A season ago, about 35 of Tre McLean's family and friends went to McAlister Fieldhouse in Charleston, S.C., to watch his University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball team play The Citadel. McLean, who redshirted after transferring from Queens University of Charlotte, was not in attendance.
This year he was on the court, and he gave the loyal local contingent plenty to be excited about.
The 6-foot-5 sophomore, who played at nearby West Ashley High School, finished with eight points on 2-for-5 shooting from 3-point range in the Mocs' 67-48 win Thursday in their Southern Conference opener. His 3s were important, but not nearly as big as how he defended Bulldogs point guard Ashton Moore, who totaled seven points on 3-for-7 shooting. Moore added two assists and one rebound and turned the ball over twice.
Last year Moore had 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists in an 81-78 loss to UTC.
"I thought that was tremendous," UTC coach Will Wade said on the postgame radio broadcast about McLean's defense. "I thought Moore struggled with length -- the key was that we didn't give him any clean looks early. We were on him early and chased him all over the court.
"Tre's family is excited that he hit a couple of 3s, and I'm glad he did because he's been shooting well in practice and it's carrying over to games now, but he did a tremendous job on Moore."
McLean's boosters were loud in their support of the team throughout Thursday's win, but they were noticeably louder in each half when the sophomore forward knocked down a 3-pointer.
"Shout-out to Tre's family," sophomore center Justin Tuoyo said on the radio broadcast. "They had the whole city out, and they had our backs. It almost felt like a home game."
Tuoyo, like McLean, redshirted and wasn't at The Citadel game last season.
It was the Mocs' second straight balanced game. They shot 51 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range, outrebounded the Bulldogs by 11 in the second half and 12 for the game and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds for their second straight game of double digits in that category.
It was the Mocs' first road win of the season and improved their record to 5-5.
"It was like a dream," McLean said on the postgame broadcast. "It felt real good. I hadn't played in front of my hometown since high school, but tonight wasn't just a one-man effort; it was a group effort. All 13 players helped out in this win in some way.
"Coach Wade has been talking about breaking through the face of adversity; it just happened to come December 11 at The Citadel."
Which was not only home to McLean but just like home to the Mocs.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.