It was a lesson the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team probably needed to learn Friday, but it was a hard way to have to learn it.
Up 20 points at the under-12 media timeout, the Mocs took their foot off the pedal against an undefeated, upstart Evansville team. The Purple Aces responded with a late scoring flurry to force overtime, then made 11 of 13 free throws in the extra frame to win 85-77 in the first game of the Coke Zero Classic at McKenzie Arena.
The event continues at 2 p.m. Saturday when Evansville (5-0), a Missouri Valley Conference program from Indiana, faces off with Southeast Missouri State (1-3) for the second time this season. The Aces beat the Redhawks 76-57 on Nov. 15 in Evansville.
The Mocs (4-1) return to the court to wrap up the event by facing the Redhawks at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Honor Huff's 3-pointer with 11:40 remaining in the second half put UTC up 62-42 against Evansville, but the Mocs went cold from the field the rest of the way by shooting just 4-of-24 (2-for-14 the rest of regulation, 2-for-10 in overtime). The Mocs were 3-for-18 from 3-point range in that span, making just one of their six shots inside the arc.
"We gave them confidence because they got it rolling, they were feeling good about themselves," UTC coach Dan Earl said. "We kind of looked a little bit unsure. Every possession matters, and we didn't figure that out tonight."
Huff, who finished with 17 points and six rebounds, was one of five UTC scorers in double figures. Tyler Millin added 14 points and three steals, Jan Zidek chipped in 11, and Sam Alexis and Demetrius Davis had 10 each, with Alexis also grabbing 15 rebounds with four assists and a pair of blocks.
"I told the guys in the locker room, we weren't going to go undefeated," Huff said. "You're going to take some on the chin, so obviously you'd rather not — especially this early because you want to keep building momentum — take one on the chin, but you want to learn from it and never feel it again anytime soon.
"We have to let that propel us in the next games, so put it past us and get ready for the next one."
Ben Humrichous shot 11-for-21, including 5-for-12 on 3-pointers, to lead the Aces with 28 points, including the final eight of regulation to force overtime.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.