UTC Mocs logoIn a perfect world, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team's second-half performance would have mirrored the first half of their game Tuesday night at Big East opponent Butler University.
Of course, in a perfect world, they would have had a chance to have all of their bullets in the chamber, too.
Foul trouble and shooting struggles plagued the Mocs in their 70-48 loss at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. In the first half, Casey Jones, Tre' McLean, Lance Stokes and Ronrico White were whistled for two fouls each, limiting their playing time and forcing head coach Will Wade to have to adjust his rotations.
Still, after leading for parts of the first half, UTC trailed 25-22 at the break after a long 3-pointer by Kellen Dunham with 15 seconds to go.
"We controlled the first half for the majority of it," Wade said Tuesday night. "We were able to grind some things out, but we couldn't really press because of foul trouble. We had a really good scheme against their press offense but couldn't implement it. We had to gamble more near the end.
"We were a little out of whack, but our guys fought in the first half."
The foul trouble took its toll as the game wore on. McLean fouled out; Robertson and Tuoyo finished with four fouls each (all of Tuoyo's in the second half); while Jones, White and Greg Pryor had three.
Jones played only four minutes in the first half and only 17 minutes in the game. He still led the team with 14 points on 8-for-10 shooting at the foul line.
"I got into some foul trouble, and I think that hurt us," Jones said Tuesday night. "I try to play smart, but I was a little over-aggressive on defense. I am an aggressive player and sometimes I get a little too aggressive."
The second half was where the game got out of hand. UTC finished only 8-for-24 shooting, and hit only one of their eight 3-point attempts after hitting 5-for-12 in the first half. At one point, the Mocs were held without a field goal for 8:29 of game time, with eight missed shot attempts and five turnovers on 18 possessions in that time frame. The other five possessions led to free throws, with UTC hitting 8-for-10.
The cold spell gave Butler (2-0) the opportunity to stretch their lead from eight points to 16.
The Mocs' offense struggled at times, shooting only 34 percent and committing 19 turnovers. The aforementioned cold streak only highlighted the team's struggles. Jones and Robertson were the team's offensive standouts, as the latter's four 3-pointers were a career-high for the junior.
After a long trip home Tuesday night, the Mocs were back on campus Wednesday morning. They'll get a couple days in their own beds before a day trip to Cookeville, Tenn., for a game against Tennessee Tech on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern.
Future Mocs sign
The Mocs announced the signings of four players for the 2015-2016 season.
Point guard Austin Donaldson, of Jonesboro, Ga.; combo guards ZaQwaun Matthews of Myers Park, N.C., and LaMarcus Lee of Baton Rouge, La.; and center Trey Kalina of Kennesaw, Ga., signed their letters of intent in the past week for the 2015-2016.
The signings address two big areas of concern: depth at point guard and center. The 6-foot-11 Kalina is ranked by some services as a three-star prospect, and is the No. 37 center in the Class of 2015. Donaldson is the No. 8 player in the state of Georgia.
Matthews is another three-star prospect that was the first commitment for next season, while Lee is a tenacious defender that has played for Louisiana Class 5A state championship games every season of his high-school career, winning in 2012 and 2013. They will both add length and depth to the wings.
"We feel good about this class," Wade said in a release. "Our staff worked very hard to secure the commitments and see things through to signing day. There were a couple areas we needed to address. And we did that.
"They all come from winning programs. That's important to us. Austin won a state title last year, Lamarcus' team has played in the state championship game every year he's been there winning twice. Trey was a vital cog on a really good North Cobb Christian team and ZaQwaun's Myers Park team has been one of the better programs in the Charlotte area for a long time.
"We wanted guys who came from winning programs ... guys who are used to a winning standard."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.