Mocs Stumble in 70-55 Loss at Furman

(GOMOCS.COM) GREENVILLE, S.C.—The Chattanooga Mocs (13-3/2-1) eight-game winning streak was snapped in a 70-55 loss at Furman (8-8/2-1). The defeat also ended an eight-game win streak in Southern Conference regular season play.

The reserve trio of Johnathan Burroughs-Cook, Dee Oldham and Duke Ethridge had 30 of UTC’s 55 points. Burroughs-Cook led the way with 13, while Ethridge chipped in eight. Oldham added nine points and team-high six rebounds.

Devin Sibley led all scorers with 18 for the Paladins. Stephen Croone had 17 points with four assists, three rebounds and three steals.

Justin Tuoyo started the second half with five straight points to erase a three-point halftime deficit and tie the game 35-all with 18:39 to play. Furman was up two, 40-38, after Tre’ McLean drained a deep three at 15:21. It methodically pulled away from there.

Geoff Beans’ triple at 10:06 marked a 13-5 spurt to stretch the lead to 10. John Davis’ free throws three-plus minutes later put the lead in double digits for good as the Mocs could not sustain a comeback.

UTC attempted its fewest shots (47) since the Feb. 21, 2015 win over East Tennessee State (43). Its 20 turnovers led to 20 Furman points.

"We just didn’t play the right way, didn’t play for each other,” coach Matt McCall said. “Nine assists and 20 turnovers, I don’t care who you play against, any night you do that, you’re going to get beat. We played selfish. I thought we took bad shots. The ball didn’t move. Give them credit. They were pretty good defensively and taking us out of what we wanted to do. It just didn’t feel like we played the right way today.

“I take responsibility. I’m the coach. For whatever reason today, we were not ready to play.”

It was a good start for the visitors. Ethridge capped an 11-2 run with a layup at 9:40 for a 16-7 advantage. It was 19-14 after an Ethridge three-pointer at 7:01.

Furman scored eight of the next 10 points for a 22-21 lead on Daniel Fowler’s layup at 4:26. Burroughs-Cook (FT) and Oldham scored on back-to-back possessions to wrest the lead back, 24-22.

The Paladins responded with back-to-back layups and a dunk before a three-pointer from Larry Wideman grew the lead to six. Greg Pryor ended the first half scoring with a three-pointer of his own with 26 seconds remaining cutting the deficit in half to three, 33-30.

The Mocs stay in the upstate for Monday’s game at Wofford. The start time is 6 p.m., moved up this week to accommodate fans wanting to watch the FBS Championship game. The contest airs on ESPN3.com and on the Mocs Sports Network via 96.1 the Legend FM in Chattanooga.