THE Shot
photo by Joseph Dycus
The night of February 15, 2018 was another drab day in a season full of them for the first year coach Lamont Paris and the Chattanooga Mocs. The Furman Paladins waxed the visiting team 75-56, dropping the Mocs’ conference record to a dismal 3-12. Redshirt freshman David Jean-Baptiste went 0-3 from the field, had two turnovers, and committed four fouls.
Four seasons later, Jean-Baptiste was sprinting downcourt with the Mocs down by two, with only four seconds left on the clock in overtime.
Furman’s defenders double-teamed him after he crossed halfcourt, so Jean-Baptiste drifted to the left and found the smallest amount of space in between what was now three defenders. His bomb from 30-something feet hung in the air…………and sent the Mocs to the NCAA Tournament with a 64-63 win.
“It was surreal. I knew I had four seconds to put myself in the best position possible and that I had to get a shot up,” Jean-Baptiste said. “I felt like it took the ball forever to reach the basket, and once I saw it hit the net, I couldn’t feel no more after that.”
“I knew he was going to hit. I knew it. I knew it. I knew it,” Malachi Smith said.
“I had no doubt. It’s what he does best,” Silvio De Sousa said. “That’s Jean-Baptiste, and I knew he was going to take the shot.”
Standing on the sideline was his coach since 2017. Coach Paris told the press that his eventual autobiography will feature plenty of Jean-Baptiste.
“The longest chapter is going to be “DJB Three”,” coach Paris said. “All the stuff from the moment I got here till that right there. It’s surreal what has transpired, the good and the bad and the ugly. I have to tell that story. Unbelievable for it to end like that, and nobody would believe it if you told them it ended like that.”
Chattanooga was colder than the weather outside in the first half, scoring only 16 and hitting a ghastly 7-25 shots. Then the second half brought on a much more normal 35 points, while they held their purple opponents to only 25. Silvio De Sousa was a man possessed, scoring 12 and grabbing four monstrous offensive boards as he carried the Mocs to a lead.
“In the back of my head, I had a question that was 'Why compete when we can dominate?' ” De Sousa said. “I don’t think I’ve ever talked as much as I have today on the defensive end. I was trying to get players involved on both ends. I knew I had to change. I didn’t want to compete. I wanted to dominate.”
Chattanooga’s 51-48 lead with about four seconds to go seemed secure. But as what would be a theme with the game, a lead with four seconds was never safe. Mike Bothwell just stepped up and hit the shot of the game (so far), a three to tie. In the overtime period, the Paladins hit all five of their field goal attempts and scored 12. Their last made shot was a cutting layup by Bothwell. But then the man known as “The Mayor” made the shot of his life and the Mocs punched their ticket to the greatest tournament on Earth.
“I remember saying in the locker room (on one of my first days in Chattanooga), ‘You think playing ball is fun? Make it to the NCAA tournament and then you’ll really have fun,’” De Sousa said. “I just hope that we’ll get to enjoy it.”
“We can win the whole thing” forward Josh Ayeni exclaimed right after the game. “We can win the whole thing! You heard it here first!”
GAME SUMMARY
FURMAN 26 25 12 – 63
CHATTANOOGA 16 35 13 – 64
FURMAN (63) – Slawson 8, Mike Bothwell 24, Foster 5, Alex Hunter 12, Garrison 2, Pgues 4, Hien 8, Hughey, Anderson
CHATTANOOGA (64) – Hankton 8, Banks 4, Silvio DeSousa 17, David Jean-Baptiste 13, Malachi Smith 12, Ayeni 4, Caldwell 6, Ledford, Diggs
3-POINT GOALS: Furman 9 (Hunter 4, Bothwell 3, Slawson 2); Chattanooga 6 (JEAN-BAPTISTE 3, Caldwell 2, Smith 1)