University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball coach Lamont Paris walked into the media room Saturday evening at McKenzie Arena after a rousing 74-72 win over UNC Greensboro with a smile on his face and an extra pep in his step.
It wasn't so much the victory, which really means nothing in the big picture, but the way the Mocs secured it that had Paris grinning as the regular season came to a close.
"I saw a different us today," he said after UTC improved to 19-12 overall and 10-8 in the Southern Conference. "The activity. I've never seen us that active. We've played better games as far as shooting the ball, but this is not even close to how active and competitive we have been in mano-a-mano situations. Just getting after it, good old elbow grease and effort it was fun."
The Mocs were locked into the No. 6 seed for this week's SoCon tournament in Asheville, North Carolina, just as the Spartans (23-8, 13-5) were set at No. 3. In fact, these teams wil meet again next Saturday at 8:30 p.m. in the quarterfinal round, but that didn't stop them from going hard from the start.
UNCG blew out to a 13-2 lead, but the Mocs, behind Ramon Vila and Matt Ryan (they combined for 36 points), rallied for a three-point halftime lead. A Ryan 3-pointer pushed UTC's lead to eight with just more than two minutes remaining in the game before Kyrin Galloway and Isaiah Miller scored eight points to cut the visitors' deficit to two with less than a minute left.
The Spartans had the final possession with eight seconds to play and put the ball in the hands of Miller, the SoCon's preseason player of the year. He went off a high screen into the lane, but his off-balance layup fell off as the Mocs celebrated.
"We might have gotten a little lucky at the end," Ryan said afterward with a shake of his head. "I just think, as Coach Paris would say, the basketball gods were on our side there."
Kaleb Hunter led UNCG with 21 points, including a 5-of-7 effort from 3-point range, while Miller scored 16.
SATURDAY'S STAR
Junior forward Vila was a star on both ends of the floor, finishing with 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting and adding six rebounds, three blocked shots and a game-best five steals. One of his blocks - a robust swat of a James Dickey layup with less than two minutes to play - brought the crowd to its feet and came moments after Dickey had sent a UTC shot into the stands and followed it with a scream.
STANDOUT STAT
9. The Mocs, led by Vila's thievery, registered nine steals against a foe that usually does that kind of damage to other teams. Just as important as the steals were the several times UTC players left their feet to dive on the floor for loose balls, including once in the second half that turned into a jump ball and gave the Mocs possession.
TURNING POINT
Though the game went down to the final possession, the final nine minutes of the first half turned it around. The Spartans toyed with the Mocs early, running out to a 13-2 lead after five minutes, and were close to getting the early knockout. The lead was still 10 when Ryan hit a 3-pointer, then cut to five when Vila drove for a three-point play. The Mocs closed the half on a 10-2 run to take a 40-37 lead.
WHAT IT MEANS
Though the outcome going in was not going to make a difference as far as the SoCon tournament is concerned, the effort put out by the Mocs says everything about this team. Against one of the most athletic teams in the league, they never backed down and will have confidence heading into a more meaningful rematch in Asheville.
QUOTABLE
Paris on the atmosphere at McKenzie: "It was a fun atmosphere. I wanted to get on the microphone and say something to the fans. I never hear the fans, but today I could tell it was alive."
Paris on winning a close game against one of the SoCon's best teams: "For a game that was relatively meaningless, considering we're playing the same team next week, I felt it was important the guys were able to get over the hump."
Vila on avenging a 20-point loss to UNCG: "After the game we played there, we felt losing by 20 wasn't a realistic result. They just destroyed us. We came in here today to show what we are capable of and that the team they saw that day in Greensboro is not us."
Ryan after winning a close game against a good team after several near misses: "Both times we played Furman it was neck and neck. ETSU was close when we played them here; Western Carolina and Mercer also were close. To beat one of these teams that's ahead of us in the rankings, especially one of the top three teams, means a lot to us."
NOTABLE
The Mocs ended the game with just 11 turnovers after having 19 in the 73-53 loss on Jan. 18 in Greensboro. ... UTC shot 28-for-57 (49.1%) from the floor and 10-for-20 (50.0%) from 3-range, its most success behind the arc since going 17-for-31 (54.8%) against Samford on Jan. 11. It is the third game this season the Mocs have shot 50% or better from 3-point range - the other was against South Alabama - and the 12th game with 10-plus 3s. ... The Mocs tied a season-high with five blocked shots. ... UNCG was 12-for-29 from 3-point range for the most 3s allowed by the Mocs this season.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.