The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team did something Sunday it hasn’t done in 80 years – defeat the University of Tennessee. The Mocs won 69-68.
UT got the ball with 15 seconds left, but a shot by Scooter McFadgon fell short and the Mocs got the rebound. Ricky Hood was fouled. He missed two fouls shots, but the Vols only had two seconds left and could only heave up a full-court shot that missed.
UTC had not beaten UT since 1925 when ity won 25-14. UT had won the last 23 times they played.
UTC led by one at halftime and their margin grew to 7 at 55-48 before the Vols made a comeback and regained the lead.
A.J. Mastin, former Red Bank High star, had 3 big 3-pointers for UTC.
The Mocs and Vols were both 2-2 coming into the game.
UT's Brandon Crump collected the rebound but failed to get off a shot before the buzzer sounded.
"This gives me some credibility as a head coach," UTC Head Coach John Shulman said. "Maybe I do know what I am doing. This is our first Division I win and it takes the monkey off our back."
The Mocs narrowly missed beating Atlantic Coast Conference-member Virginia Tech Thursday, losing by four points after holding a four-point lead with four minutes to play. UTC struggled at the free throw line Sunday, making just 9-for-21 and were outrebounding for the first time this season, 40-36.
Mindaugas Katelynas led the Mocs with 17 points, tying his season high. He also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
Steve Cherry was the only other UTC player to register double figures. Mastin came off the bench and nailed three three-pointers, all in the second half, for a career-best nine points.
C.J. Watson led the Vols with 19 points and was 5-for-12 from three-point range. Scooter McFadgon added 14 points and 10 boards, and Crump netted 10 points.
"I couldn't be happier for our kids," Shulman said. "I didn't know whether to hug A.J. or kill him. He made three huge three-pointers, and it makes it look like I am not playing him enough.
"We are appreciative to Buzz Peterson for giving us this opportunity. It is a no-win situation for them. He certainly doesn't have to do this."
It was UTC's first victory over a Southeastern Conference team since its NCAA Tournament win over Georgia in 1997.
The Mocs are off until Dec. 18 when they travel to Nashville to take on Belmont.
Official Basketball Box Score
UT-Chattanooga vs Tennessee
12/05/04 2:00 p.m. at Thompson-Boling Arena (Knoxville, Tenn.)
VISITORS: UT-Chattanooga 3-2
tot-fg 3-pt rebounds
## Player fg fga fg fga ft fta of de tot pf tp a to blk s min
03 Pugh, Alphonso f 3 8 0 0 2 4 0 3 3 3 8 1 2 0 2 31
15 Katelynas, Mindaugas f 6 9 2 2 3 7 3 6 9 4 17 3 2 0 0 30
44 Brown, Chris f 2 9 1 5 2 2 1 4 5 2 7 3 1 0 1 31
02 Cherry, Steve g 4 7 2 3 0 2 1 3 4 1 10 0 3 0 1 23
22 Long, Casey g 2 8 1 5 0 0 1 3 4 1 5 0 1 0 0 27
01 Crouch, Jerice 3 7 2 5 1 2 1 2 3 0 9 3 1 0 1 18
13 Hood, Ricky 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 4 5 0 0 2 0 2 1 15
21 Mastin, A.J. 3 3 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 4
34 Malone, Matt 1 2 1 1 1 2 0 2 2 1 4 2 2 0 0 13
50 Anderson, Charles 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 8
TEAM
Totals.............. 24 54 12 24 9 21 9 27 36 13 69 15 13 2 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-28 42.9% 2nd Half: 12-26 46.2% Game: 44.4% DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-9 55.6% 2nd Half: 7-15 46.7% Game: 50.0% REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half: 4-8 50.0% 2nd Half: 5-13 38.5% Game: 42.9% 3
HOME TEAM: Tennessee 2-3
tot-fg 3-pt rebounds
## Player fg fga fg fga ft fta of de tot pf tp a to blk s min
04 Crump, Brandon f 5 7 0 0 0 0 0 6 6 3 10 0 1 1 1 33
22 Patterson, Andre f 3 4 0 0 3 4 2 4 6 2 9 0 2 3 0 23
02 McFadgon, Scooter g 3 17 2 9 6 6 1 9 10 2 14 2 1 0 0 31
05 Lofton, Chris g 1 5 1 4 0 0 2 2 4 4 3 7 0 0 0 15
32 Watson, C.J. g 7 17 5 12 0 0 1 3 4 1 19 5 5 0 3 39
01 Wingate, Major 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 14
10 Smith, JaJuan 2 2 2 2 0 0 2 0 2 1 6 0 0 0 0 13
15 Howell, Jordan 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 4
23 Bradshaw, Dane 0 0 0 0 2 4 1 2 3 0 2 2 3 0 1 18
33 Hendrix, Jemere 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 4 2 0 0 0 0 10
TEAM
Totals.............. 23 57 11 29 11 15 10 30 40 19 68 16 14 4 5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-30 33.3% 2nd Half: 13-27 48.1% Game: 40.4% DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-14 42.9% 2nd Half: 5-15 33.3% Game: 37.9% REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half: 6-9 66.7% 2nd Half: 5-6 83.3% Game: 73.3% 1
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Officials: Bruce Benedict, Carlos Reyes, Ron Groover
Technical fouls: UT-Chattanooga-None. Tennessee-None.
Attendance: 11017
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
UT-Chattanooga 33 36 69
Tennessee 32 36 68
The Mocs victory was the biggest game in senior Alphonso Pugh's career at UTC. Click to enlarge photo.
- Photo2 by Tim Evearitt (file photo)