Effort not enough as UTC men fall to 4-9 in SoCon with loss at ETSU

Staff file photo by Matt Hamilton / UTC men's basketball coach Dan Earl will try to help the Mocs, who have lost six of their past seven games, shake free of a rough stretch on the court when Western Carolina visits McKenzie Arena on Saturday. Staff file photo by Matt Hamilton / UTC men's basketball coach Dan Earl will try to help the Mocs, who have lost six of their past seven games, shake free of a rough stretch on the court when Western Carolina visits McKenzie Arena on Saturday.

By Gene Henley February 11, 2026 4 min read

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball coach Dan Earl has called out his team for not giving enough effort on multiple occasions this season, but he offered no complaints about the Mocs in that department Wednesday night at East Tennessee State University.

No, the 73-61 loss to the Buccaneers, the top team in the Southern Conference, was more about discipline, or lack thereof.

The Mocs failed on the offensive end of the court at Johnson City’s Freedom Hall at times with poor shot selection, and they failed on the defensive end by allowing ETSU to shoot 35 free throws. The Bucs made 26 of those attempts at the foul line, including 15 in the second half, while UTC shot just 12 free throws for the game and made 10, a disparity that obviously played a noticeable role in the Bucs’ 12-point victory.

ETSU improved to 19-7 overall this season and 11-2 in SoCon play with less than three weeks remaining before the seeds are set for the league tournament. The Mocs, now 4-9 in the SoCon, dropped to 10-16 overall, ensuring the program’s second losing regular season in Earl’s four years at the helm.