UTC’s Ronrico White (11) prepares to defend the Mocs side of the court against Alec Rattanaxay (12) during a UTC win against Montreat College at McKenzie Arena in this Dec 8, 2014, file photo.Eric Robertson made a last-second schedule change after shootaround Monday, prior to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s basketball game against Montreat College.
The slight change paid off.
Robertson set a career high with 16 points, and the Mocs made 10 3-pointers and 55 percent shooting in a 104-50 win over the Cavaliers in front of 2,386 fans at McKenzie Arena.
Robertson was 4-for-6 from 3-point range, regaining the form with which he hit seven of his first 11 shots from deep to open the season.
“We usually stick around and shoot after shootaround,” Robertson said. “Everybody had left, so I was contemplating going back to the gym, and I figured I might as well go and get a few shots up.”
Monday marked the end of the initial grind of the 2014-15 season: eight games in 18 days, along with final exams that just ended. With all that behind, the Mocs entered their game against Montreat relaxed and well-rested. Six players scored in double figures, while Greg Pryor had six of the Mocs’ 20 steals and four of their 18 assists and Justin Tuoyo continued his solid play with four blocked shot.
“Our last few practices have been tough, so it was good to go against another team and get a win,” Pryor said. “We finished the game out strong and built our confidence up.”
Only three UTC players went over the 20-minute mark Monday: Chuck Ester, Duke Ethridge and Shaq Preston. Ethridge’s 14 points were second only to Robertson, while Ester had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Ronrico White was 4-for-4 from 3-point range in scoring 12 points, while Pryor matched White’s scoring total and Tre McLean added 11.
UTC forced 28 turnovers, which led to 40 points.
“We’ve tried to take the thinking out of the game,” UTC coach Will Wade said. “I was probably overcomplicating things to start the year, so we’ve simplified things a bit. I was teaching calculus when we needed to be learning our multiplication tables, so we’ve backed off and don’t run as much.
“We have good players for our level. I could be an idiot and try to force a lot of stuff down their throats, or I can adjust and change and give ourselves what I think is the best chance to win, so that’s what I choose to do. I’d love to have 250 plays like the NBA where we can pick on everybody, and have 12 different presses and five different ways to cover ball screens, but the reality is that we’d be the jack of all trades and master of none. We need to get good at a certain few things, and let our good players take over.”
Coming off an 88-57 loss to Georgia, which was the program’s worst loss at home since the 2010-11 season, the Mocs started Monday’s game with a 21-2 run in building a 32-point halftime lead. The NAIA Division II opponent gave Wade a chance to mix and match lineups in preparation for the conference opener at The Citadel on Thursday.
“We were able to play some guys who we hadn’t played as much and rest some that were playing more,” Wade said. “Tonight is a helpful game in that it’s hard to put some of those guys in the heat of battle. … I told the guys that no matter what happens tonight, everybody’s auditioning for Thursday night. Our rotation can be real short on the road in conference; if you want to play on the road, you have to do what you’re supposed to do tonight, no matter what the score is.
“That’s the only audition (we) can go off of, when lights are on.”
Melvin Irvin had 16 points and five rebounds for Montreat (4-6), while Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe graduate Alec Rattanaxay had a rebound in five minutes of action.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.