Chattanooga Basketball
Postgame Notes
Chattanooga 68, Eastern Kentucky 54
McKenzie Arena - Chattanooga, Tenn.
Dr Pepper Classic - Dec. 30, 2009
Team
- Chattanooga is 8-6 on the season, 0-1 in the Southern Conference topping Eastern Kentucky 68-54 in the championship game of the 20th Annual Dr Pepper Classic Wednesday night at the McKenzie Arena. The Colonels are 8-5.
- The Mocs have won 13 Dr Pepper Classics including the last two. Other champs include Canisius (1996), Richmond (1997), Youngstown State (1999), La Salle (2003), Birmingham-Southern (2004), Colorado State (2006) and Wright State (2007).
- Chattanooga is 33-7 all-time in the Dr Pepper Classic, 13-6 in the championship game.
- The Mocs lead the series 1-0. The Mocs are 2-1 against OVC opponents this season, 75-71 all-time and 37-14 since the move to DI (1977-78).
- UTC is 618-363 as a DI program (33rd season), 390-93 at home, 330-82 in the McKenzie Arena.
- Head Coach John Shulman is 98-78 in his sixth year, 66-21 at home, 1-0 against EKU. He is 9-3 in the Dr Pepper Classic, 3-3 in the championship game.
- Entering tonight's game, the Mocs shoot 49.2 percent from the field in wins and 36.6 percent in losses. Tonight they shot 42.9 percent. EKU shot 31.7 percent. The 42.9 percent shooting for the Mocs is the lowest percentage in a winning effort.
- The Mocs led 33-23 at the half and are now 6-0 when leading at the break.
- Chattanooga entered the game 7-0 when scoring more than 7-0 points, 0-6 when falling short of that mark. The 68 points are the lowest winning total of the season.
- The Mocs have held three straight opponents (EKU - 54, LIU - 59, TTU - 52) under 60 points. The defense has held those three opponents under 40 percent shooting.
- Chattanooga won the battle of the boards 46 to 32. The Mocs allowed just eight offensive rebounds to the Colonels resulting in just two second chance points.
- The Mocs hefted 32 three-point attempts against the EKU zone defenses which is the fourth highest total of the season. They made 11 which ties for the third highest output.
- The two teams combined to make 25 threes on the evening. That is the most combined in a Mocs game thus far. EKU's 14 is the second best total for an opponent behind Missouri's 18 on Nov. 24 in Columbia.
- Morgan State beat Long Island 87-70 in the consolation game. The Bears were led by Reggie Holmes with 23 points, while Kevin Thompson had 13 points, 17 rebounds and two blocks. Kyle Johnson led the Blackbirds with 21 points.
- The Dr Pepper Classic All-Tournament team is headlined by MVP Ty Patterson of Chattanooga. The five-member team includes: Keegan Bell (Chattanooga), Reggie Holmes (Morgan State), Kyle Johnson (LIU), Joshua Jones (EKU) and Justin Stommes (EKU).
- The Mocs played without the services of three scholarship players (Troy Cage, Dante Harvey and Ridge McKeither). McKeither missed the game due to a death in the family. Cage is possibly out for the year after surgery to repair stress fractures in his leg. Harvey is out until mid-to-late January with a wrist injury suffered at Jacksonville State (12/1). UTC has 41 man-games missed on the season through 14 games.
Individual
Senior Ty Patterson
- Second 22 point game of the season tying the mark against Georgia Tech earlier in the month.
- Posted his first double-double with a career-high 11 rebounds, eight defensive.
- Shot 9-18 FG, 3-10 3pt and 1-2 FT. Was 6-8 inside the arc.
- Tournament MVP. Averaged 15 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists per game.
Sophomore Keegan Bell
- Scored 20 on 6-11 FG, 6-10 3pt and 2-2 FT.
- Career high eight rebounds.
- Also had six assists and one steal.
- 6 three-pointers ties career high against East Tennessee State.
- All-Tournament Team.
