UTC's Duke Ethridge gets ready to take a shot as Hiwassee College's Jacob Elliot guards Friday at McKenzie Arena.It didn't matter who was on the floor Friday night for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team. All the Mocs were effective.
Even with nerves evident in the early going of their season opener against Hiwassee, UTC was solid throughout, never trailing in a 110-53 win in front of 3,426 fans at McKenzie Arena. Six players scored in double figures for the Mocs, who were to leave at 5:30 this morning for their Sunday afternoon game at third-ranked Wisconsin.
Greg Pryor and Duke Ethridge scored 13 points apiece in the win. Casey Jones finished with 12, while Justin Tuoyo, Eric Robertson and Shaq Preston each tallied 11. The Mocs shot 54 percent from the field while the visiting Tigers shot only 36 percent and committed 25 turnovers.
"We don't want to be too reliant on just one player," UTC coach Will Wade said. "It's good to see the balance, because opponents never know who's going to step up and you're a little harder to guard."
All 12 UTC players received playing time, with Tuoyo, Ethridge and Tre' McLean playing the most with 20 minutes each. Eleven of the 12 scored, with walk-on guard K.J. Bates the lone exception.
Tuoyo had team highs of 13 rebounds and two blocked shots in his first game in a UTC uniform.
"I thought it was a pretty good game," he said. "It's my first time back in 18 months, so I was nervous some early and had to get the rust off, but as the game went on, we were able to get everything rolling."
The Mocs led 62-21 at halftime. As a result, Wade pulled off the full-court pressure, which caused for a much slower game in the final 20 minutes. Still, a McLean jumper with 9:24 to go put the lead at 87-47, and the margin never dipped below 40. A 3-pointer by Robertson with 3:59 left got the Mocs to 100 points, and he hit another 3 with 42 seconds to go for the final points.
The Tigers (0-6), who play in the National Christian College Athletic Association, were led by Joel Bailey's 14 points and five assists. Jeulian High, who graduated from Brainerd in 2012, finished 1-for-6 for two points, while adding a pair of assists.
"We've been prepping for this game since the summer," Pryor said. "We've been waiting for this day and it finally came.
"I'm confident we're going to be a good team this year."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.