Sunday's trip to Furman might end up hurting the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team in more ways than one.
UTC dug a first-half hole and couldn't recover, losing 82-65 to the Paladins in Southern Conference competition at Timmons Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, to split the regular-season series.
The Mocs (18-9, 10-4) had won three games in a row overall and six straight on the road before falling at Furman (15-12, 9-5), and Sunday's setback was further complicated by the early exit of junior guard Trey Bonham, who sustained an ankle injury in the first minute of the second half and didn't return.
Bonham, a two-time transfer from Florida whose mid-December addition to the lineup has helped the Mocs hold down a spot in the upper tier of the SoCon standings, has averaged 16.8 points per game this season. Among UTC players, that trails only sophomore guard Honor Huff's 17.1.
(READ MORE: Mocs have made strides since Trey Bonham's December addition)
The severity of Bonham's injury was unclear, as is his status for the Mocs' next game, with Wofford (15-12, 8-6) visiting McKenzie Arena at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
The outcome of Sunday's matchup, though was never much in doubt.
UTC shot just 6-for-29 (21%) in the first half and turned the ball over seven times while falling behind by as much as 24 points. Furman had 16 points in the paint in the first 20 minutes to build a 48-29 halftime advantage.
The Mocs did make a run immediately after the injury to Bonham, cutting the deficit to 59-48 after a trio of free throws by Huff. They had a pair of stops, but then turned the ball over and missed a shot in the paint, and the Paladins knocked down 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to stretch their lead back out to 17.
"Furman manhandled us, particularly in the first half," UTC coach Dan Earl said on the postgame radio broadcast. "Most of the time, we play the right way, which is competing and moving the ball on offense. Then when we get on the fringes, we get out of character. I thought that was the sign tonight — they hit us hard early, we were not being efficient on offense, and then we let it affect our defensive effort.
"In the second half, we were a little bit better with guarding the guys for them that can score and shoot the ball for a majority of the second half, but in the first half we were very poor at not playing the tendencies the right way. It was a tough day, all the way around."
Huff had a team-high 26 points, along with three steals and as many assists, while freshman Noah Melson came off the bench for the Mocs to score 10 points, his most against a Division I opponent. Sophomore forward Sam Alexis added nine points — all in the second half — and matched sophomore Randy Brady with eight rebounds.
(READ MORE: Honor Huff's nine 3-pointers help Mocs sweep rival ETSU)
Furman had a trio of double-digit scorers in JP Pegues (22), Marcus Foster (15) and PJ Smith (11) as the Paladins avenged a 73-58 loss at McKenzie Arena on Jan. 6.
Four games remain in the regular season for the Mocs, who are tied with UNC Greensboro (19-8, 10-4) for second in the SoCon standings behind Samford (23-4, 12-2), with Furman fourth. UTC and UNCG split their regular-season series.
Compiled by Gene Henley. Contact him at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.