The East Tennessee State University men’s basketball team got hot Wednesday night, and that spelled trouble for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in an 80-64 Southern Conference loss at McKenzie Arena.
The Mocs (14-10, 5-6), losers of two straight at home after an 8-1 start at McKenzie this season, more than held their own through the first 22 minutes, taking a seven-point lead just after halftime. However, ETSU (20-4, 9-2), after going just 2-for-12 from 3-point range in the first half, caught fire in the second.
Led by guard Tray Boyd III, the Buccaneers hit seven of 11 attempts behind the arc in the second half to first catch and then explode past the Mocs.
Boyd, scoreless in the first half, had a game-high 18 points to lead five Bucs in double figures. He hit three 3-pointers in a five-minute stretch of the second half as ETSU went from down three to up six.
“They got hot, and it all started with Boyd in particular,” UTC coach Lamont Paris said. “We let him get loose for an easy layup, and then we get caught on a screen and we don’t close out and he makes a 3. On the next one, we guard it fairly well, but he hits it.