ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Two minutes into the second half of Sunday's Southern Conference semifinal against Wofford, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior forward Silvio De Sousa blocked a Max Klesmit shot off the backboard.
Only it wasn't a block as much as it was a swat. A pattycake perhaps. Klesmit tumbled to the floor while De Sousa gave him a lengthy menacing glare.
That glare was indicative of much more, though. Because of the team's balance and depth on the offensive side of the court, the Mocs don't always get credited as much for what they've been able to do defensively this season. Sure, advanced metrics suggest UTC is the best defensive team in the SoCon, but if there was any doubt remaining, the Mocs smashed it Sunday.
UTC built an 18-point halftime lead and cruised to a 79-56 victory against fourth-seeded Wofford to reach the championship game for the first time since 2016, with the Mocs moving closer to a sweep of the SoCon titles and the league's automatic bid for the NCAA tournament.
The Mocs (26-7) will face second-seeded Furman (22-11) at 7 p.m. Monday at Harrah's Cherokee Center. In Sunday's second semifinal, the Paladins rallied to win 71-68 against third-seeded Samford (21-11).
Wofford (19-3) likes to shoot 3s, having attempted nearly 27 a game this season entering Sunday. UTC held the Terriers to just 17 shots from behind the arc, with six of those finding the net
"We know we can control the defensive end OVERSET FOLLOWS:more than the offensive end, and I think that it's more demoralizing to not be able to get the shot you want," said UTC guard Malachi Smith, who had 25 points and 11 rebounds. "If we have the ball and we can't get the shot we want, it affects us, so we know if we play good defense, we can affect them and make them force tough shots."
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / UTC's KC Hankton knocks the ball away from Wofford's Morgan Safford during a Jan 26 game at McKenzie Arena.Wofford big man B.J. Mack, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds in a quarterfinal win over Virginia Military Institute on Saturday, was largely ineffective in the first half Sunday. The Mocs' defensive versatility and depth allowed at least five or six different guys to spend time guarding Mack, who did most of his damage in the second half with the game out of reach.
"All those guys are different bodies going against one guy," UTC coach Lamont Paris said. "He's going to have to use quickness against one guy, another he's going to try to pound while he's down there, another guy he's going to force him to the left shoulder. So aside from how taxing it is physically on him, it's the same mentally.
"To have three or more bodies that can go down there and do that, and are willing to go out there, and there's no glory in it, I don't know if it's going on the stat sheet anywhere, but it's as valuable (as any statistic) to our team defense and everything that we do."
Offensively, the Mocs weren't able to find their range for the second straight game, going 5-for-13 on 3-point tries, but it wasn't all that necessary as UTC made 66% of its shots inside the arc and finished with 44 points in the paint. The long-range struggles might have even given the Mocs an extra level of confidence.
"I definitely think this bodes well for us," said Darius Banks, who had 17 points and three steals. "We know we can play better on offense, and that's going to open up more for us tomorrow on both ends of the floor."
David Jean-Baptiste scored 14 points, while De Sousa added 12 with five rebounds and a team-high three assists.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.