ELON, N.C. -- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball Mocs arrived a few minutes late to practice in Alumni Gym after reviewing their 62-49 loss at UNC Greensboro.
But there was plenty to review, and the final 30 minutes of the game had been ugly to watch the first time around. UTC turned a 16-point first-half lead into the 13-point Southern Conference defeat at the hands of a 3-15 team by going on the longest scoring drought of the season. The Mocs also made 23 turnovers.
"We saw how many mistakes we made and what we need to learn from it," starting forward Sam Watson said Friday. "I made my share of mistakes and let the team down a bit. We have to come back stronger tomorrow night.
"We need to get some easy buckets when we're struggling and having a drought."
The Mocs will play at Elon (3-15, 1-6) at 7 in "the Nest." The Phoenix haven't won since they smoked UTC 82-63 on Dec. 5 in McKenzie Arena.
Less than two weeks after lauding the improvement of his post players in a win over UNC Greensboro, Mocs coach John Shulman is scratching his head about the tall guys.
"We're not as good in the post as we need to be," Shulman said. "Who do you throw it into? We're searching for that. I think I have one in mind, but he has to show up on time."
Shulman was referring to junior college transfer Ridge McKeither, who arrived late to a meeting on this six-day road trip.
Junior 7-footer Jeremy Saffore has developed into a possibility in the post. DeAntre Jefferson made four of five shots Thursday night and grabbed five rebounds in 20 minutes. Dante Harvey is working his way into the mix, as is Chris Early, behind Watson at power forward.
But their combined contributions (29.6 points and 22.2 rebounds per game) don't match those of Nicchaeus Doaks, Khalil Hartwell and Kevin Goffney from last year (36.1 points and 22.5 rebounds).
"When you lose the No. 1 and No. 3 rebounders in the history of your program, that happens," Shulman said. "Why do you think North Carolina is struggling?"
In the first matchup against UNCG on Jan. 11, the Mocs' post players took 32 percent of the shots from the field and 47 percent of the free throws. Thursday, they took 21 percent of the shots and none of UTC's three free throws.
"We knew that we were going to be a little less experienced in the post," Shulman said. "I'm not going to go complete opposite and say we have to throw it inside every time, because we have good shooters."
Wings Ty Patterson, Ricky Taylor -- who had 21 points Thursday -- and Josh Odem all are shooting better than 35.7 percent from the 3-point line. One of those three has led UTC in scoring in every game since Christmas.
"We need to establish a post game to give us more balance, because we've been relying on 3-point shots and we don't have anything to fall back on," Early said. "We need to get it more inside-out, and then maybe the shots will fall.
"We need to get the ball more and, you know, we can pass it out."
The Phoenix have lost nine games in a row in their first season under former Davidson assistant Matt Matheny. But their last two have been close. They lost by two at Western Carolina on Saturday and blew a five-point lead with 90 seconds to go in falling 50-49 on Thursday to Samford.
"We're getting better, but we haven't been rewarded with a win," Matheny said. "The win over Chattanooga was so long ago and we've been through so much since, that I'm not sure our players remember it."