Thursday wasn’t going to be a night to form any sweeping conclusions about the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team.
Playing with eight healthy players against an upstart Lee University team that came in looking to pull off the upset, the exhibition game against the NCAA Division II Flames was more about process than results.
The next tests should be more difficult, as the Mocs open the regular season Tuesday at Charlotte – a young team like UTC – and host Eastern Kentucky the following Saturday.
“It was definitely a growing point for us,” UTC’s Jonathan Scott said. “It was a good test. We have to move on to Charlotte. This next game is way more important, but much props to Lee. They’re a good team and I think they played a lot better than we thought they’d play.”
The Flames jumped out to an eight-point lead and still led by five at halftime, but the Mocs’ defense stiffened in the second half, holding the visitors to 29 percent from the floor and one make in nine 3-point attempts. Still, it wasn’t until a Donovann Toatley layup with 2.5 seconds to play and a turnover on the Flames’ final possession that the Mocs were able to lock down the 62-60 win.