more momentum, but they made a good play and were able to kind of stretch that lead back.”