Maybe it's a bit too soon to pour dirt on the grave of Dan Earl's first season as University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball coach.
Left for dead by some after a four-game losing streak, and with 7-foot star forward Jake Stephens out indefinitely with a hand injury, the Mocs used a balanced effort Saturday to come to life and beat Southern Conference rival East Tennessee State University 73-64 at Freedom Hall in Johnson City.
The Mocs (12-11, 4-6) are on the road for their next game as well, against Furman at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The Paladins (16-6, 7-2), who lost 77-69 at UTC on Jan. 18, visit UNC Greensboro on Sunday before hosting the Mocs.
It was just a week earlier that ETSU (8-15, 4-6) and UTC met in Chattanooga, with the Buccaneers shooting 79% in the second half and carving up the Mocs in a 78-62 victory in their first game without Stephens. Now three games into the newest version of a team that's been unable to develop any roster consistency due to injuries, the Mocs looked better and tougher.
Dalvin White led UTC with 15 points, including a huge 3-pointer with 1:32 remaining that pushed the lead to 68-64. Mocs guard Jamal Johnson and forward Sam Alexis finished with 12 points each, while Khristion Courseault added 10.
"Sometimes the game comes down to making big plays late in the game," Earl said. "I don't know if Dalvin's shot was the best shot ever, but it took big guts and it went down.
"I'm really proud of the guys because they continue to fight. I think we are getting a little bit better, and I haven't been the most pleasant to be around, so I'm really happy for them. I thought a lot of guys contributed and especially Sam Alexis, I mean, he was phenomenal. So I was really proud of him as well."
Alexis, who had a team-high seven rebounds, played 19 minutes and 42 seconds Saturday. In that time, the Mocs outscored the Bucs 41-28.
It wasn't just him, either. Seemingly everyone who played contributed: KC Hankton had six points and six rebounds; Demetrius Davis struggled offensively, but had three assists. A.J. Caldwell, who hit a 3 to defeat the Bucs two seasons ago in Johnson City, hit three on Saturday, and Jamaal Walker played almost 23 minutes and had six points and five rebounds.
"Every team in this conference is good and is going to give us a fight," White said. "We wanted to stay focused on the game plan and come up with a victory. Coach has been putting it in our head in practice and in film (study) that we wanted to play fast and speed up the tempo and we can get a lot of transition points.
"The game is opening up for a lot of people."
ETSU's Jalen Haynes had a game-high 16 points, Jamarius Hairston added 13 with 11 rebounds, Jaden Seymour scored 12 with eight rebounds and Jordan King's nine points were accompanied by five assists.
Compiled by Gene Henley. Contact him at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.