The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team reached two historic lows in a 65-55 Southern Conference loss at Furman on Thursday.
It was the Mocs’ 20th loss of the season and they went the entire season without a road victory, both of which no UTC team had done since the school joined the Division I ranks in 1977.
“I thought we’d have a 20-win season,” senior Ricky Taylor said on the postgame radio show. “It’s crazy what’s happened to us. I don’t know what else to say.”
Furman senior forward Brandon Sebirumbi led all players with 19 points, and Jordan Loyd added 10 for the Paladins (14-14, 8-9).
Taylor scored 13 points and freshman Ronrico White added 10 for the Mocs (10-20, 4-13), who will finish the season — regardless of their outcome Saturday against Samford — in last place of the SoCon North Division.
“If I said we have no confidence, that would be an understatement,” UTC coach John Shulman said on the radio. “At some point or another, we’re going to have to make plays.
“We’ve got to find some confidence between Greenville and Chattanooga, and we’ve got to find some way to regroup.”
Furman led through most of the first half and built a 23-13 lead with 7:45 to go. The Mocs inched their way to within a 30-26 deficit at halftime after both teams made repeated trips to the free-throw line.
Furman shot 10-of-18 from the stripe after three UTC starters and two reserves were each called for two fouls in the first half. UTC shot 9-of-14 from the line in the first half.
UTC remained within striking distance and trailed 50-42 with 6:54 to play. But then the Paladins went on a 15-2 run to gain a 21-point lead and put the game out of reach with 3:09 remaining.
Sophomore forward Zaccheus Mason returned to action for the first time in seven games and scored four points and grabbed six rebounds in 16 minutes.
Senior Omar Wattad suffered a foot injury with 14:29 to play and did not return to the game.
“He’s got ice on it,” Shulman said. “We’ll see when we get on the bus how bad it is. We’ll get him back into sorts.”