Monday night, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga head men's basketball coach Dan Earl got the best of both worlds for a season opener.
A win and a lot of room for improvement.
Maybe there were nerves from so many new pieces getting on the McKenzie Arena court, as eight of the 11 players who competed for UTC on Monday doing so for the first time with the team. Maybe it was a spirited effort from a Covenant team that the Mocs beat by 53 points just a season ago. But while the Mocs' wire-to-wire 89-44 win looks impressive on the ledger, it was anything but from the trained eye.
"I give a ton of credit to Covenant. They played hard, they moved the ball, they set a bunch of screens," Earl said. "I don't think that we were solid on either end of the floor; we've had a couple of scrimmages that have gone relatively well and we have been solid, but I felt like tonight we were trying to hit a home run offensively, to make one shot that's worth 20 points or get the crowd going and then defensively, we took chances.
"I don't think we were solid."
Jan Zidek was solid in his first game as a Moc, as the Pepperdine graduate transfer finished with 25 points and six rebounds on 11-of-13 shooting and 3-of-4 from 3-point range in just 22 minutes of action. Sam Alexis was good, with 13 rebounds and five blocks to go along with nine points, and Tyler Millin did have 13 points and eight rebounds.
Yet the scrappy Scots – who just lost 79-43 against Division II Lee University on Saturday -- were a thorn in the Mocs' side, forcing 17 turnovers. UTC only shot 29% from 3-point range but was 24-for-31 inside the line.
Honor Huff had nine points, but missed all five of his 3-point attempts. Freshman guard Myles Che got the start at point guard and finished with seven points and three rebounds, while Demetrius Davis had seven points and six rebounds.
Freshman Noah Melson had eight points, and he and Rudy Fitzgibbons III each hit a pair of 3-pointers.
"Not everybody is going to always have a good night. In the game of basketball there are ups and downs and especially if it's a first game of the season," Zidek said. "The preseason is long, the summer is long, you just practice, going against each other and all of a sudden you're performing on the stage, on the court in front of fans so it is some nervousness.
"But I think we handled it pretty well and now we have to get ready for Louisville on Friday which is going to be a way, way bigger challenge for us."
The Cardinals (1-0) also struggled in their season opener, needing a missed free throw with two seconds remaining to preserve a 94-93 win over Maryland-Baltimore County Monday. The game is set for 7 Friday night at the KFC Yum! Center.
Jonathan Gernatt had a team-high 10 points for Covenant Monday.
"We didn't control the things we can control," Earl said. "Hopefully we get their attention, but we got a win and we have plenty to improve upon. And we'll watch film and get better from it.
"We'll have them buy into getting better and working on the things we have to improve upon."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.