What goes up must come down.
Such was the story for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team in Wednesday night's 73-66 Southern Conference loss to Furman at McKenzie Arena.
The host Mocs (10-6, 1-2) shot a blistering 72.7% in the first half and were 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Despite the offensive outburst they led by just two points at halftime, thanks in large part to nine turnovers. As a result, the Paladins (14-3, 4-0), ranked third among the nations' mid-major conference teams, got off nine more shots.
The inevitable shooting dropoff came hard in the second half as the Mocs shot under 40% and went nine minutes without scoring as Furman turned a three-point deficit into an 11-point lead. The Mocs, who were paced by Stefan Kenic's 15 points (on 5-of-5 shooting), got within four after his two free throws with under two minutes to play, but Matt Ryan missed a 3-point shot and the Paladins got a runner from Mike Bothwell (game-high 27 points) to seal the win.
Ryan had 13 points, while Rod Johnson had his second career double-double with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Mocs. Furman's Jordan Lyons, the reigning Southern Conference player of the week after pouring in 56 points in wins over VMI and ETSU, scored 16.
UTC will host Samford on Saturday at 2.
WEDNESDAY'S STAR
Furman guard Bothwell burned the Mocs for 27 points, including nine in the final five minutes when UTC was trying to rally. The 6-foot-3 sophomore, who came in averaging 10 points per game, hit 12 of 16 shots, including three 3-pointers, in leading the Paladins from a five-point deficit to victory. Fellow guard Lyons came in with the bigger reputation and had 11 early points, but Bothwell stole the show in the second half with 17 of his points.
STANDOUT STAT
It was .385. That was the shooting percentage for the Mocs in the second half after blistering the nets at a 72.7% rate in the first 20 minutes. Most damaging was the accuracy from 3-point range, which went from a 5-for-8 showing in the first half to a 2-for-8 clip in the second. The Furman defense had something to do with it, but UTC shots that fell in the first half didn't fall in the second.
TURNING POINT
Matt Ryan hit a 3-pointer with 14:38 remaining in the game to give UTC a 50-47 lead. The Mocs would not score again for nine minutes, while the Paladins went on a 14-0 run to seize control. Bothwell scored eight points in the run, all on layups or dunks, and UTC turned the ball over five times in the nine minutes.
QUOTABLE
UTC coach Lamont Paris on the second-half shooting: "We just weren't scoring. It's the game of basketball and you have to find ways to manage a situation like that so it doesn't go so long. Sometimes it happens and I will have to look at the film to see the shots we took, but my guess is we had more perimeter-oriented shots. We need to develop more of an inside game in those situations."
Johnson on Furman's defense in the second half: "We just played to their defense a bit. That's what got us in the second half. They are a good defensive team, so playing to that was what got us."
Kenic on taking away anything positive from the loss: "Furman is ranked No. 1 in our league. We saw tonight we can play against them. We had way too many turnovers tonight, and they also had too many-second chance points. They are very aggressive defensively, so we had to be strong with the ball. We didn't do that. If we take care of the ball next time, we have a really good chance to beat them."
WHAT IT MEANS
On the surface, losing to the country's third-ranked mid-major team is hardly a crime. However, it was a large opportunity for the Mocs to make a Southern Conference statement and get fans excited. All that may still happen - the Mocs are markedly improved over a year ago - but this year's signature win is still waiting to happen.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22.