NORTH CHARLESTON, N.C. — John Shulman propped himself up on the hockey boards inside the arena.
The Georgia Southern band and cheerleaders separated Shulman, Alan LeForce and another family member from the last quarterfinal of the day.
It was the first sign that the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball coach needed to take a quick break from the game. He planned to take Sunday to drive his family back to Chattanooga before putting the season to rest.
“We’re going to start recruiting on Monday,” Shulman said. “I’ll regroup with (the assistant coaches) and I’ll go to the state tournament.
“We’ll reflect and get better. We have to get better.”
UTC’s agonizing three-point loss to Elon in the final minute of a Southern Conference quarterfinal game was the Mocs’ last of the season. Seniors Marcus Watts and Kevin Bridgewaters have played their last game in a UTC jersey.
The Mocs (18-13) might have been asked to the National Invitational Tournament or the inaugural College Basketball Invitational with a win or two in the tournament.
“We needed to get to the championship game, I would think,” Shulman said. “I would say we’re out of the NIT. We were on their board, but we needed to win some games here and we didn’t.”
Therein lies the tone of disappointment in Shulman’s voice underneath his typical enthusiasm.
UTC played Elon-style basketball against Elon. The Phoenix — and the officials who called 35 total fouls — slowed the pace and made it a possession-by-possession affair instead of an up-tempo game.
“Blood, sweat and tears, you just go play,” Elon coach Ernie Nestor said. “It wasn’t a beautiful basketball game unless you love basketball.”
Neither team led by more than six, adding pressure to each possession, dribble, pass, and shot. Elon handled it better than the Mocs.
“This team has played with a lot of pressure this year,” Shulman said. “We didn’t handle pressure very good at Greensboro or at Elon and we didn’t handle it well again.”
The Mocs entered the game hitting a SoCon-low .654 percent of their free throws. They hit .600 percent, 18-of-30, against Elon.
“It finally caught up with us,” junior Nicchaeus Doaks said. “They’re free shots given to you and it’s up to you to make them.
“We have to get back in the gym and work on them.”
The Mocs have 361 days until the next SoCon tournament to get that work done.
David Uchiyama is a sports writer at the Chattanooga Times Free Press who began his tenure here in May 2001. His primary beats are UTC athletics — specifically men’s basketball and athletic department administration — and golf, which includes coverage from the PGA Tour to youth events. He also covers other high school sports, outdoor adventures, and contributes to other sections of the newspaper when necessary. David grew up in Salinas, Calif., and began working ...
