Chattanooga head coach John Shulman talks from the sideline in first half action, as the Butler Bulldogs defeated the Chattanooga Mocs 57-46 at Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler University in Indianapolis Tuesday November 15, 2011. (Joe Vitti / The Star)INDIANAPOLIS - The Mocs were humbled by Indiana on Sunday. Yet they almost spoiled a celebration on Tuesday.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a few of its fans made a bucket-list trip of college basketball venues to Assembly Hall and Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The Hoosiers beat the Mocs 78-53. Then Butler, dominant in the Big Dance the last two years, topped the Mocs 57-46 in a game that UTC could have won.
But with Butler unveiling its national-finalist banner minutes before tipoff Tuesday night, the team that plays its games in a national historic landmark had an added emotional edge.
"I enjoyed this game," UTC junior forward Drazen Zlovaric said. "I enjoyed every second of it. Unfortunately, the result wasn't how we'd like it to be."
The Mocs' season-opening road trip to two palaces of college basketball showed they do have a chance to be Southern Conference champions.
"We challenged our guys big-time after the IU game," coach John Shulman said. "We played as hard as we've played in two, three years, since we went to the [NCAA] tournament in '09.
"I saw really neat signs that I never saw last year."
It's early -- just two games into a 30-plus game season. Thanksgiving turkeys have yet to be roasted, nightly frost warnings have yet to be announced, and snow storms associated with road trips to Elon and UNC Greensboro are weeks and miles down the road for UTC.
"It's two really good mid-major teams, and I'm glad that we responded in the way we did," UTC senior point guard Keegan Bell said of Tuesday's game. "We kept it close. There are going to be games like this in conference when shots aren't going in and you have to find a way to dig it out.
"I'm proud of this team. Still, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth."
The Mocs played two high-profile teams with two different styles. Against the Hoosiers, UTC had 25 turnovers lead to 30 Indiana points. UTC's offense had no flow and its defense seemed out of sync.
The Bulldogs (1-1) pressured UTC in its half-court, denied passing lanes and prevented the Mocs from running their primary or secondary break, which resulted in just two fastbreak points.
"[Butler coach Brad Stevens] goes around the country talking about defense," Shulman said. "They were very good defensively tonight, and we still battled.
"We played smart, intelligent and it's a five-point game and we give up a loose-ball 3-pointer."
That 3 by Chase Stigall -- after he missed his first six attempts -- with 2:22 left in the game put the Mocs in a hopeless situation. But they'd had four empty possessions before it and two turnovers after it.
"We were neck and neck all the way to the end," Zlovaric said. "They made a little run at the end, and that was it. As good as they are, we're just as good and I have no doubt in my mind."
McGhee joins recruits
GerVaughn McGhee signed scholarship papers to join the UTC basketball team next year.
The 6-foot-4 wing averaged 23.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game last year at Redemptorist High School in Baton Rouge, La.
"He is one of the more talented guys we've ever signed because he can play the 2, he can play the 1 and he really handles it, and he has size enough to play the 3," Shulman said. "He's a really good player. He's a warrior. Coach [Brent] Jolly did a great job recruiting him."