On one of the best offensive nights of the season, it was the defensive side that let the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team down.
The Mocs put five scorers in double figures, shot nearly 50 percent from the field and committed only five turnovers. Unfortunately, the visitors from Western Carolina were even hotter Thursday night. The Catamounts shot 57 percent and got career highs from Marcus Thomas and Onno Steger to hand the Mocs a 105-96 Southern Conference loss at McKenzie Arena.
Thomas, who came in averaging less than six points per game, led Western (6-18, 3-7) with 32 points, with Steger adding 30. Kevin Easley led UTC (10-13, 5-5) with 25 points, followed by Donovann Toatley with 19.
"The offense doesn't mean too much to me right now," UTC coach Lamont Paris said. "What a poor performance defensively. Terrible. The commitment to our rules was bad - no discipline. I'm just disappointed, the most disappointed I've been in a long time.
"I'm just flabbergasted what we did defensively. We've got to play better. I don't know what else there is to do. This is an anomaly. We don't give up 105 points."
The Catamounts were 14-of-25 from 3-point range, led by Thomas at 6-of-7. Steger, who was 14-for-15 on free throws, was 20 points over his average. Big man Carlos Dotson added 18 points and 10 rebounds, part of a 35-29 boards edge for the visitors.
"We had a couple of guys who were really on tonight," Catamounts coach Mark Prosser said. "Coming here against a very well-coached and talented team and walk out with a victory is big for us, our program and our kids. They are really good and can score the basketball. Our kids did a great job in preparation for this game. They played their hearts out."
Thomas scored eight points in the first four minutes of the second half, giving WCU a 60-57 lead. Steger then scored seven straight, the last four from the free-throw line, as the Mocs picked up their sixth and seventh fouls in the half's first eight minutes.
The pace of the fouls - there were 49 total called, 31 in the second half - obviously frustrated UTC players.
"That definitely changed the way we played," Easley said. "We were nervous to play defense, honestly. The refs just called it tightly, I guess. Still, we just didn't do our job. We weren't ready to compete defensively."
Dotson flexed his muscle with a layup and a rebound putback to complete a 10-4 run that pushed the Western lead to 10 at the 10-minute mark. Easley tried to keep the Mocs close, scoring six points in two minutes, including a steal and dunk, to cut the lead to five.
Steger, though, hit a 3-pointer to calm the comeback. Thomas then hit a runner and a 3-pointer to push the lead to 11 with under three minutes left. UTC, sparked by Toatley's daring drives and a pressing defense, got within three on Easley's basket with 1:51 left, but Kameron Gibson scored five straight to seal the Catamounts' win.
"I don't think I've ever seen a 10-point lead go away so quickly," Prosser said, "but the guys stepped up and made the lead stick up."
Paris said the Mocs were hampered defensively without starting guard David Jean-Baptiste, who was out with illness. Four Mocs - Easley, Toatley, Jerry Johnson and Jonathan Scott - played 28 or more minutes.
"We rallied a bit, but we would have had no business winning this basketball game if we had managed to come back," the frustrated Paris said. "Dave not being here hurt us defensively because he has separated himself at that position, but we just didn't compete."
The Mocs are home again Saturday with a 4:30 p.m. tipoff against East Tennessee State University.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.