MIAMI – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team extended its losing streak to three games with an 80-59 defeat Saturday night at Florida International.
FIU’s DeJuan Wright led all players with 18 points, and the Panthers had five players score at least 11. Phil Gary and Marvin Roberts each had 15 points for the Panthers (4-1), who are coached by Hall of Fame player Isiah Thomas.
Sophomore guard Josh Odem led the Mocs (2-5) with 13 points, junior Omar Wattad had 12 and senior Troy Cage added 10.
“Once again, we were flat,” point guard Keegan Bell said on the postgame radio program. “We have to pick it up. We have to look ourselves in the mirror and bring energy every day.”
UTC never led in the first half and trailed 34-21 at halftime. The Mocs got down 24-13 with about seven minutes to go in the half, and they trailed by at least eight the rest of the opening period.