Work boots working for men's basketball

When the Chattanooga men's basketball team left Spartansburg, S.C. Monday night following a 78-63 defeat at the hands of the Wofford Terriers-their third loss in five days-the Mocs were anything but confident. "No one gave us a prayer after losing four straight," Coach John Shulman said. Shulman decided a change was necessary.

"Work boots," Ricky Taylor, a sophomore from Brownsville, Tenn. said. "They just showed up, and we put them on. Coach Shulman said he wanted them called work boots."

These work boots-black shoes and socks-which the Mocs have worn in their last two home games-both wins-might not have been solely responsible for the turnaround in UTC's play, but they have certainly played a part.

"All we've been doing in practice is defending and rebounding," Shulman said. "It's our identity now. When things aren't going right, you go to your beliefs: defending and rebounding."

Chattanooga did a good job of both in their 85-80 victory over Appalachian State Saturday, winning the rebounding battle 46-37, as well as holding the Mountaineer's Donald Sims, leading scorer in the Southern Conference, to just 6-22 shooting.

"It was the first time going into a game this year that I didn't feel sick to my stomach," Shulman said. "We've finally found our identity."

The first half was very one-sided as UTC went into half up 51-41, and Shulman thought it should have been more.

"We should have been up by 23 or 24, and Buzz [Peterson] knew that," Shulman said.

The game took a different turn in the second half as Appalachian State fought back to cut the lead to one, 75-74 with 2:20 remaining. "This was our fifth game in 10 days," Shulman said. "At half, I could tell. If we'd have played five more minutes who knows what would have happened?"

Ridge McKeither, a junior from Danville, Va., continued his hot streak with a double-double. McKeither scored 18 points on 7-11 shooting, and also led the Mocs with 12 rebounds.

"This is who I thought he'd be," Shulman said of MeKeither's recent performance. "If he would just stay consistent and do what we want him to do."

McKeither has scored more than 15 points in three of the last four games, and has emerged as one of UTC's biggest weapons.

"On a team you have to conform," Shulman added. "It's taken a while to break him down, but now he's finally joined us."

Taylor scored 11 points for Chattanooga with eight rebounds. Keegan Bell, a sophomore from Hazel Green, Ala., scored nine points, all on three-pointers, while Josh Odem, a freshman from Johnson City, Tenn., added eight.

The biggest shot of the night for Chattanooga, however, came from an unlikely suspect.

When Bell, fouled out with 2:20 remaining, Jasper Williams, a sophomore from Washington D.C., entered the game.

Holding onto a three point lead, 78-75, with just under a minute remaining, Williams squared up and hit a three-pointer, all but sealing the victory for the Mocs.

Williams scored seven points and had three assists in 12 minutes of action for Chattanooga.

"I told Jasper to stay with it and you're going to win us a game," Shulman said. "He didn't believe me then, but when Keegan fouled out, I whispered something in his ear, and said go do it. He was the third option on that play"

Ty Patterson, a senior from Anderson, S.C., said, "They stopped me on the base line. I saw Jasper, and he stepped up and hit the shot."

Patterson scored 18 points for the Mocs on 5-10 shooting with eight rebounds.

"That's just the thing about Jasper," Shulman said. "If I ever go gambling, I'm taking him with me."

Following the last two wins, Chattanooga has advanced to 13-10 overall, and 5-5 in SoCon play, good enough for third place in the North

The basketball team is looking forward to a rematch against the College of Charleston Thursday when they travel to Charleston.

The Cougars beat UTC 90-66 earlier this month at McKenzie Arena. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.

"We've come back and beat the two top teams in the (SoCon) North and we're back in the hunt," Shulman said. "We've stood our ground but we've got lots more to prove. I'm looking forward to Charleston. We need to prove ourselves."

The Mocs' schdeule and roster are available at GoMocs.com.