Even as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team goes through another roster makeover, a concerning trend continued for the Mocs in their most recent game, a 74-66 home loss to UNC Greensboro.
Saturday second-half collapses.
It was supposed to be different this time. For the second straight game, the Mocs had their deepest bench (with quality factored in) this season because junior K.C. Hankton is back from injury, giving coach Lamont Paris eight players to work with and devise rotations.
That group was successful for much of the Southern Conference matchup with the Spartans at McKenzie Arena, helping build a nine-point UTC lead late in the second half. For the third straight Saturday, though, the Mocs got overwhelmed and went more than four minutes without a basket, allowing the Spartans (10-5, 5-2) to finish the game on a 26-7 run and push their overall winning streak to four games.
The Mocs (12-5, 3-5) are 0-4 on Saturdays in league play this year, having allowed more than 14 more points per game in the second half of losses to Virginia Military Institute, The Citadel, Wofford and now UNCG. Those four teams combined to shoot 53% in the second halves of those games compared to 43% in the first halves.
The earlier losses could have been attributed to depth and the fluidity of the roster. Fifth-year senior David Jean-Baptiste had just taken his name out of the NCAA transfer portal prior to the VMI game on Jan. 2. Darius Banks didn't join the active roster until Jan. 13, despite he and Hankton receiving NCAA waivers that declared the two transfers immediately eligible on Dec. 16. Hankton missed four games with an injury.
That only provides a reason. It doesn't absolve Paris or the Mocs for their fourth straight Saturday second-half collapse, but it also stands to reason that after a few games for the UTC coaching staff to analyze the rotations, some cohesion can be developed.
But the Mocs were overwhelmed in the second half against the Spartans, who shot 50% from the field but shut down the UTC offense, limiting the home team to 38% success after a 54% performance in the first half.
"You have to raise your level of competition and physicality to the opponent and rise to that challenge," Paris said.
Banks led the Mocs with 18 points, chipping in three assists and four rebounds. Jean-Baptiste had 13 points and five assists, and Malachi Smith had 12 points and six rebounds but also a team-high four turnovers for UTC, which has not posted back-to-back wins since its program-record 9-0 start this season, all of those nonconference victories.
Angelo Allegri had 17 point to pace the Spartans, but UTC limited SoCon preseason player of the year Isaiah Miller - who briefly went out with a leg injury - to eight points on 4-for-9 shooting.
The Mocs return to competition at 7 p.m. Wednesday at East Tennessee State (9-5, 5-1), which has won its past three games.
Mocs star
In just his fourth game of the year, Banks appeared to get far more comfortable on the court, highlighting UTC's day with a strong drive to the basket and a dunk that put the Mocs up 57-48.
Key stats
The difference in the second half had less to do with the Mocs' inability to stop UNCG and more to do with UTC's inability to find quality shots. The Spartans shot slightly better in the second half, but the Mocs shot much worse (37.93% before halftime and 53.85% after) - and more than half of their attempts were from 3-point range, where they were 3-for-15 in the final 20 minutes.
Turning point
Paris took Banks out two possessions after the 6-foot-6 senior's massive dunk put UTC up by nine. The Mocs were up seven when he went out with less than seven minutes to play; by the time he returned, the Spartans had completed a 10-0 run.
Quotable
"It's a team sport. So you bring everybody together and say, 'Let's get a good shot. Let's get something good.' Whoever has the best look, just take it. If it's there, it's there; if it's not, it's not. We have to come together and figure out what is the best shot for the team at that time." - Banks on figuring out how to stop an opponent's scoring run
Final thought
The sky isn't falling. The team isn't falling apart. It's fair to be concerned about the second-half woes while also understanding UTC's roster is still a work in progress even in late January. There are five more weeks before the SoCon tournament, which will provide 10 more opportunities for Paris and his staff to figure out the best rotations. The Mocs appeared to be tiring a couple of weeks ago, but with Banks and Hankton back, there's still time to get into a flow and put together some more wins during the regular season.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.