Patterson remembered for 'the shot'

Re-enactments of the shot are only during the good times.

When Ty Patterson was asked to recreate his miraculous 40-footer in the Southern Conference tournament championship game last year, he wouldn't do it.

"Nah ... we're losing," Patterson said before practice Sunday in the Chattem practice facility.

Patterson's second-half flip from 40 with one tick on the shot clock gave UTC a 50-34 lead over the College of Charleston with more than 14 minutes to go. Plenty of time remained against the Cougars, but that one shot -- which made ESPN "SportsCenter's" top 10 plays of the day -- proved the Mocs were destined to dance.

"Hopefully he's embedded in the Chattanooga folklore -- and the only way to do that is to get to the NCAA tournament -- he hit a big shot to help us," Mocs coach John Shulman said. "Keyron (Sheard) shot an airball and the ball was tipped to Ty -- who should have been on the offensive glass -- so he happened to be in the right place and right time."

Patterson will be remembered for that shot and honored tonight before the Mocs face Davidson at 7 p.m. in McKenzie Arena as the lone senior on senior night.

"He'll be remembered for helping us go to the dance," Shulman said. "And who knows what else because the final chapter hasn't been written yet."

This season has been a depressing drama. Patterson was suspended for the first eight games for academic issues and UTC has lost nine of its last 11 games including a 60-54 loss at Samford on Saturday. He's averaging 15 points and five rebounds a game while shooting 37.2 percent from the 3-point arc.

"The season went by fast," Patterson said. "I think I helped the team in an awful lot of ways, but I hurt the team by missing those games.

"The season hasn't gone the way I wanted, but we have to keep moving forward."

The Mocs (13-15, 5-10 SoCon) have three regular-season games remaining before the SoCon tournament.

"This season has been tough for him. He didn't want this," Shulman said. "He got stuck with young guys who have no experience, and he had to be the leader of the crew."

Patterson's memorable shot came against Charleston because the Cougars knocked-off favored Davidson in the semifinals.

Davidson (14-13, 9-6) returns to McKenzie Arena for the first time since that loss and does so without Stephen Curry who could be the NBA rookie of the year while playing for the Golden State Warriors.

Freshmen Jake Cohen and J.P. Kuhlman lead the Cats in scoring and combine to average 25.5 points per game. They're no longer a one-man show. Yet, they're still a difficult foe.

"They're doing all the same stuff which has made coach (Bob) McKillop successful with and without Curry," Shulman said. "Cohen and Kuhlman are Davidson guys. The team is Davidson of old without Curry.

"They just don't have the likely NBA rookie of the year."