Lamont Paris isn't going to listen to anybody make excuses for his young University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team.
That's because he knows no opponent is going to listen to them.
The Mocs lost 73-54 to host South Alabama in the Ungar Classic on Friday in Mobile, and now UTC (2-2) has a quick turnaround, playing against Southeast Missouri State at 5:05 this afternoon in the same event.
Southeast Missouri used a late 12-2 run to beat Jacksonville 77-71 Friday, with Ledarrius Brewer leading four scorers in double figures with 19 points.
The Mocs entered Friday night's game having made 41 percent of their 3-point attempts this season, sinking an average of 7.7 per game. They missed all 10 of their 3-point attempts in the first half and finished 1-for-16 for the game, with Maurice Commander's shot from the corner cutting South Alabama's lead to 58-46 with 8:28 to play.
"Some were not great, high-quality looks, but some were," Paris said on the postgame radio broadcast. "There were a few that we weren't going to get a better look than those, but we didn't make them and that didn't help our cause.
"At some point you've got to make a play. We'd score, they'd score. In basketball, 12 points is nothing - it's four stops. We couldn't get a couple of stops when we needed it, and that's how your lead stays at 12 instead of cutting down to nine."
The Mocs shot just less than 30 percent from the field. Most of their damage was done at the foul line as they made two more free throws (19) than they did field goals (17).
Kevin Easley had 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting and five rebounds to lead UTC, and Donovann Toatley scored 11 points as the only other Moc in double figures. Five of the nine players who appeared in the game for UTC finished with four fouls.
Josh Ajayi had 23 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Jaguars (2-1).
"It's a quick turnaround," Paris said. "We play in less than 24 hours, and we have two more in less than 48. We have to get back to do what we do, and that's play for each other and defend at a high level. We have to address that, find a way to rectify that."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.