UTC's Zaccheus Mason forces a shot after a rebound as Troy's Deonata Jethroe (15) and Emil Jones (10) defend Monday at McKenzie Arena.The Mocs were scared that they'd lost point guard Ronrico White for a game or two due to a rolled ankle.
He returned one night later and led the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with 14 points in a 68-61 loss to Troy in a sub-regional game of the CBE Classic in McKenzie Arena. He was just a little sore Monday.
But sophomore power forward Lance Stokes is scheduled to undergo surgery today to fix a Jones fracture of his left foot -- a fracture of the outside bone -- and is expected to miss about six weeks.
"He was an energy guy for us," coach John Shulman said of Stokes, who averaged 5.3 points in the first three games. "Lance was getting to be pretty good. I hate it for Lance."
For the second night in a row, the Mocs (1-3) dug themselves a hole in the first half when they should have been even or ahead. They shot 4-of-13 from the free-throw line before the break Monday. They were 7-of-16 in Sunday's 77-65 loss to Southeast Missouri.
"We were very fortunate, to be honest," said Troy coach Don Maestri, whose team led 30-25 at halftime. "It's a tough thing as a coach watching your team miss free throw after free throw.
"Those kinds of things happen, and that's what kept us in the game."
UTC rallied from the deficit by opening the second half with a 9-2 run and went on to a 48-42 lead.
Then Troy guard R.J. Scott sparked a 14-1 run that put the Trojans ahead 56-49. Scott, who entered the game 1-for-10 from the 3-point line, hit three 3s and finished with 12 points.
"They made tough shots during that run," Shulman said. "Scott stepped up and made big plays. That's what old guys do."
Antoine Myers led Troy with 13 points, Hunter Williams scored 12 and Deonata Jethroe added 10 for the Trojans.
UTC climbed to within 61-58 after a putback by Drazen Zlovaric -- who had 11 points and 10 rebounds -- with 1:42 to play. Tory scored on a drive by Williams and closed the game by hitting five of six free throws.
UTC made 15 of 26 free throws in the game and 4 of 22 3-pointers. Yet the Mocs out-rebounded Troy by 17 overall and by 12 on the offensive glass.
"Our stats do not equal our results," Shulman said. "There's a few areas we're doing a great job. And a few areas we can improve."
UTC will play Louisiana Tech in the final game of the tournament tonight at 7. Troy will play Southeast Missouri at 4:30.
"I think their little team is going to be pretty good before it's all over," Maestri said. "We got a bunch of breaks with them tonight."
Bulldogs beat Redhawks
Raheem Appleby scored 21 points to lead Louisiana Tech to a 67-63 win over Southeast Missouri in the opening game Monday night.
Cordarius Johnson added 15 points and Brandon Bigson added 15 points for the Bulldogs (3-1), who pulled away in the second half and held on in the final minute for victory.
Tyler Stone scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for SEMO's Redhawks (3-2). Corey Wilford scored 16 points and Nino Johnson had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Redhawks led 32-31 at halftime but were scoreless for the first five and a half minutes of the second half and trailed by 11. They pulled within three points on two occasions, the last with 5:42 to go, but could not get any closer.
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.