Chattanooga Mocs prep for postseason with tough road wins

UTC's Tre' McLean, right, tries to rebound over ETSU's Petey McClain (1) and Jalen Riley (5) during their game against the ETSU Buccaneers on Feb. 21, 2015, at McKenzie Arena.
UTC's Tre' McLean, right, tries to rebound over ETSU's Petey McClain (1) and Jalen Riley (5) during their game against the ETSU Buccaneers on Feb. 21, 2015, at McKenzie Arena.

The third time was the charm for Ronrico White.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior guard had been in a similar situation on two previous occasions -- with the ball in his hands in the game's final seconds and an opportunity to make a shot that could win the game. He had failed both times, missing 3-pointers against Tennessee Tech and Mercer.

Saturday against UNC Greensboro, he didn't.

White's shot capped a grueling final weekend of the regular season for the Mocs, who ended with close Southern Conference wins on the road at Virginia Military Institute and against the Spartans.

"We're bringing back home two wins, and everyone's excited," UTC junior Duke Ethridge said after Saturday's 61-58 victory. "They were definitely not easy wins. With VMI we went into two overtimes and tonight was another close game, but we didn't go to overtime. They were tough. We knew we had to stay together, and we didn't break."

The Mocs won 86-82 win over the Keydets on Thursday, and White's shot gave them their 22nd victory of the season. Ethridge admitted that when the final shot went up, he said a "five-second prayer really quick."

"But when I saw him release his hand, it had a good arch," Ethridge said. "I thought it was going to hit the front of the rim but it went it in, and I just went crazy. Everybody went crazy. It was a big night for the seniors. I am glad he made that shot. We're all happy he made that shot."

The two games further proved that UTC has numerous players who can step up at crucial times. Point guard Greg Pryor and center Justin Tuoyo had subpar offensive performances at some point in the two games, but they found other ways to be effective. Pryor handed out seven assists in the two wins, while Tuoyo's eight blocked shots gave him 102 for the season -- four from Kyle Hines' SoCon-record 106 for UNCG in 2006-07.

In their final 70 minutes of basketball -- the second half at VMI and the entire UNCG game -- the Mocs limited the opponents to 36 percent shooting. And they won despite trailing by eight in the second half against the Keydets and by 12 in the second half against the Spartans.

"Our guys remain calm," UTC coach Will Wade said Saturday night. "They're really good on the bench. They never think we're out of it, and our staff does a good job as well. We remain pretty calm with things and just try to chip away at it and get back in it.

"When you can guard like we can, you're never out of it. ... We didn't shoot great, but we got on the offensive glass some, and that certainly helped. Our offense wasn't a thing of beauty, but our defense bailed us out tonight. We're a team that can win different ways. We won a fast-paced game against VMI, and we won a little more half-court game with a more low-scoring affair here tonight in Greensboro, and that's what you need to be able to do in the tournament."

The Mocs get into tournament mode today, but they don't play until the end of the week in the SoCon quarterfinals in Asheville, N.C. They'll face The Citadel or Furman at 6 p.m. Saturday in the Asheville Civic Center.

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.

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